Edward (Ed) Spatz

Ed is an original founder of XR Team and currently Managing Director. He has spent 30+ years as a leader in the development of directional drilling and horizontal well technologies and service operations around the world. He is a 1978 graduate of Princeton University with a degree in Geology. He has multiple patent applications and published patents.

Eric Rothe

Eric is a Global Product Line Leader at Reuter-Stokes, a Baker Hughes company. He is an experienced global sales and operations leader with demonstrated success in multiple industry sectors. Eric has an MBA from Rice University and a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Farhod Hamidov

Farhod is currently working for BICO Drilling Tools, Inc. – Schoeller Bleckmann Company in a technical business development role and has been serving on IADD Board for International Chapter primarily addressing drilling motors, RSS, and other downhole drilling technologies. He brings extensive knowledge of global business dynamics and markets in drilling, completions and well intervention and conducted business in international geomarkets. He has a proven track of global business relationships across numerous layers of industry professionals in OFS, IOC and NOC networks. He holds Masters of Business Administration in International Business from Webber International University and B.A. in International Studies.

Graham Mensa-Wilmot

Graham is Drilling Engineering Technical Director at XCIDrill Technology. He has more than 36 years' experience in various arenas. He has authored 62 technical papers and holds 52 patents in drilling technologies. Graham holds an MS degree in Drilling Engineering from Romania’s Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti.

Jerid Achord

Jerid is VP of Operations for Arsenal Drilling Tools. His background comes from various positions within Drilling Services and Downhole Tools. He graduated from Nicholls State University with a bachelor’s in petroleum engineering, and has managed projects in the GOM, Engineering Teams, and many different P&L structures through his career. 

Jessica Krzemien

With 9+ years' experience, Jessica is focused on advancing her drilling knowledge and building relationships within the industry. Currently with D-Tech Rotary Steerable, she previously worked with SMS Precision Tech, Ramrod Trucking, and Tomax AST. Jessica graduated from Texas Christian University with a BA in history and philosophy.

Jonathan Lightfoot

Jonathan is a Principal & Sr. Drilling Engineering Consultant at Oxy. He has a Mechanical Engineering from Univ. of Louisiana Lafayette with 24+ years of directional drilling experience. Prior to Oxy, he was with Scientific Drilling. Jonathan currently chairs the Operator’s Wellbore Survey Group, a sub-committee of the SPE Wellbore Positioning Technical Section.

Luis Gonzalez

Luis is Merlin's Engineering Manager & Head of Development for the Western Hemisphere. He has 25 years of Oil & Gas experience and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked in close to 25 countries and trained about 1,000 field and engineering personnel.

María Vallés

Maria started her career in the field as an MWD hand and in support roles in various basins. She transitioned from the field life into entrepreneurial endeavors, and then into the reserves space, where she is currently at as Client Services Representative for Omnira Software, a software company dedicated to Oil and Gas reserves calculations.

Mark Hanania

Mark is the Director of Strategic Business with Hardide Coatings, Inc. covering North America. He graduated from the University of Calgary, Alberta (B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering). His 27 years of Experience in O&G started in Reservoir, Production, and Exploitation Engineering, then migrated to Business Development.

Mark LaRue

Mark completes the circle of communication between Engineering and Operational Teams. He is currently a Technical Sales Advisor for Bench Tree. With 16+ years' experience on the Operator, Service, and Technical Sales side, he has extensive experience in MWD & LWD applications throughout the globe.

Neil Fletcher

Neil is CEO of Rival Downhole Tools. His extensive background includes leading successful projects and teams across Sales, Operations, Business Administration, Manufacturing, and Engineering. Neil earned an MBA in Global Energy from The University of Houston and a B.A. in Marketing from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Parham Pournazari

Parham is the founder and CEO of Nvicta AI, a data analytics and automation company focused on remote drilling automation. As a technical CEO, he oversees and contributes to the development of the Nvicta AI cloud platform. Previously, Parham was a managing member of R5 Automation, a drilling automation consulting firm focused on rig-site automation technology development and commissioning. Dr. Pournazari holds a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Rafael Bermudez

Rafael is BICO Drilling Tools' International Business Manager. With 22+ years' experience in the drilling industry, he has contributed to more than 600+ wells across eight countries on a multitude of basins. He has held various technical, operational, engineering, managerial and executive roles at Operator and Service companies at the public and private sector.

Dr. Robello Samuel

Robello is a Chief Technical Advisor and Senior Technology Fellow with Halliburton. He began his career as a drilling engineer more than 38 years ago. He is presently a research and engineering lead for well engineering. He holds BS & MS degrees in mechanical engineering, and MS & PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.

Son Pham

With over 28 years in the Oil & Gas industry, primarily in well construction, with both service and operating companies. He started his career with Baker Hughes as an Engineer working in the areas directional drilling, surveying, MWD/LWD, well planning, and drilling optimization and support. He served as Drilling Coordinator and Operations Manager in Indonesia and Malaysia for period of eight years prior to returning to the US. Before joining SigmaStream, Mr. Pham was the Directional Drilling Subject Matter Expert in the ConocoPhillips Global Wells group. He served as Chair of the SPE Wellbore Positioning Technical Section (a.k.a. ISCWSA). He is also involved with SPE DSATS, D-WIS, IADC, IADD, and IADE. He has been issued nine US patents in the areas of data analytics/algorithms, data visualization methodologies, edge compute system design, survey manage technologies, and SAGD drilling techniques.

Within SigmaStream, he serves as Chief Business Development Officer and plays a key role in developing analytics and KPIs to help operational personnel better use data and software technologies. 

Steve Krase

Steve is a seasoned professional with over 42 years of experience in the Energy Industry. He is currently the CEO at Hephae Energy Technology. He has worked with companies like Chevron, Superior Oil Company, Teleco Oilfield Services, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton. Steve co-founded Navigate Energy Services and served as President/CEO before it was acquired by Nabors. He holds a BS in Geology from the University of Akron and has served as past President of the Ventura Chapter of SPWLA and is a member of SPE and AAPG. He has also served on the 1992 SPE Technical Committee for Formation Evaluation and the 2021 ADIPEC Technical Committee for Drilling.

Timothy (Tim) Paton

Tim serves as the Business Development Manager for Superior QC, helping operators better understand the position of their wellbore and maximize hydrocarbon extraction. He has worked in the Oil & Gas sector for the past 10 years, starting with MS Directional prior to the move to Superior QC upon the acquisition by Patterson-UTI.

William (Bill) Lesso

Bill is an Independent Drilling Mechanics Advisor with Patterson-UTI, focused on unconventional laterals, optimizing placement and minimizing tortuosity. Over the years, he worked on directional drilling, geosteering, casing/liner drilling and wired drillpipe projects. He has a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas.