TAG Oil's Technical Team

TAG has built a strong engineering, operating and technical team with a broad and complementary background, including extensive experience in both North American and New Zealand oil and gas markets.

Drew Cadenhead, B.Sc., P.Geol.
In addition to his executive role as COO, Mr. Cadenhead leads TAG Oil's technical team. He received world-class technical training and in-depth knowledge of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin during his 24 years in Calgary, thirteen of which were with Canadian Hunter Exploration. He also worked in various leadership capacities for a number of other Canadian-based companies including Ulster Petroleum, Selkirk Energy and Summit Resources. At Summit he was responsible for identifying and leading the company into the Gunnell area of BC to test the Upper Devonian Jean Marie Formation where multi-TCF gas deposits were subsequently discovered. Mr. Cadenhead gained his New Zealand experience with Fletcher Challenge Energy Taranaki, leading a team of geoscientists, engineers and technical support staff into a successful multi-well drilling program and secondary recovery implementation before joining TAG Oil in 2003. Drew holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology from the University of Calgary, and is a member of APEGGA.

John (Jack) P. Doyle, P.Eng.
Mr. Doyle is a professional Petroleum Engineer, with over 30 years experience in the Canadian oil and gas business. “Jack” is the CEO and founding partner of BASE Engineering, a Calgary-based engineering firm that provides total engineering solutions and project management to the oil and gas industry. Jack started his successful career with Amoco Canada (later Dome Petroleum), spending 18 years working through positions of escalating seniority in the drilling, completions, production and facility engineering departments. The last 12 years of Mr. Doyle’s career have seen him take lead engineering supervisory roles with Northstar Energy, Dominion Exploration, and Hawker Resources, before establishing BASE Engineering. Mr. Doyle graduated with a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology and is a member of APEGGA.

David Francis, M.Sc, Sr. Geologist
A senior geologist with over 30 years experience with extensive knowledge of the East Coast Basin, Mr. Francis has worked extensively in the Australasian region however has taken a passionate personal interest in the East Coast Basin. He previously served as a field geologist for the New Zealand Geological Survey, conducting extensive mapping and basin analysis and has authored dozens of scientific papers and reports detailing East Coast Basin petroleum geology, and has built a large database of geological information on this basin. Mr. Francis' expertise lies in his ability to interpret field data and communicate with and direct other specialists. In 1981 he played a major role in discovering a large ore body in Western Australia resulting in a substantial increase in mineable ore. He has an M.Sc. from Auckland University.

Carey G. Davis, B.Sc, M.Sc (Hons) Pet. Geol.
Exploration & New Ventures Manager
Mr. Davis is a professional Petroleum Geologist with 15 years of international exploration and development experience. Carey started his career with PetroCorp, the New Zealand state-owned oil company. He continued developing his geological knowledge in New Zealand with Fletcher Challenge Energy before striking out internationally with Talisman Energy, where he provided geotechnical leadership roles in North Africa, Trinidad and Western Canada.

He returned to New Zealand in 2003, where he joined Swift Energy as Senior Geoscientist exploring primarily the Thrust Belt along the Eastern Taranaki Margin. Later in 2007 he joined Mighty River Power as Upstream Technical Advisor to their exploration permits, and subsequently provided technical consulting, specializing in onshore Taranaki as well as the other emerging exploration basins within New Zealand. Carey graduated from Canterbury University in Christchurch with a B.Sc. in Geology, and a M.Sc. with First Class Honours in Petroleum Geology from Curtin University in Perth, Australia.

Alexandra C. Johansen, B.Sc (Hons), NZCS, Geologist
With over 14 years experience in the geological and geotechnical fields, Ms. Johansen has a proven track record in the oil industry and engineering fields. Currently a geotechnical specialist, she investigates the geology and geomorphology of development areas. Ms. Johansen gained experience in the oil industry with Southern Petroleum NL, while engagements with Elf Hydrocarbons in Singapore and various well site contracts honed her skills at assessing prospectivity and interpreting geological data, while drilling exploratory and development wells. A long-time colleague of Dave Francis, Ms. Johansen is knowledgeable on East Coast Basin geology, field mapping formations and identifying areas of interest. Ms. Johansen researched reservoir analysis and has published several papers in geological journals. She has a B.Sc. (Hons.) Geology from Victoria University of Wellington, NZ and an NZCS (Geology) from TOPNZ, Wellington, New Zealand.