ABOUT
2 Experts, 40+ Countries, 90+ Years of Experience
Stephen D. Smith (Steve) and Michael D. Burnaman (Mike) thrive in providing technical knowledge and project management to independent operators and smaller investment firms looking to make a big splash in local markets. The team has expertise in land and equipment acquisition, wildcat wells, conventional, unconventional plays including hydraulic fracturing (fracking), investor relations, and strategic sales.
While they are most known for their decades of work in the oil and gas industry, Steve and Mike are veterans in mineral extraction (including gold, silver and lithium), fertilizer production, and geothermal energy development. Their broad skillsets and industry knowledge allow them to tackle niche projects for clients which would be overwhelming and/or cost-prohibitive for family businesses or smaller investment groups.
Steve and Mike have traveled the world for decades, providing their insights and expertise to large and small clients alike. Pioneers in the unconventional space, Steve and Mike continue to be instrumental in oil and gas extraction throughout the U.S. and around the world.
The duo has made a name for themselves as unconventional experts by combining their successful backgrounds of geoscience, calculated assessments, and successfully leading projects from start to finish.
POWER PLAYERS
STEPHEN D. SMITH
President, CEO, COO
A natural entrepreneur, leader and businessman, Steve has decades of senior-level logistical management experience in conventional and unconventional plays. He is equally comfortable managing multi-line directional or horizontal drilling wells worth $40 million as he is collaborating with international stakeholders to bring a project to fruition.
MICHAEL D. BURNAMAN
VP - Exploration and Development
A walking encyclopedia, Mike is an accomplished geoscientist whose oil and gas consulting work has taken him to more than 40 countries. He specializes in interpreting 2D and 3D seismic surveys, opportunity evaluation, prospect development, and integration of geoscience data for oil and gas exploration and production.
Meet the Energy Experts
FUELING OPPORTUNITIES & EDUCATION
Mike Burnaman led the Harding Shelton Energy Consulting (Beijing), Limited (HSEC) team which developed the agenda for the first unconventional shale conference in China, coauthoring and publishing several of the papers presented during the history-making event. Co-sponsors of the symposium were Yangtze University, PetroChina, and HSEC. Mike, in his role of President of HSEC, continued to lead HSEC in their consulting role in drilling and completion of the first vertical and horizontal unconventional gas and oil wells ever drilled and completed in China. He also led the Technology Transfer between the USA, PetroChina, Sinopec and China University of Petroleum (Changping campus, Beijing). HSEC was active in many of the China basins from 2009 to 2015 when it was sold.
Horizontal Shale Drilling and Completing Explanatory Video
