Bennett named executive chairman of Trans-Orient

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 7 -- Trans-Orient Petroleum Ltd., Vancouver, BC, appointed David Bennett as executive chairman.

Bennett, a 30-year industry veteran, is a cofounder of Austral Pacific Energy Ltd., where he was chief executive officer from 1997 to 2005.

Bennett was responsible for the Douglas-1 gas-condensate discovery in the Papua New Guinea foreland and led the team that discovered Ngatoro oil field and Kupe South gas-condensate fields in New Zealand.

Bennett said research indicates that the Selandian Waipawa and Maastrichtian to Danian Whangai fractured shales on Trans-Orient's permits in the New Zealand East Coast basin are "excellent candidates for oil and gas production."