Board directors

Mr. Korney graduated from the University of Alberta in 1976 with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, majoring in Finance and Accounting and becoming a Chartered Accountant in 1978. In 1976, he joined the firm of Arthur Andersen & Co. In 1981, Mr. Korney joined the Robert W. Lamond Group as Controller/Treasurer with a wide range of responsibilities, including banking, insurance management, financing, administration of the accounting department and reporting to various regulatory authorities. From 1983 to 1988, Mr. Korney held the position of Controller with Sea Hawk Resources Ltd. and Mission Resources Limited. Mr. Korney joined Grad & Walker Resources ltd. in 1988 becoming Vice-President, Finance and Corporate Secretary, playing a significant role in its initial public offering.

In September, 1994, Mr. Korney joined Electra Energy Corporation as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer where he remained until the inception of BriAlto Energy Corporation in 1996. BriAlto executed a reverse takeover on Highland Energy Ltd., which became Highland Energy Inc. and was merged into Ketch Energy Ltd., in May, 2000. During November 2000, he co-founded Innova Exploration Ltd. and remained there until August 2004. Brian was appointed CFO of Caspian Energy Inc. on November 1, 2004. In aggregate, Mr. Korney has 28 years' experience in many facets of the energy industry.

Michael Nobbs is a professional 'Independent Company Director' and investment Banking consultant.

He advises in the area of Corporate Finance, business planning, and M and A, and acts as Remuneration Investment, Audit, Governance and "Special Committee" Chairs. Recent activities include IPO's, Company reorganization, the structure of Joint Ventures, and work on both the "AIM" and the "TV/SX". Advisor to UK and US Private Equity groups on specific acquisitions and investments. Worked with consultants to design comprehensive Compensation Plans. General sector focus is Oil, Gas and alternative energy. Direct recent experience with the dynamic of Board activity and responsibility in some seven publicly traded Companies. Areas of investment activity span the regions of the USA, the UK, Canada, Africa and Asia.

Gordon Harris has over 25 years experience in the oil industry, having held various senior management positions. He is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Choice Resources Corp., a TSX listed company.

From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Harris was President of Roseland Resources Ltd. and from 1997 to 1999, he held the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Engineering and Production, of Vermilion Resources Ltd. From 1988 to 1997, he was Regional Manager for Europe, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (formerly the Soviet Union) at Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd, where he established technical teams to develop and explore for oil in Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Harris also established and managed a subsidiary of LiflockResources Ltd. which produced over 5,000 barrels of oil per day.

Mr Kuandykov is currently President of Meridian Petroleum, a privately held Kazakh oil & gas company. He was formerly President of Nelson Resources Limited, the oil development and production company operating in Kazakhstan which was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange until its acquisition by Lukoil in 2005. Mr. Kuandykov has considerable experience in the oil and gas industry in the region, having served as President of Kazakhoil (predecessor of the Kazakh State oil company KazMunaiGas) and was a consultant to Chevron Overseas Petroleum on CIS projects. He also worked in a senior capacity for Kazneftegazrazvedka and was president of Kazakhstancaspishelf. Mr. Kuandykov also has extensive government experience in Kazakhstan, having served as Deputy Minister of Geology, Head of the Oil and Gas Directorate at the Ministry of Geology, and was Deputy Minister of Energy and Fuel Resources. Mr. Kuandykov is a Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy and is a member of International Academy of Mineral Resources and American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Mr. Normatov is a private equity professional with 20 years of experience in investing in emerging and developed markets. He joined Meridian in 2004 as a Director of Corporate Finance and he currently manages the Group’s investments in oil and gas, mining, FMCG, infrastructure and real estate sectors. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Normatov worked for European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in project finance and equity funds teams. From 1994 to 1998, he worked for Uzbekinvest National Export-Import Insurance Company covering political risk and export credit insurance. Mr. Normatov is a member of the board of Danone-Unimilk JV, the leading dairy producer in Russia. He is also a board member of “Food Union”, the leading dairy producer in Latvia. In past, Mr. Normatov served as a Chairman of the Board of JSC “Almaty International Airport”. Mr. Normatov holds MSc in Finance degree from London Business School and a diploma in banking from Tashkent Institute of Finance.

Mr. Marchand is General Counsel of the Meridian Capital group and serves as a member of its investment committee. From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Marchand was a lawyer at (and from January 2003) a partner of White & Case LLP, an international law firm. Mr. Marchand was based in the London and New York offices of White & Case LLP. From 1996 to 1998, Mr Marchand was a solicitor at Linklaters, an international law firm and, prior thereto, an attorney at Cliffe Dekker Inc., a South African law firm. Mr. Marchand served as a non-executive director of Indago Petroleum Limited, an AIM traded oil and gas exploration company which held a portfolio of assets in Oman (2005 to 2009) and as a non-executive director of Thistle Mining, Inc., a Canadian company (formerly both AIM traded and listed on the TSX) that owned the President Steyn Gold Mine in South Africa and the Masbate Gold Mine in the Philippines (2005 to 2009). Mr. Marchand holds a BCL degree from Oxford University, United Kingdom, an LL.B from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and a Bachelor of Commerce and H.Dip.Tax degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Mr. Andreev is a Senior Investment Analyst at Firebird Management LLC. Prior to joining the firm in 2009 he worked as a management consultant at Accenture. Mr. Andreev holds an M.B.A. degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Business.