Robert M. Cluff
President
Mr. Cluff is a geologist and
petrophysicist with over 25 years experience in oil and gas exploration, development,
and research. His principal areas of expertise are the integration
of petrophysical and wireline log data, stratigraphy and sedimentology
of petroleum reservoirs, and depositional analysis of carbonate and clastic
environments. He has also worked and published in the fields of source
rock analysis, maturation modeling, and non-conventional gas from tight
sands and Devonian shales. Mr. Cluff has conducted and supervised
projects in nearly every sedimentary basin in North America plus numerous
projects in Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, and
other areas of the world.
Robert received his B.S. in
Geology and Geochemistry from the University of California at Riverside
(1974, high honors) and his M.S. in Geology from the University of Wisconsin
at Madison (1976). He completed additional graduate studies in Geology
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1976-1981), in Mathematics
at the University of Colorado at Denver and Physics and Mathematics at
Metropolitan State College of Denver (1992- present). He was employed
as a research geologist in the Coal and Oil and Gas Sections of the Illinois
State Geological Survey from 1976 to 1981, where his research focused on
Devonian shales and carbonate reservoirs of the Illinois basin. From
1981 to 1987 Mr. Cluff was an independent consulting geologist in the Denver
area working for various major and independent producers. The Discovery
Group was founded by Mr. Cluff in 1987 to focus on the integration of reservoir
sedimentology and geologic data with geophysical logs, core petrophysics,
and reservoir engineering data.
Robert is an active member
of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (Certified Petroleum
Geologist #3168), the Society of Petroleum Engineers (Well Logging Committee),
the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts (International Board of Directors),
the Society for Sedimentary Geology (past Chairman Continuing Education
Committee), the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists
(Chairman, Denver Chapter), the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (past
second vice-president), and the Denver Well Logging Society (past President). He is a registered
Professional Geologist in the States of Wyoming (PG-313) and Illinois.
Suzanne G. Cluff
Vice President and Geologist
Suzanne received a B.S. in
Mathematics from the University of Illinois in 1973 (high honors) and M.S. in Geology
at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1976. She began her
career at the Chevron Oil Field Research Company in a technical service
group which integrated core analysis and wire-line interpretation into
ongoing development and exploration projects, including projects in the
Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, the North Sea, and Saudi Arabia.
She transferred into the Chevron USA Rocky Mountain Development Geology
Group in 1979 where she was responsible for evaluation and field development
of several fields in the Thrust Belt, western Colorado and Wyoming.
In 1981 she joined Buckhorn Petroleum (later named Harper Oil and Midcon
Exploration) as an exploration geologist working on projects in the Paradox
Basin, the Thrust Belt, and the Williston Basin.
She was a consultant from
1985 to 1987 prior to co-founding The Discovery Group. She is particularly
interested in integration of facies analysis and petrophysical data.
She has done a number of integrated reservoir characterization and field
studies in the tight gas sands of the Washakie, Green River, Wind River
, and Piceance Basins carbonates and clastics of West Texas, and reserve
analyses in Utah. She has participated in regional studies of Guatemala
and Mexico, and resource studies of the New Albany Shale of Illinois.
Sue is a member of the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists ( Certified Petroleum Geologist #3396),
currently treasurer of DPA (Division of Professional Affairs), the Society of Independent Professional
Earth Scientists (past chairman), the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (currently secretary),
the Denver Well Logging Society (past president), and the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts.
She is a registered Professional Geologist in the State of Kentucky (#977).
Catherine M. Murphy
Senior Geologist
Catherine earned degrees in
Geology from the University of Nebraska (B.S., 1972, with honors, M.S., 1975) and in
Computer Information Systems from Regis College (B.S., 1987, summa cum laude). She
worked for Amoco Production Company in Denver as an Exploration Geologist
from 1975-1980 and was responsible for prospect generation in most
of the Rocky Mountain Cretaceous basins. She was also in charge of
source rock evaluation for frontier areas from Arizona to Alaska.
After leaving Amoco in 1980
she worked on exploration plays in the Rocky Mountains region and California
at Fluor Oil and Gas from 1980 to 1981 and at Harper Oil Company form 1981-1985.
At Harper, her project areas included Southeast Colorado, the southern
Powder River Basin, Denver-Julesburg Basin, and southern Uinta Basin.
Since 1987 she has worked
at The Discovery Group , specializing in regional stratigraphic mapping
projects in such areas as the Illinois Basin, the Wind River Basin, Fort
Worth Basin, Delaware Basin, Black Warrior Basin, the Greater Green River Basin, Arkoma Basin, Argentina and
Mexico. This work including extensive computer mapping and creation
of large stratigraphic cross-section grids. She has also written
numerous computer programs for in-house database management, well logging
and computer mapping applications and is responsible for integrating petrophysical
data with geologic results.
She is a registered Professional Geologist in the
State of Wyoming (PG-2904) and is a member of the American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, and the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists.
C. Elmo Brown
Senior Geologist
Elmo is an oil and gas finder with over 25 years of
exploration and exploitation experience focusing on identification of
sedimentary facies variation across complex structural settings. After
receiving a B.A. and then completing coursework and sedimentary field research
toward an M.S. in Geology at the University of Texas – Austin, he began his
career in the Denver district office of Placid Oil Company. During his time
there, Elmo explored most of the sedimentary basins of the western United
States, as well as the thrust belts of Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.
After his stint at Placid, Elmo worked as an independent
geologist building prospects from inception to drilling, as a consulting
geologist helping others to delineate prospects and high grade existing
production, and then finally as an exploitation geologist with Voyager
Exploration, Inc. While at Voyager Exploration, he unraveled the sedimentary
and structural history of the company’s premier property, a 50-year old field in
the Big Horn Basin of northwest Wyoming, helping the company to increase
production from 25 BOPDE to almost 1300 BOPDE.
Elmo is a member of the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists (recipient of the 2003 Public Service Award), the Rocky Mountain
Association of Geologists (recipient of the 1999 Distinguished Service to RMAG
Award and President, 2005), and is a registered professional geologist in
Wyoming (PG‑3016).
Daniel A. Krygowski
Senior Petrophysicist
Dan has over 25 years of experience in the art and science of
petrophysics, and in the development and design of petrophysical software. After
earning M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geophysics (with a focus on petrophysics) from
the Colorado School of Mines, he joined Cities Service Company, and worked in
Denver and Tulsa. After Citco, he joined Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). In
both companies, he worked in a variety of geologic and geographic areas in both
technical and management positions in petrophysics.
After ARCO, he joined Landmark Graphics, and was a member of
the PetroWorks development team, providing petrophysical expertise and also
involved in interface design and development of documentation and training
materials. When Landmark closed its Austin, Texas office, Dan joined Chevron,
working in deep Gulf of Mexico and Chad, Africa projects. He also supported
internal petrophysical training efforts.
Since the early Cretaceous, Dan has taught the AAPG Basic Well
Log Analysis course annually with Dr. George Asquith of Texas Tech University.
He has also taught an abbreviated version of that course on request. In 2004,
the AAPG published George and Dan’s book, Basic Well Log Analysis, a second
edition of George’s 1983 similarly-named book which is the AAPG’s all-time best
seller.
Dan is a member of the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log
Analysts (SPWLA), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Society
of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). He
is a Texas Registered Professional Geoscientist.
Stefani Danielle Whittaker
Petrophysical Engineer
Stefani received a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and a
Bachelor’s in Mathematical and Computer Sciences from the Colorado School of
Mines in 2002. She also received a Minor in Public Affairs for Engineers.
After college Stefani worked for Schlumberger Wireline
(February ’03 to July of ’05) as an Open Hole Engineer in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
She has knowledge and experience at the ground level with the major fields in
Wyoming, including. Jonah, Pinedale, and Wamsutter. She joined the Discovery
Group in January 2006 as a Petrophysical Engineer focusing on log database
cleanup and normalization, as well as utilizing neural net technology to analyze
logs.
Currently Stefani is a member of the Order of the Engineer,
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Association of
Geologists, Society of Petroleum Well Log Analysts, and a board member of Denver
Well Logging Society.
Keith W. Shanley
Senior Consulting Geologist
• PhD Geology – 1991, academic minor in Geophysics.
• More than 20 years successful career experience in the oil
and gas industry in exploration, development, and research in a variety of
sedimentary basins around the world including: Rocky Mountain region, Western
Canadian Sedimentary Basin, North Slope of Alaska, onshore and offshore Gulf of
Mexico, Neuquen Basin of Argentina, offshore Surinam, Venezuela foreland basins,
East China Sea, offshore West Africa.
• Demonstrated expertise in: Sedimentology and sequence
stratigraphy of siliciclastic strata, reservoir description, petrophysics, and
risk analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to develop new concepts in geoscience
with examples in fluvial architectural analysis and tight-gas analysis.
• Extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary work teams.
Able to establish realistic, relevant, and significant goals and to focus team
efforts on areas of maximum value.
• Experience in conventional petroleum and natural gas
resource evaluation, exploration, and development as well as ‘unconventional’
resources such as tight-gas, coalbed methane, and oil shales.
• Extensive experience in risk analysis, portfolio analysis,
and the integration of technical analysis with business analysis.
• Outgoing personality, effective oral and written
communication with both professional and nonprofessional staff. Able to work
well with people of diverse backgrounds and culture. Well organized and
decisive. Widely regarded as an excellent teacher.
• Extensive record of publication. Well established record of
citation. Author / co-author of 20 refereed papers, 41 abstracts, and 24
internal reports. Editor / co-editor of 11 special publications and volumes and
3 guidebooks. 4 manuscripts currently in progress.
• Active in scientific organizations at the international and
national level. Frequently invited to give presentations at both symposia and
within corporations.
John C. Webb
Senior Consulting Geologist
Mr. Webb's key qualifications are:
• Extensive experience in descriptive facies analysis, facies
modeling for areal and vertical delimitation of potential hydrocarbon
reservoirs, laboratory equipment applied to petrographic analysis of carbonate
reservoirs, and description and interpretation of rock facies in carbonate
environments, diagenetic processes, and its relation to hydrocarbon accumulation
and reservoir performance.
• Strong background in interpretation of logs, application of
log data to sedimentologic studies, and search and development in oil fields in
clastic and carbonate reservoirs.
• Detailed understanding of development of fractured
reservoirs, sequence stratigraphy applied to clastic and carbonate depositional
systems, and petrophysics of clastic and carbonate reservoirs.
