Who We Are – Argus Reservoir Monitoring

Owen Jones is founder and majority owner of Argus Reservoir Monitoring. His commitment to the development of permanent reservoir monitoring began as an early-stage, major investor in a company applying an innovative approach to wireline technologies. This company successfully introduced powerful EM and Acoustic wireline tool strings. Owen was instrumental in acquiring the company’s largest commercial contract–with Halliburton in the late 90’s. Confident that the underlying technology held promise for other applications, Owen conducted global research, including interviews with leading specialists at Lukoil, Gasprom, Baker Hughes, Petrofac, StatOil Ventures, and the Digital Oil Journal. The expert consensus led to his commitment to the development of permanent reservoir monitoring, and he incorporated Argus Reservoir Monitoring.

After establishing Argus, Owen enlisted the expertise of highly seasoned and knowledgeable business partners, engineering partners and advisers.

Owen has an extensive background in politics, as a campaign manager and advisor, fund raiser and donor, serving as full time staff member of two U.S. Senate campaigns, county chairman for a U.S. Presidential candidate, finance director for a U.S. Congressional campaign, and a major donor to a U.S. Presidential re-election campaign.

The knowledge and experience and personal connections gained in political organizing has contributed to the Argus business model, as well as the recruitment of people on the Argus team with extensive national and international connectivity that is required for effective capital development, sales and marketing.

Owen served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps, in the Third Marine Division in Okinawa and in the First Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Seasoned petroleum and natural resource executive with pan continental, operational, commercial & business development experience. “My aim is to drive organizational and operational excellence while maximizing production & exploration success with a pragmatic yet systematic approach.” Niclas specializes in the acquisition and management of underproducing oil fields and applying the latest technologies and rework methods to provide a high ROI to investors. Niclas operates as an entrepreneur as well as a geo-sciences expert, at the intersection of capital development, the application of seismic technologies and production management. Starting out as a consulting geoscientist with Schlumberger in 1999, Niclas has headed up operations on four continents. He is the perfect fit for Argus’s business culture: small, lean, adaptable, entrepreneurial, and oriented toward maximum investor return.

EDUCATION

MBA studies in Oil & Gas Management, Diploma in Finance; Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK, 2012

MSc in Petroleum Exploration, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1997

Thesis: ”Structural Satellite Image Interpretation and Correlation of the Onshore/Offshore Kwanza Basin, Angola”. University of Bergen, Norway

BSc in Marine Geology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 1997

Thesis: ”The Petroleum Potential of Scania & Gotland”

General Paxton retired from active duty on 30 Sep 2016 after 42 years of continuous active service. He was promoted to General and assumed duties as the 33d Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps on December 15, 2012. A native of Pennsylvania, he graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor and Master of Science in Civil Engineering and was commissioned through Officer Candidate School in 1974.

He joins Argus part – time while still serving as a Pentagon Advisor. Gen. Paxton is an equity partner in Argus Reservoir Monitoring, LLC,
Strategic Advisor to Argus and Vice President for Military Applications, especially tunnel detection

Kevan Hanson is an Acquisition Geophysicist with a 38 year career in the Seismic Exploration Industry. He has worked for Oil Companies, Service Companies and as a Consultant in both surface seismic, land and marine, and more recently downhole acquisition in hydraulic facture detection and monitoring, VSP’s and EOR monitoring applications. He took the position of CTO with Argus Reservoir Monitoring in order to bring to fruition the holy grail of the seismic industry for decades, the development of a powerful downhole seismic source.

Kevan comes to Argus from being COO and Acquisition Division Leader of a high tech oil service company. His career success has spanned over 40 countries and delivered successful seismic projects in most of the major exploration basins of the world. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Salford University in England and studied Geophysics at the University of Houston.

Michael Somorov is a Mechanical Engineer with over 40 years of engineering experience.

Michael worked as a Senior Research and Development Engineer for the Chemical Machinery Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. Among other projects, Michael researched and developed methods to decrease acoustical resonances in high pressure compressor systems. For 23 years Michael worked for Emerson Electric Corporation in St. Louis, MO and Houston, TX holding a variety of positions over the years including: Lead Product Engineer, Principal Engineer and Product Safety Engineer/Product Safety Officer. Michael developed products from concept to production and resolved design, production, safety and other product issues. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the St. Petersburg State University of Refrigeration in St Petersburg, Russia.

Himself the holder of three US patents, Michael has a demonstrated passion for product development and innovation.

Joseph Duggan has worked in the White House as speechwriter to the President of the United States and in Saudi Arabia as speechwriter for the Saudi Oil Minister and for the CEO of Aramco. In 2012, he was assigned to the company’s corporate planning department where he was general editor of the Aramco five-year business plan. During a quarter century in Washington, in addition to his White House position, he held senior policy and public affairs posts in the State Department and Capitol Hill, including communications and policy director of the Senate Commerce Committee. During the first half of 2021, he was a communications adviser on the staff of U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, assisting the newly elected senator in her transition. In addition to being an equity partner, he serves Argus as the principal officer for public, governmental, and international affairs, with a particular emphasis on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. He earned his master’s at the Institute of World Politics in Washington and his bachelor’s in classics at the University of Dallas.

Owen Jones

Niclas Biornstad

John M. Paxton, Jr.

Kevan Hanson

Michael Somorov

Joseph Duggan