Team
Kazuki “Yama” Yamaguchi - Chairman
Yama began his career with Sumitomo Corporation in 1993 and has since served in various leadership positions focusing on LPG and petroleum product trading, LNG business development and global upstream portfolio management based in Singapore, Vietnam and Tokyo. He joined SDR relocating to Houston, Texas in April 2019. Yama also serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sumitomo Corporation of Americas’ Energy Group. Yama received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Kobe University in Japan.Jamie Benard – President & Chief Operating Officer
Jamie has nearly 20 years of domestic, international, onshore and offshore experience. Prior to his current role, he served as Vice President – Commercial Development leading the company’s marketing and midstream activities with joint venture operators as well as all risk management and hedging initiatives. Before joining SDR in 2011, Jamie served in both operational and commercial roles for Horizon Offshore Contractors Inc., Prime Offshore LLC and PrimeEnergy Corporation where collectively he managed domestic and international facility installations, upstream joint venture partnerships and M&A due diligence efforts. Jamie holds Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Fredonia.
Hiromasa (Hiro) Ebihara - SVP Corporate Development
Hiro brings nearly 20 years of professional experience in energy-related industries including petroleum product trading, LNG project development and upstream E&P. Since 2011, Hiro has been focused on Sumitomo Corporation’s U.S. unconventional E&P projects in the Barnett, Marcellus, Permian and, most recently, Eagle Ford. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Keio University in Japan and Master’s degree in Business Administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.Paul C. Braun - Vice President - Land, Legal & Business Development
Paul has over 35 years of commercial and land leadership experience with both public and private upstream E&P organizations covering most oil and gas basins in the U.S. Prior to joining the company in 2013, Paul co-founded and served as VP of Land and Business Development at Ironwood Oil and Gas. His background also includes leadership positions at KCS Resources and Petrohawk Energy along with land positions at Medallion Production and Samson Resources. Paul began his career with TXO Production Corporation where he was employed for nearly 10 years. He is a member of the AAPL, HAPL, IPAA, ADAM and is a Certified Professional Landman. Paul is a graduate of University of Oklahoma, having earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Petroleum Land Management.Hilton Guillory - Vice President – Engineering & Geosciences
Hilton brings nearly 35 years of professional industry experience with a primary focus in reservoir engineering, prospect evaluations, M&A and asset management. Since joining SDR in 2009, he has been a key contributor on acquisition and development projects in several U.S. unconventional shale plays – Barnett, Marcellus, Permian, and Eagle Ford. Hilton spent the early part of his career gaining valuable experience in production operations, business development and reserve analysis for multiple domestic onshore and offshore operators including Penn Virginia Oil & Gas, Mariner Energy and Oryx Energy. Hilton received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Houston.Michael Bailey - VP Finance and Administration
Michael joined SDR in September 2018 and brings more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector. Prior to joining the company he was CFO at First River Energy, VP Commercial Finance at Wood Mackenzie and led various accounting and finance teams during his eighteen year career at BP both in the US and the UK. He brings significant experience in accounting, finance, strategy and performance management. Michael holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. In addition, he is a Certified Public Accountant.
Doug Miller - Manager - Operations
Doug joined SDR in September of 2018 and brings an extensive operational background. A 2002 Mechanical Engineering graduate from Kansas State University, Doug started his career in compressor station and pipeline design on the downstream side of the industry. Continuing to enhance his skill set by moving upstream at El Paso/EP Energy, he served in Facilities, Completions, and Production Engineering capacities. Doug’s roles have exposed him to a variety of development strategies and operational complexities including experience across different basins; including Arkoma and Black Warrior Basin (CBM), Haynesville, Permian, Uinta and Eagle Ford. Through Facilities and Completions departments, Doug spent 6 years developing and optimizing the Eagle Ford, focusing on green field development, operational and capital efficiencies, and completion design optimization.
Takuro Kojima - Senior Manager Special Projects
Takuro spent the first four years of his career as an accountant supporting Sumitomo Corporation’s logistics business before moving to the Energy Division. Over the last 11 years he has been engaged in Sumitomo Corporation’s upstream E&P activities, eight years of which spent in conventional and three years in unconventional. Prior to joining SDR in 2016, Takuro supported Sumitomo Corporation’s upstream E&P subsidiaries in the UK and Norway from Japan and was also responsible for business development initiatives in Mexico. He played a key role in development and implementation of post-acquisition accounting policies and procedures including IFRS for Sumitomo Corporation’s upstream E&P subsidiary based in London. Takuro earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Tokyo University.Kunimitsu (Hashi) Ohashi - Manager - Reservoir Engineering
Hashi began his career as a Reservoir Engineer with Sumitomo Corporation Tokyo and has been continuously engaged in the upstream E&P business for 10 years, having played key roles in a number of transactions including projects in the Barnett, Marcellus, Permian and Eagle Ford basins – totaling approximately $1.5 billion. Hashi earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physics Engineering from Yokohama National University, Master’s degree in GeoSystem Engineering from University of Tokyo and is completing his Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University.Jason Petrossi – Assistant Controller
Jason joined SDR in March 2019 and brings more than 10 years of experience in the energy sector. Prior to joining SDR, Jason was in the Midstream Accounting Group at Noble Energy, worked in several accounting departments at Occidental Petroleum during his six-year tenure and also worked several accounting roles at Opportune LP. His primary focus has been revenue and regulatory accounting but also has experience with midstream accounting for all commodities. Jason holds a Bachelor of Accounting from Texas A&M University.
Yurika Yancey - General Affairs Administrator & Staff Accountant
Yurika’s diverse background having previously worked in programming, engineering and accounting disciplines enable her to effectively manage multiple roles for SDR. In her General Affairs capacity Yurika manages all SDR’s office related functions including IT, scheduling, facility maintenance and inventory management. As a member of the accounting team she supports back office accounts payable, revenue and risk management-related reporting. Yurika has been a key contributor in the development and implementation of systems related to payment controls and document preparation. Yurika earned her Associate’s degree in Business and is in the process of completing a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.