About

Management Bios

 

Jim Ellerton
Executive Chairman and Founder

Mr. Ellerton (67) is a geologist and one of the founders of Sefton Resources, which was formed in 1994. Mr. Ellerton has over 30 years experience in the development and evaluation of oil and gas prospects throughout the major basins of North America. He is responsible for business development, screening mergers and acquisitions, funding and shareholder relations and is also resposible for the day-to-day activities of the entire group. Prior to starting Sefton Resources, Jim was successful in the financing and development of smaller oil and gas companies.

Born and raised in England, Jim started his education in London and graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honors Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology. He now resides in Denver, Colorado and is also president and founder of the Arctic Cultural Institute of The United States of America, a nonprofit organization that supports the art and culture of the Inuit.

Karl Arleth
President and CEO

Mr. Arleth (62) joined Sefton from Blue Resources LLC, a Denver-based private oil and gas start-up firm engaged in the acquisition and development of U.S. producing properties and exploration plays. Prior to Blue River Resources, he was Director, President and CEO of Teton Energy Corporation from 2002 to 2009. Between 1999 and 2001 he was a Non-Executive Director of Big Horn Resources, a Calgary-based oil and gas company. Ending in 1999, Mr. Arleth spent 22 years with Amoco and BP, holding various senior positions during his career including: Chair of the shareholder board of Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) for BP-Amoco in Baku, Azerbaijan; President of Amoco Caspian Sea Petroleum Ltd. in Azerbaijan; Director of Strategic Planning for Amaco Corporations Worldwide Exploration and Production Sector in Chicago; and President of Amoco Poland Ltd. in Warsaw, Poland.

 

Mark Smith
Non-executive Director

Mr. Smith (40) currently is sole practitioner of law at Mark R. Smith PC in Calgary, Alberta Canada and has been involved in the energy industry for over 20 years. He was previously a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP for 1997 through June 2009 and was previously a partner with Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP, where he articled in 1986. He was lead counsel in numerous corporate and asset acquisitions and divestitures, primarily in the energy industry. He was the Managing Director and CEO of Scimitar Hydrocarbons Inc. (later merged with Rally Energy), an oil and gas company focused on development and exploration in the Middle East and Africa. He later co-founded and was Executive Chairman of Infiniti Resources, which was a Canadian domestic exploration and production company.

Mr. Smith has served and continues to serve on a number of boards and subcommittees of both public and private companies, including Grey Wolf Exploration, Destiny Resources, Welton Energy and Stone Mountain Resources. He holds a bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws, both from the University of Alberta.

Harry Barnum
Manager of Exploration and Production

Consultants

Bill Brand
Financial Consultant

Bill Brand is a Financial Consultant to the Company. He has held financial executive positions with both the international and domestic US oil and gas industry while working at HR Energy LLC, PetroHunter Energy Corporation, Galaxy Energy Corporation, Teton Energy Corporation, PRB Energy Inc., Monstanto Oil Company, and its successor, BHP Petroleum (Americas) Inc.

Specialist Advisors

Engineering

Reservoir:


W. Robert (Bob) Mendes
Bob Mendes has 37 years in the business, initially spent with Texaco (Venezuela), Skelly (US mid-continent), and Oasis (Libya) before moving to the UK for 20 years; during which he managed the substantial North Sea operations of Texas Eastern. Subsequently, he held several senior management posts with other companies. Over this period, Bob was given the responsibility for negotiating sales contracts and evaluating acquisitions and market opportunities. A graduate in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, Bob owns and operates a corporate-acquisitions consultancy business.

Dr. Nafi Onat
Nafi Onat received a BSc and MSc in Petroleum Engineering form Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. In 1975, he graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a PhD in Petroleum Engineering.

Dr. Onat has over 30 years experience working in the Oil and Gas industry. Initially, he worked with Wenner Petroleum in Denver overseeing all of their field operations and subsequently worked with a particular emphasis on coal bed methane (CBM) for Evergreen Resources and Great Eastern Energy in  Eastern Kansas. Nafi founded Sure Engineering in 1997 focusing on reserve evaluation, well completion, production optimization and stimulation of CBM projects.