Leadership Team

Octavia has more than two decades of experience in the exploration, development and commercialisation of oil and gas properties. Our teams in London, Cairo, Calgary and the Republic of Yemen have deep industry understanding of the subsurface and above ground challenges of the areas where we operate.

Board of Directors

Thomas E. Valentine

Board Member

Tom has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, both as a barrister and a solicitor. In 2002 and 2003, Thomas lived in Doha, Qatar, where he was Senior Counsel (projects) with Qatar Petroleum.

While in Qatar, Thomas was responsible for a number of international gas and LNG projects, including projects in the United Kingdom (Qatargas II), India (RasGas) and Spain (Endesa Generacion).

Since returning to Canada, Tom has continued to focus on oil, gas (including LNG) and project development work, including fiscal regime analysis and negotiations, E&P work, joint venture structuring, joint operations issues, purchase and sale agreements, and decommissioning obligations. He currently provides legal advice to various energy projects (both upstream and downstream) in Canada, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Nigeria, as well as other countries throughout South America and the Middle East.

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Ahmed Nabil Saeed

Board Member

Ahmed Saeed is a successful entrepreneur with a proven track record in founding and leading businesses in emerging markets, from Fintech, Oil and Gas, and Agriculture industries. After gaining his Bachelor's degree in Business Finance from Concordia University and his Master's degree in International Business from Hult Business School, he has sought to make waves in the finance industry and the Energy upstream sector. His successes include leading numerous corporate transactions, including but not limited to fundraising, M&A, and engagement with a complex set of international and domestic stakeholders while also developing strategic partnerships within the MENA region. In addition to this, Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Murooj Payment solutions – a Fintech company that is working to support those who are underserved and unbanked populations.

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Paul Baay

Board Member

Paul Baay has over 25 years’ experience leading oil and gas exploration and production companies. From 2010 to 2014, Paul was the Chairman and CEO of Touchstone Energy and prior to this, from 2007 to 2010, the Managing Director of Abacus Energy, part of Abacus Private Equity.

Previously, Paul was a Senior Officer of True Energy Inc. and the Chairman of Request Seismic Surveys Ltd. He has also served as Director, President and CEO of Remington Energy Ltd. Paul holds an ICD.D designation as a certified corporate director.

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Darran Lucas

Board Member

Darran Lucas is an experienced oil and gas executive with over 35 years in the international upstream business. He started his career as an exploration geoscientist at BP, and subsequently held leadership roles at Enterprise Oil in London, OMV in Vienna, Kosmos Energy and BHP in Dallas and Houston, Cairn India in Delhi and Sasol in London.

Darran has global exploration new ventures, exploration operations and business development experience, in both conventional and unconventional arenas, and has worked in exploration provinces across five continents. He has been directly responsible for the discovery of several giant oil and gas fields and the opening up of new hydrocarbon provinces across Africa and Asia.

Darran has a Bsc. Honours Geology degree from the University of London and an MBA from Henley Management College and brings a wealth of exploration and asset acquisition experience to the Calvalley Board and Leadership Team.

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Executive Management Team

Darran Lucas

Director of Exploration, Geoscience and Business Development

Darran Lucas is an experienced oil and gas executive with over 35 years in the international upstream business. He started his career as an exploration geoscientist at BP, and subsequently held leadership roles at Enterprise Oil in London, OMV in Vienna, Kosmos Energy and BHP in Dallas and Houston, Cairn India in Delhi and Sasol in London.

Darran has global exploration new ventures, exploration operations and business development experience, in both conventional and unconventional arenas, and has worked in exploration provinces across five continents. He has been directly responsible for the discovery of several giant oil and gas fields and the opening up of new hydrocarbon provinces across Africa and Asia.

Darran has a Bsc. Honours Geology degree from the University of London and an MBA from Henley Management College and brings a wealth of exploration and asset acquisition experience to the Calvalley Board and Leadership Team.

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Doug Bearinger

Fractured Reservoir Advisor

Dough Bearinger has close to 40 years Experience as an Engineering Geologist with a specialty in fractured basement reservoir.

Doug has worked for 12 years exploring plays across Canada with Home Oil and then, at Nexen (CNOOC) for 25 years, specializing in unconventional reservoir development in Canada, Iraq, Texas, and Yemen.  Since 2000 Doug’s focus has been on developing, characterizing, and modeling fractured reservoirs including granite, coal bed methane, carbonate, and shale reservoirs. Doug has a Bachelor of Applied Earth Science (Geological Engineering) from the University of Waterloo in Canada​.

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Hamish Young

Exploration Manager

Hamish is an Exploration and Development Geologist with over 20 years global experience working basins across the Middle East, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and Australasia. He has held senior technical and management positions with respected independent E&P operators in London and Perth including Tullow Oil, Ophir Energy, Hardman Resources and Sasol Exploration and Production.

Hamish is an experienced 2D and 3D interpreter and integrator with a proven track record of new venture success and prospect inventory generation leading to oil and gas discoveries.

Hamish has a Ph.D. in Petroleum Geology from the University of South Australia, specialising in the sequence stratigraphy of deep-water siliciclastic and carbonate geology.

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Bill Ibbitson

Operations Manager & Acting GM

Bill Ibbitson has over forty years of experience in the oil and gas industry.  Formal education includes a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering (with Distinction) from the University of Alberta in Edmonton and a General Management Certificate PEGG (Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists) from the University of Calgary.

Based on a solid engineering background in Facilities and Production Engineering, Bill has directed a wide variety of field operations and major projects in Canada and numerous international locations in the Middle East, South America, and West Africa.  Leadership experience includes the roles of Country Manger position on four occasions and the position of Latin America General Manger for Rio Alto Exploration.  His role as Operations Manager for Nexen’s Block 51 in Yemen from development drilling and construction of the Central Processing Facility through to commissioning gave him an excellent background on the challenges and opportunities associated with working in Yemen

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