Directors
DENIS F. PATTEN
Non-executive Chairman
Member – S.P.E.
Mr Patten has extensive experience in coal seam gas exploration, development and production and is a former founding director of Queensland Gas Company Limited, retiring from the Board in 2007. Mr Patten has over 38 years of experience in the engineering, manufacturing, petroleum and service industries in Australia and internationally. He has held senior executive management positions with ASEA Australia, Petroleum Drilling Services Australia Pty Ltd, Gearhart Drilling Services, ATCO APM Drilling Pty Ltd, PT CMPS Indonesia, CMPS&F Pty Ltd and Montgomery Watson.
IAN DAVIES
Managing Director
Mr Davies joined Victoria Petroleum from Queensland Gas Company (QGC), a member of the BG Group, where he was a key member of the senior management team. He had been Chief Financial Officer of QGC since 2007, and following QGC’s A$5.6 billion acquisition by BG Group Plc served as General Manager Business Development and General Manager Ports and Infrastructure at QGC. Prior to joining QGC, Mr Davies was an investment banker in Melbourne with Austock Corporate Finance and in London with Barclays Capital. Mr Davies has a Bachelor of Business degree and is a Chartered Accountant, having commenced his career in the Energy and Mining Division of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Brisbane.
JOHN T. KOPCHEFF
Executive Director - Business Development
B.Sc. (Hons) (Geology and Geophysics)
Member – S.P.E., A.A.P.G., P.E.S.A., A.I.M.M. .
Mr Kopcheff is a geologist and geophysicist, and holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Adelaide (1970). Mr Kopcheff has over 38 years of petroleum exploration and production experience in Australia, South East Asia, USA, South America and the North Sea, both in field geological and geophysical operations and management. He was the founding managing director of Victoria Petroleum.
ROBERT J. PETT
Non-executive Director
B.A. (Hons) M.A. (Econ)
Mr Pett is a minerals economist with a wide range of experience in the mining and petroleum sector, and in the management of companies involved in mineral and petroleum exploration and production. Mr Pett holds a Bachelor's Degree in Arts with Honours and a Master's Degree in Economics (Queens University, Canada).
BEN MCKEOWN
Non-executive Director
Mr McKeown is an Chartered Engineer with over 20 years experience in the petroleum and mining sectors. He is a member of both the Energy Institute (UK) and the Institute of Materials, Mining and Metallurgy. During the past 10 years, Mr McKeown has been involved in private equity investments primarily in the upstream oil and gas sector. He is currently a partner with The Sentient Group, an independent equity investment fund specialising in the global resources industry.