John Begg, chief executive of skyrocketing conventional oil play Pancontinental Oil and Gas (ASX:PCL) has received the 2018 John Doran Award at the 18th RIU GoodOil Conference, held in Perth 12-13 September .
The hotly-contested award puts the spotlight on a prominent personality who has delivered outstanding industry performance over a lifetime of achievement.
Mr Begg has been a driving force in the discovery and development of globally-significant oil and gas reserves, delivering major finds on three continents throughout the course of his career.
His recent performance has built giant scale oil exploration potential at Pancontinental’s two Namibian oil assets.
The market remains abuzz about its 75 percent-owned PEL 87 project, located in offshore Namibia, with the company recently discussing the project’s massive oil potential which is tipped to exceed 1 billion barrels recoverable.
Accepting the award, Mr Begg said: “When I look at the names who have received this award before me I feel I’m in pretty good company,”
John Doran was a good bloke who people liked working for, and with. If that’s part of the criteria for this award, then that’s more than good enough for me.
“I couldn’t have done any of these things without the support of my family, and the people who gave me opportunities, whether it was giving me a job, or backing the projects I’ve led.
“I like to think I’ve been and am a jobs creator but the successes have been team efforts all the way through.
“In this industry, sure, we are out there to find and develop oil and gas. But it’s the shared experiences along the way and the many relationships that can be built that I cherish more than anything else,” he said.
In presenting the award, former John Doran winner and Buru Energy (ASX:BRU) Chairman Eric Streitberg echoed these sentiments and said Mr Begg’s contribution to Australia’s oil and gas industry had been outstanding.
John’s presence and influence in our industry can’t be underestimated,” he said.
“He’s championed development in frontier and mature basins, like the Perth Basin and Myanmar, and shaped developments in the Bass Strait, South East Asia and the United States.
“He is recognised as the co-discoverer of the giant Yetagun gas and condensate field in Myanmar, which at peak production exported over 450 mmcsfd of gas to Thailand.
“He has been the driving force behind the revitalisation of Perth based company Pancontinental, which is now positioned to reap the benefits from its historic and more recent ventures into oil prone Namibia, where drilling is underway that is generating a lot of excitement globally,” Mr Streitberg said.
Mr Begg’s enthusiasm for discovery also played a pivotal role in the unearthing of the HMAS Sydney off Western Australia’s coast.
The famous cruiser was sunk during World War II and upon hearing a radio program about the vessel, Mr Begg led oil and gas industry efforts to cover sites of interest during offshore seismic surveys.
The data was later used to refine the search area and ultimately the discovery of HMAS Sydney.
Testament to his character, he also generated industry donations to the Finding Sydney Foundation which contributed to the successful search effort.
RIU GoodOil continues to remain an oil and gas industry destination, as the home of the John Doran Award and the premiere event for Australia’s small and mid-cap oil and gas companies.
