MEDIA RELEASE January 23, 2019
WPC Canada announces new board members
WPC Canada announced today new members joining the national board in Calgary. These new members represent some of the enormous talent the industry enjoys in the country and will be instrumental in WPC Canada’s initiative to host the 2023 World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The World Petroleum Congress is a major oil & gas forum held every three years that attracts delegates from over 100 countries. The competitive bid for the event will come from WPC Canada as the Canadian national committee of the World Petroleum Council.
“We are very proud to announce these new board members and the skills and experience that they bring to our organization as we pursue our bid to bring the 24th WPC Congress to Canada” Said Denis Painchaud, Chairman of WPC Canada. “We have a dynamic team now in place to support our bid and complete the work needed to stage such a major event in Calgary in 2023!”
The new WPC Canada board members are:
Dean Tucker Dean brings over 30 years of experience in the petroleum industry both domestically and internationally working with junior, intermediate, senior and integrated multinational companies as well as time spent in the service sector. He has worked on exploration, production and development projects as well as A&D and corporate restructuring in North America, South America, Africa and the North Sea. Since 2003 Dean held senior management roles at Orion Oil & Gas Corporation, Crew Energy Inc., Pearl Exploration and Production Inc., and Real Resources. Most recently Dean was Chief Operating Officer of Caracal Energy Inc.
Harpal Brar
Harpal is the Executive Director of Business Development with the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission (APMC). As the Head of Business Development, Harpal has been leading APMC’s commercial efforts related to hydrocarbon value add and market access initiatives. Prior to APMC, Harpal worked for Nexen Energy for 15 years encompassing roles in Oil Sands Economics and Joint Venture, Marketing and Trading Risk Management, Corporate Planning and Divisional Planning. Harpal comes from a finance background and holds CFA and CMA/CPA designations.
Paul Paynter Paul runs the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) office in downtown Calgary. Paul focuses upon building and developing applied research opportunities with leading energy players and associations, in addition to working with SME’s and the venture capital / private equity community in the selective support of new technology development. Paul is also on the board of Global Chamber Calgary, the British Canadian Business Association (Alberta Chapter) and is an alumnus member of the Calgary Consular Corps. Prior to joining SRC, Paul Paynter was National Marketing Manager for the Energy sector across Canada at KPMG. At Calgary Economic Development, Paul developed trade and inward investment opportunities for Calgary companies in the energy sector, leading on a number of ground breaking initiatives including trade and investment missions to China, Colombia and Australia.
Dwain Lingenfelter Dwain was previously the Vice President of International Government Relations for Nexen Inc., a major Canadian oil and gas company, and former Deputy Premier of Saskatchewan, and Minister of numerous departments including Economic Development and Agriculture. Also served as Chairman of SaskPower Corp. SaskEnergy Corp. Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation, Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership. Dwain owns and operates a successful agricultural operation in western Canada seeding about 25,000 acres of grains. The operation also includes over 60 surfaces lease contracts with Crescent Point Energy and a small ranch south of the Cypress Hills.
Ron Laing Ron Laing is the Senior Vice-President for Canadian Natural Resources Limited. Ron has been with the company for over 20 years and is involved in all areas of Canadian Natural’s business. This includes sitting on the Company’s International Operations Committee which oversees Canadian Natural’s business in The United Kingdom and Africa. Ron has significant experience with commercial contracts of all sorts including, construction, procurement, joint ventures, and acquisitions and dispositions. Ron holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Edinburgh and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary.
David Smethurst Responsible for the Global Energy Sector strategy and development of business solutions at Hitachi Vantara, David joined Hitachi Vantara in October 2017 from the Oil & Gas industry. David’s career includes executive roles in business start-ups to global corporations where David successfully developed experience in Operations, Business Development, Management Consulting, Finance, Marketing and Process Optimization. David is a CTO focused on creating the “value bridge” between the IT and OT narrative to clearly define and develop an engagement model that focuses on business outcomes. David resides in Calgary, Alberta Canada with his wife and four children.
Randy Gossen Dr. Randy Gossen has 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry primarily in the upstream, with both Esso Resources and Nexen. He has worked on projects and operations in all continents (except Antarctica). Randy has extensive experience in oil sands development and managed Esso’s Cold Lake, Alberta, in situ oil sands facility. In addition, he has worked in corporate planning, HSE, social responsibility, government affairs, and regulatory affairs. Randy was Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Social Responsibility for Nexen Inc. from 1991 to 2005 and later was Vice President Global Business Relations at Nexen until his retirement in 2012. Randy was elected President of the World Petroleum Council in 2005 and re-elected in 2008. Randy was a member of the Board of Directors of the Russian integrated oil company JSOC Bashneft from June 2012 to June 2014 and served as Chair of the HSE Committee of the Board.
About the World Petroleum Congress
The WPC Congress is the premier global oil & gas forum. It attracts the highest-level industry and government leaders from around the world, including Heads of State, Ministers of Energy and C-Suite Executives. The triennial Congress attracts delegates from over 100 countries, including 80+ National Delegations, 700 Expert Speakers, 500 CEOs, 800 Media, 400 Exhibiting Companies and more. The 23rd World Petroleum Congress will be held in Houston, Texas, USA December 6-10, 2020.
About WPC Canada
WPC Canada is the Canadian National Committee of the World Petroleum Council (WPC); a non-political, non- governmental organization accredited by the United Nations. Participating in WPC is critical in keeping Canadian members connected and informed about the worldwide oil and gas industry, and has enjoyed member status since 1957. WPC Canada is part of an international effort promoting an understanding of how the oil and gas sector contributes to sustainable development. The organization continually builds the petroleum industry on a foundation of respect for individuals and communities, ethics and government standards, and world-class technical solutions. Thereby improving people’s lives worldwide and creating value for all stakeholders. Visit www.wpccanada.com to learn more.
For more information please contact: BJ Gebhardt 403-218-2000 [email protected]