Gunther graduated from Manchester University with a BSC & MSC in Geology and joined BP in London as a geologist in 1980 after working for 3 years as a well-site engineer and geologist.

Assignments followed in Germany, China, Aberdeen, Norway, Indonesia, Houston and Venezuela with Gunther experiencing all aspects of geology ranging from frontier exploration utilising satellite and field geology to reactivation of oilfields in the Orinoco delta of Venezuela.

In 1996 Gunther returned to the North Sea taking on a number of business management roles in the Central North Sea, West of Shetland and finally running BP’s onshore terminals and pipeline business.  In 2004 Gunther was posted to Baku as HSSE VP supporting BP’s operations in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Eastern Turkey.  In October 2007 Gunther returned to the North Sea to lead a newly established team accountable for BP’s North Sea decommissioning programme which included NW Hutton, Miller and Don Field projects. In September 2009 Gunther was made VP Decommissioning for BP E&P, a role which has a global strategic and planning remit

Randall Abadie is employed by Shell Exploration and Production Company in New Orleans where he serves as the Offshore Structures Technical Authority and Marine Technical Authority for Shell Upstream Americas. He is also responsible for all diving activities for Shell in the Americas and is the focal point for decommissioning of offshore structures and facilities for Shell in the GoM. Prior to joining Shell he spent a number of years working for a large engineering design firm in New Orleans where he designed and managed numerous large-scale oil and gas and industrial projects around the world.

Randall is a registered professional engineer in the states of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi. He is a charter member of the Structural Institute and in 1999 was named a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has served on a number of industry committees and groups, and is Shell’s representative on the GoM Decommissioning Operator’s Group.

Drew Hunger grew up in the oil business and has over 23 years of oilfield experience since starting with Amoco in 1986.  His technical background includes NGL plant operations, offshore construction, offshore production engineering, project management, and decommissioning.  Drew’s combined background of offshore construction and well work experience resulted in an invitation to become BP’s Decommissioning Project Manager for the Gulf of Mexico in 2002.  He led BP’s decommissioning efforts until all of BP’s Gulf of Mexico Shelf projects were completed and then joined Apache in the same role in early 2009.  Drew’s goals for decommissioning are that it be treated as a business not just a technical task, that P&As be performed in such a way that company and industry reputations are protected far into the future, and that it receive focus for cost reduction through technical development and continuous improvement.  Drew’s love of the outdoors, especially saltwater fishing with his family, and strong belief that the rigs-to-reefs program is a win-win venture for the oilfield, the environment, the public, and government enticed him to take up the task of alerting the industry and others to the potential restriction or loss of this beneficial program.

Win Thornton has over thirty years experience in offshore construction and decommissioning projects working as an Operator (Chevron & OXY), Contractor (Brown & Root) and Consultant (WINMAR).  Win has as BSCE from Georgia Tech and an MSCE from the University of Houston.  He is recognized as an expert in offshore decommissioning and reuse.  Recent work includes offshore decommissioning and reuse projects in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, California, Alaska, Southeast Asia and South America.  Win has championed the environmentally sound and cost effective disposal of obsolete platforms through placement in state sanctioned “Rigs-to-Reefs” programs.

Will graduated from Louisiana State University with a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1983.  In 1984, he joined Texaco as an Offshore Drilling Foreman.  His assignments during his twenty years at Texaco included both field and office roles in Well & Production Operations.  Shortly after Texaco’s acquisition, he later joined Energy Partners Ltd in 2004, and in 2007 relocated to Houston as BP’s Manager – Global Drilling Excellence.  Will joined Taylor Energy in 2008 as Sr. VP of Operations.

He holds 3 US Patents for equipment developed for Subsea Well Operations. Will has either participated, or currently serves, in Technical Advisory roles for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), American Petroleum Institute (API), American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE), Offshore Operator’s Committee (OOC), and the Offshore Energy Achievement Awards.

Will presently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the College of Engineering, in addition to the Industry Advisory Committee for the Department of Petroleum Engineering, at Louisiana State University.

Gary Siems is the Decommissioning Manager for Stone Energy Corporation. He has over 32 years of sales, marketing, and operations management experience in the oil and gas services industry gained through his associations with Schlumberger Well Services, Superior Energy Services, and TETRA Technologies. Mr. Siems holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Having been with Maritech since early 2000, Edgar's work has led to an outstanding record of accomplishments. He was involved in Maritech’s since its initial acquisitions of oil and gas properties and has been instrumental in the company’s growth and accomplishments.

Before his tenure at Maritech, Edgar was Vice President of Global Industries and Chief Executive of Global Production, LLC. Prior to that, he was Exploitation Engineering Advisor at Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas of Houston, Texas, where he received the LEAP award for his contributions. As a Senior Staff Engineer for Sonat Exploration Corporation of Houston, Texas, Edgar received the Chairman’s Award for innovative completion ideas and production improvement contributions. He also served as a Senior Engineer for Pennzoil of Houston, Texas for 10 years.

Edgar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University. Currently, he is an Associate Member of the Houston Association of Professional Landmen. He is, also, a former Board Member, Secretary, General Meeting Chairman and newsletter editor for the Society of Petroleum Engineers - Gulf Coast Section.

Dr. Byrd is a Sr. Vice President at Proserv Offshore (formerly Twachtman, Snyder & Byrd, Inc.) of Houston, Texas.  He has over 30 years experience in the offshore oil & gas industry and for the past 15 years he has focused on offshore oil and gas platform decommissioning.  Dr. Byrd  received his B.S. in Marine Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, M.S. in Ocean Engineering from the University of Alaska, and Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.  He is a registered Professional Engineer and member of the ASCE, SNAME, and MTS.

Mark J. Kaiser is Professor and Director, Research and Development, at the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His primary research interests are related to policy issues, modeling, and econometric studies in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining LSU in 2001, he held appointments at Auburn University, the American University of Armenia, and Wichita State University. Dr Kaiser holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University.

Dick Ward, Vice President International Operations for TETRA’s Well Abandonment and Decommissioning Services, will be speaking at the conference. At TETRA, Dick is responsible for overseeing the expansion of the company’s services in international areas.

Dick has over 36 years of experience in the areas of professional engineering, construction management, project management, and construction operations for offshore oil and gas facilities and pipelines, as well as for onshore facilities. His international experience includes working in Europe, West Africa, Central Asia, Former Soviet Union, Asia, India, and the Middle East.

Before TETRA, Dick held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Project Officer with Aerobus International, Inc., whose business is to develop and install mass transit systems worldwide. Prior to Aerobus, Dick served as Senior Vice President, Eastern Hemisphere Operations and Area Vice President Asia Pacific for Global Industries Offshore, Ltd. Dick also spent 23 years with McDermott International, Inc. in the positions of Vice President & General Manager, Project Director, Senior Project Manager, Resident Manager, and Marine Maintenance Supervisor.

Dick served in the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Maintenance and Weapons Systems Officer (Captain) during the Vietnam War. Furthermore, Dick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University and performed his graduate studies at the University of New Mexico.

B.J. is a registered Professional Petroleum Engineer in Louisiana with 33 years of oil industry and government experience. He received a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from L.S.U. in 1974 and also has a M.A. in Economics with a minor in Finance from the University of New Orleans in 1987.  He has over seventeen years experience as an operations engineer, reservoir engineer, production engineer, and completions engineer with major oil corporations such as Union Oil Company of California, Gulf Oil Corporation and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. He has spent the last sixteen years with the Minerals Management Service as a staff petroleum engineer and supervisory petroleum engineer dealing with deepwater production, workover and operational issues, as well as the design, installation, repair, modification, and decommissioning issues associated with offshore platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico.

Summary:

The Minerals Management Service perspective on the Decommissioning Challenges that await oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico:

• Historical Overview – what has shaped today’s decommissioning policies and marketplace
• Market Drivers – what factors are driving abandonment to the top of the agenda  
• Explore the current and future legislative and regulatory frameworks and how this impacts your business
• What are you able to do with obsolete structures?  Can and can’t do’s of decommissioning
  • Complete removal
  • Partial removal
  • Use of explosives
  • Rigs to reef program
• Environmental impact and corporate responsibility

Michael Willis is Chief Operating Officer of Century Exploration New Orleans, Inc., a privately held oil and gas exploration and production company based in Metairie, Louisiana, USA, with offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Houston, Texas. Willis has worked in various roles in the company since 1992. The company explores for and produces oil and gas in Louisiana, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico in both state and federal waters. Prior to that he was in the information technology business in Hong Kong and Cape Town, South Africa. Willis has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Cape Town, and a Masters of Business Administration from Tulane University.