Board of Directors

The following investor information is disclosed for the purposes of Rule 26 of the AIM Rules for Companies.

John Bentley, Non-executive Chairman & Director
Patrice Roman, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director
Bernard Verdu, Vice-President & COO, Paraguay
Jeremy Eng, Non-executive Director
Takeo Hirata, Non-executive Director
Guillermo Francisco Peroni, Non-executive Director
Evanan Romero, Non-executive Director

John Bentley, Non-executive Chairman & Director, has over 32 years experience in the natural resource business. He has served in senior management positions for Gencor, the South African group, including being CEO of Gencor’s Brazilian gold mining subsidiary, Sao Bento Mineracao SA, during the period 1988 through 1992. He was appointed CEO Exploration & Production for Engen Ltd, the South African oil company in 1993, becoming a Director in 1995, and was subsequently responsible for the formation of Energy Africa Ltd and its listing on the Johannesburg and Luxembourg stock exchanges in 1996. Mr Bentley became Energy Africa’s first CEO and guided the company through its first five years during which time its production grew fourfold and it expanded its operations into 12 countries in Africa. Mr Bentley is the former Vice Chairman of Vanco Energy Company, a Houston based deepwater explorer. He holds a degree in Metallurgy from Brunel University, London.

Patrice Roman, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, holds degrees in law and political science from the University of Lyon. Since 1992, he has acted as an independent consultant with respect to numerous international customers in the energy, environment, real estate and transportation sectors. Prior to that, he was employed with Marcotrade SA, Geneva, a company with a turnover of more than US$1 billion, as the chief operating officer. A number of the transactions he has been associated with involved crude oil and refined products. In addition, he has been involved with the purchase and sale of an independent oil distribution company in Belgium.

Bernard Verdu, Vice-President & COO, Paraguay, earned a degree in Geophysical Engineering from CEFOGA in Massey, France and a Master of Earth Sciences in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Sciences and Technic of Languedoc in Montpellier, France. During a career of more than 33 years he has gained field and general corporate management experience in the international petroleum and natural gas industry where he has worked extensively in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Jeremy Eng, Non-executive Director received a BAI, BA in Engineering Science and Mathematics from Trinity College, Dublin (1982) and an MSc. in Petroleum Engineering from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College (1986). During his more than 21 years in the international oil and gas industries Mr. Eng has gained extensive experience in exploration, operations, finance, planning, and evaluations. He was a Schlumberger (wireline) engineer before obtaining an MSc. after which he was employed in a variety of staff positions in several operating companies before establishing and running a petroleum engineering consultancy. Mr. Eng has had a wide variety of practical experience in all aspects of field development including drilling and well evaluation, production operations and reservoir management specializing in development projects led by smaller operators.

Takeo Hirata, Non-executive Director graduated from the Yokahama National University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1982. Since then, he has held numerous posts, including as First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Brazil, Director of International Petroleum Affairs, Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, Director of Petroleum Exploration and Production, Agency of Natural Resources and Energy and as Director of Petroleum and Natural Gas Division, Agency of Natural Resources and Energy.

Guillermo Francisco Peroni, Non-executive Director, received a Law Degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961 and was admitted to the Paraguayan Bar in November 1968. In the same year he founded Peroni Sosa Tellechea Burt & Narvaja, where he is the senior partner. The firm is one of the three largest law firms in Paraguay. His areas of specialisation are corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, foreign investment and privatisation. Mr Peroni is the Honorary Consul to the British Embassy in Paraguay and his clients include the Boston Investment Group, Cargill, Inc., Interamerican Investment Corporation, ECGD, IBM Corporation, Philip Morris Inc., Repsol YPF S.A. and RTZ Mineracao Ltda./Rio Tinto Zinc. He is a director of Molinos Harineros del Paraguay S.A., Cargill Agropecuaria S.A.C.I., Philip Morris Paraguay S.A., and Filtrona Paraguay S.A. Mr Peroni is chairman of La Ley Paraguaya S.A. He is president of the Paraguayan Argentina Chamber of Commerce and former president of the Paraguay-American Chamber of Commerce. He holds membership in Colegio de Abogados del Paraguay, International Bar Association, International Law Association and The American Society of International Law. Mr Peroni is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

Evanan Romero, Non-executive Director graduated in petroleum engineering from Zulia State University (Venezuela) and from the University of Tulsa and initially worked in Venezuelan subsidiaries of the major oil companies including Shell Oil and ARCO. He obtained an engineer’s degree in engineering management and, in 1979, became a board member of the Venezuelan Institute for Petroleum Research and later was an executive vice president and chief operating officer of an affiliate of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. From 1996 to 1998 he was Vice Minister of Energy and Mines in the government of Venezuela and was appointed as managing director of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A in May 1998. He retired in 1999 and has been giving lectures or acting as speaker in numerous energy seminars and international forums in North and South America. From 2004 to 2006, he worked as an outside consultant for the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala and is still associated to the development planning of a heavy oil field in North America.