Advanced Resources’ senior staff consists of geoscientists, engineers, and business and policy analysts, each of whom possess high levels of specialized expertise and depth of relevant experience. Brief backgrounds for each are provided below.
Mr. Kuuskraa has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and is a recognized expert on the technologies of unconventional oil and gas resources, enhanced oil recovery and CO2 sequestration. Mr. Kuuskraa is currently the Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer on the topic of Enhanced Oil Recovery. He has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University and an MBA (Highest Distinction) from the Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Board of Directors of Southwestern Energy Company and is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor that recognizes contributions by the nation’s ethnic minorities.
Jonathan R. Kelafant
Senior Vice President
Mr. Kelafant manages the company's Remote Sensing / GIS unit. With 15 years experience in the geologic evaluation of oil and gas resources, Mr. Kelafant has conducted numerous hydrocarbon resource and reserve studies at both the regional level and prospect level for major and independent oil & gas and mining companies. He has worked extensively in China, India, southern Africa and Australia, as well as most major U.S. basins. Mr. Kelafant holds a B.S. in Geology from Washington & Lee University and an M.S. in geology from George Washington University.
Scott H. Stevens
Senior Vice President
Scott H. Stevens is Senior Vice President with Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI), an upstream technical consulting firm. He has more than 25 years of experience in petroleum exploration & development, including the past 20 years focused exclusively on gas shale, coalbed methane, EOR, and other unconventional oil and gas resources worldwide. Mr. Stevens has advised dozens of E&P companies on unconventional oil and gas projects, including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Shell, and TOTAL. He also advises government agencies, including the Alberta Department of Energy, Asian Development Bank, and Japan Finance Corporation. Mr. Stevens holds a B.A. in Geology (Distinction) from Pomona College, an M.S. in Geological Sciences from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and an A.M. in Regional Studies – East Asia from Harvard University.
Michael L. Godec
Vice President
Mr. Godec has twenty years of experience in supporting the policy, planning, market analysis, and evaluation missions of both public and private sector organizations. His clients have included international government agencies, industry associations, and private companies. His areas of expertise include energy market analysis and forecasting, environmental and economic impact assessments, energy policy analysis, asset valuation and due diligence, and business strategy development. He has supported government agencies in the design, development, analysis, and promotion of energy policy initiatives and programs. Previously, he was a Senior Vice President and Director of the Oil and Gas Practice at ICF Consulting. Mr. Godec has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado and a M.Sc. in Technology and Human Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis.
George J. Koperna Jr.
Vice President
Mr. Koperna, a reservoir engineer for the firm, specializes in the design, implementation and analysis of pressure transient tests, reservoir simulation of conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources, advanced production forecasting methods, proper identification and novel stimulation of gas storage wells, and property evaluation.
Prior to working for Advanced Resources International, Mr. Koperna was awarded a two-year Oak Ridge Fellowship to study the impact of horizontal wells in natural gas storage fields. Mr. Koperna is a graduate of West Virginia University with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering.
Steven M. Carpenter
Vice President
Mr. Carpenter has been providing technical, engineering and policy support to private and public sector clients since 1986. He is a Subject Matter Expert for climate change, carbon and risk management issues for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), International Standards Organization (ISO), the
Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), the Energy Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF) and the US DOE. Mr. Carpenter's focus is on carbon capture & storage and related climate change/carbon management issues. Previously, Mr. Carpenter has held the positions of Corporate Risk Manager, Director of Carbon & International Business Development and Director of Federal and Commercial Development. He has held public office and was elected to the position of Trustee with the Energy Mineral Law Foundation. Mr. Carpenter holds a B. A. in Physics from Earlham College and is completing graduate degrees in Public Policy and Law.
Stephen Bumgardner
Project Manager
Mr. Bumgardner is a petroleum engineer with over 20 years of experience in drilling, completions, facilities and production engineering and project management in unconventional gas reservoirs and tertiary recovery. He is responsible for the management and engineering of Advanced Resources domestic and international projects in Alaska, Botswana, Chile, and India.
Prior to joining Advanced Resources, Mr. Bumgardner was an independent consultant and an engineering manager for Texaco Exploration and Production, Inc. He has extensive experience in drilling, well completions and testing, facilities design, and production engineering in tight gas sands, CBM, shale gas, and steam and water flood reservoirs. Mr. Bumgardner received his BS in Petroleum Engineering from Oklahoma University and has experience in the Appalachian Basin, Rocky Mountains, California, Indonesia, Alaska, South America, Africa, and India.
Robin Petrusak
Project Manager
Ms. Petrusak, a petroleum and environmental geologist for the firm, has more than 20 years experience in oil and gas exploration and production, public policy and environmental issues of oil and gas production. Ms. Petrusak is located in Advanced Resources’ Arlington, Virginia office where she consults on geologic storage of carbon dioxide, evaluation of unconventional resources, upstream environmental issues, and public policy and regulatory issues for both public and private sector organizations.
Prior to joining Advanced Resources, Ms. Petrusak was a consultant on public policy issues pertaining to oil and natural gas resources including reduction of green house gas emissions from the upstream sector. Ms. Petrusak was formerly a petroleum geologist and petrophysicist with Amoco Production Company (now BP) where she worked on unconventional reservoir development including coal bed methane, tight gas and fractured shale, and enhanced oil recovery projects. Ms. Petrusak holds a B.A. in geology from Yale University and a M.S. in environmental science from the University of Colorado.
Jason A.
Hummel
Project Manager
Mr. Hummel has over eight years experience as a consultant providing techno-economic
analysis and strategic planning services to the energy industry. Since
joining the firm in 2004, Mr. Hummel’s focus has been the evaluation
of unconventional resources and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies. He
has assessed the feasibility of numerous coalbed methane (CBM) and coal
mine methane (CMM) projects in China, India, Germany, Georgia, Ukraine,
South Africa, Botswana, and the US. Mr. Hummel assists major and
independent oil & gas and mining companies with strategy development
for unconventional resources including gas shale. He advances client
initiatives by assessing environmental risks, analyzing legal and regulatory
issues, identifying markets, and advising on GHG reduction and carbon financing
strategies as they relate to energy development projects in the US and
abroad.
Prior to joining Advanced Resources, Mr. Hummel provided
analysis and program management support to the US Department of Energy’s
Carbon Sequestration Program. Mr. Hummel holds an M.E.M. in Resource
Economics and Policy from Duke University and a B.A. in Environmental Studies
from Gettysburg College.
David E. Riestenberg
Project Manager
Mr. Riestenberg is currently working on the design of a large-scale Phase III DOE
sponsored geological CO2 sequestration demonstration project for the Southeastern
Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, The Anthropogenic Test at Citronelle oil
field. He recently served as lead in the monitoring, verification, and accounting
(MVA) efforts for the Phase II SECARB Mississippi Test Site saline reservoir CO2
storage test, overseeing the development of comprehensive surface and subsurface
protocols for the detection of CO2 movement. He also had extensive involvement in
other activities at the Mississippi Test Site, including field supervision of drilling and
logging. Mr. Riestenberg has also performed numerous CO2-enhanced oil recovery
assessments for the firm.
Prior to joining Advanced Resources, he worked as a Research Associate in the
Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was lead
field researcher for the CO2 tracer experiment at the Frio Test Site. Mr. Riestenberg
has a B.S. in Biology from the College of Mount St. Joseph and an M.S. in Geology
from the University of Tennessee.
