GEORGE
M. YATES
President
Mr. Yates is a New
Mexico native and graduated from high school at the New
Mexico Military Institute in 1964. He received a
Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of
Texas in January of 1969. He has been President of the
New Mexico Landmen's Association and the Independent Petroleum
Association of New Mexico. Mr. Yates is past Chairman of
the Board of Directors of Mountain States Legal Foundation and
the Environmental Issues Council based in Washington, DC. He
is Past Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of
America (IPAA) and the Natural Gas Council and also is a
member of the National Petroleum Council. |
| JOHN UNDERWOOD
Exploration Manager
Mr.
Underwood graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a
degree in Engineering Physics in 1975 and with a minor in
Geophysics. He joined Mobil Oil Corporation and worked as a
geophysicist on Texas outer continental shelf projects where
he acquired and processed over 3,000 miles of seismic data
and developed prospects. In 1978, he joined Union Texas
Petroleum Company (UTPC) and interpreted geophysical data
from Southeast Asia and Europe. The following year he
became UTPC’s Resident Geophysicist in Pakistan and was
involved in multiple oil and gas discoveries. In 1983, he
was promoted to Group Leader, Far East-Australia. In 1985,
Mr. Underwood became Exploration Manager of UTPC’s Madrid
office and supervised both expatriates and national
technical personnel. He designed, contracted, and supervised
the first helicopter-supported seismic program in Spain
along the southern flank of the Pyrenees. He was
transferred to UTPC’s Houston office in 1989 and became
Exploration Manager for the offshore Gulf Coast. In 1991,
he joined Permian Exploration Corporation in Roswell, New
Mexico, as Manager of Geophysical Operations. He designed
seismic surveys and then contracted, operated, and exercised
quality control over the data.
Mr.
Underwood joined YCI as Chief Geophysicist in 1993. He was
responsible for coordinating all of YCI’s geophysical
operations in the UK and in Spain. He became Exploration
Manager for HEYCO International, Inc. in 1999. Mr.
Underwood is responsible for the quality of the overall
exploration programs, prospect generation, and the design,
acquisition, processing, and interpretationof geophysical
data. His responsibilities also include evaluation of
third-party prospects, portfolio risk management, and
representing HEYCO International, Inc. on various Technical
Committees in non-operated international ventures.
Mr.
Underwood is a member of the Society of Exploration
Geophysics, an active member of the American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, past President of the Southwest
Section of the AAPG, a member of the Petroleum Exploration
Society of Great Britain, and a Certified Petroleum
Geophysicist. |
| JOHN
GUFFEY
General Manager - Morocco
Mr. Guffey serves as General
Manager and Head of Operations for HEYCO International in
Morocco. He is responsible for engineering design and
supervising all operational activities in Morocco, while
complying with national laws and regulations on banking,
insurance, tax, and the environment. Mr. Guffey previously
served as Operations Manager for Cairn Energy PLC (China)
and SOCO in Thailand and has held Engineering positions for
Unocal in Thailand, BP in Holland, and Texaco offshore
Malaysia, among others. Mr. Guffey who is from Dallas, TX,
holds a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School
of Mines, and a Masters of Engineering: Geosciences from
Cornell University. Mr. Guffey is a member of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers and AAPG.
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TARA LEWIS
Vice President
Ms. Lewis graduated with a BA
from Rice University in 1981 and received a law degree from
the University of Houston in 1984. She joined Price
Waterhouse as a tax consultant after graduation from law
school and worked with most of its major energy clients
during her thirteen-year career with the firm. During that
time she was selected to represent Price Waterhouse as the
Resident Tax Specialist at IPAA in Washington, DC and in
1991-1992 participated in drafting and passing significant
tax legislation for independent producers. While she was in
Washington, Ms. Lewis also spent a year at the Department of
Energy in the Office of Oil and Gas Policy. She remains very
active in IPAA and serves on both the tax and international
steering committees and is on the Board of Trustees for the
Dallas area. After leaving Price Waterhouse in 1997, she
joined Apache Corporation as its Director of Internal Audit
and Business Analysis, and was involved in both domestic and
international issues.
In 1998,
Ms. Lewis joined Yates Company International (YCI), of which
HEYCO International, Inc. was a major shareholder, as Chief
Financial Officer and Negotiator. She oversaw the company’s
financial matters and participated in negotiations with
potential partners and with governmental agencies in the UK
and Spain. Ms. Lewis also managed partner relations and many
of the day-to-day operations of the company. Upon a
transfer of the majority of YCI’s assets to HEYCO
International, Inc. in 2001, Ms. Lewis assumed her current
role.
In
addition to her involvement with IPAA, she also participates
actively in the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty
Owners Association and the Texas Lyceum, a statewide
leadership group. |
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