Tri-Valley Corporation announced that Robert A. Bell, petroleum engineer, has joined the operating subsidiary, Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. as Vice President of Operations.
Most recently Area Manager of Texas and the Rockies for V.E. Faulconer, Inc., Mr. Bell began his career with Exxon drilling wells in California on shore and off shore and Alaska North Slope. He joined Unocal as Senior Technology Engineer in a global role in production optimization and then went with Schlumberger as manager for projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Australia and Ecuador. He became vice president of exploitation and co-leader of the California Business Unit for Plains Exploration & Production Company. He then moved to vice president operations of the privately held Bonanza Creek Oil Company in Bakersfield and then served in a global general manager capacity for Eventure Global Technology.
"Mr. Bell brings a broad range of experience in all phases of oilfield operations with emphasis on drilling and production optimization and has direct experience in some of Tri-Valley's properties, in particular our Temblor Valley West leases in the South Belridge Oilfield now under development," said Joseph R. Kandle, president of Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co.
Tri-Valley plans to utilize Bell's core competencies in management, operations and engineering to accelerate the Company's development of its key producing properties and to help evaluate and arrange for property and corporate acquisitions.
"As vice president of operations, Mr. Bell will coordinate with our new vice president of exploration, Jim Bush, and Randy Stafford, vice president of our Great Valley Production Services subsidiary to accelerate the build up of production, revenues, and reportable reserves and share value on our existing properties and any new discoveries. He and Bush will free up Joe Kandle to foster growth in all of Tri-Valley Corporation's petroleum related subsidiaries including its Nevada drilling operations," said F. Lynn Blystone, president and chief executive officer of the publicly traded parent.
Kandle, Bell, Bush and Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. General Manager of Engineering, Dr. Mohsen Hanna will comprise the Company's technical team working with a world wide research organization to solve formation low permeability problems in the Company's major discoveries at the Ekho deep well some 45 miles northwest of Bakersfield, California and the Sunrise Natural Gas Project 30 miles north of Bakersfield.
"We believe that attaining commercial rates of production from either of these massive discoveries would deliver bonanza values to Tri-Valley shareholders and drilling partners and this technical team, in concert with the scientists and laboratory facilities of the research organization we've engaged are confident we will attain a commercial solution to the present production obstacles - an exciting project in and of itself and bell will lead the development of those projects once the tight formation problems are solved," Blystone said.
