Contributors

Contributor	Bio
Kevin Waguespack	Kevin Waguespack is the CEO of Baker & O’Brien, an independent energy consultancy providing advisory and expert witness services to the oil, gas, chemical, and related industries. He has over 30 years of operations and consulting experience in the hydrocarbon processing industries. Kevin has provided industry-advisory services on diverse matters and served as an expert witness on complex commercial disputes involving technical factors and quantification of economic loss.
John Abeln
Kent Bayazitoglu	Kent holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He offers 22 years of experience in the refining and natural gas industries, including extensive expertise in financial modeling, energy trading, and hedging activities. Kent joins us from Gelber & Associates in Houston, where he was Director of Market Analytics and a Market Advisor in natural gas and other commodities. Kent has also worked extensively with Cascade Natural Gas, a natural gas distribution company headquartered in Kennewick, Washington, along with other utility companies across the U.S. Kent started his career with ExxonMobil Corporation as a Project Manager at the Baytown refinery. Kent has served as an expert witness in legal disputes involving bankruptcies, complex trading books, and pricing disagreements. These disputes have concerned a variety of fuels, including natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products, and coal.
Tim Belden	Tim was drawn to the energy industry because it presented interesting environmental policy challenges. In the early 1990’s he worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he authored numerous papers analyzing state and federal electricity policies. His energy education continued at UC Berkeley where he earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy while studying Microeconomics, Statistics, Futures and Options Markets, and Analytic Methods for Energy and Resources. An early pioneer in electricity trading, he held positions at The Williams Companies, Portland General Electric, Enron, and UBS. Tim served in several capacities – trading his own profitable book, building and managing successful trading teams, designing and implementing risk management systems, and innovating in renewable and retail electricity markets. Tim also has experience as an energy developer -- as a member of a small, alternative fuels development team he wore many hats. These included transaction structuring, interfacing with private equity and investment banks, negotiating supply and off-take agreements, and other aspects of the development process. Originally from Upstate New York, Tim and his family have enjoyed sunny Portland, Oregon since 1996.
Porter Bennett	Porter Bennett is CEO and Founder, Ponderosa Advisors and Ponderosa Energy, based in Denver, Colorado. Prior to Ponderosa, Mr. Bennett was the CEO of BENTEK Energy, which he founded in 1985 and sold to Platts/McGraw-Hill in 2011. Mr. Bennett is a Vice President of Western Energy Alliance and Chairman of its Natural Gas Committee, an Observer with the Potential Gas Committee, participated on the Coordinating Subcommittee of the recent National Petroleum Council natural gas study and is a member of the International Gas Union Strategy Committee. He holds a MS Degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines, a MA Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a BA Degree in History from Lewis & Clark College.
Andrew Bradford	Andrew is a Principal at BTU Analytics, LLC and has worked in the energy and technology industries for over 16 years. Prior to BTU Analytics, he was the Senior Commercial Director of North American Natural Gas at Platts and led Bentek Energy’s natural gas analytics team from 2012 to 2014. Andrew’s past experience includes positions at Amoco Production Company and Constellation Energy. He holds a Masters in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University and a Bachelors in Geology from Colorado College. BTU Analytics provides data-driven, market-risk assessments, market strategy advisory services and due diligence analysis for asset acquisitions and divestitures in the North American oil, NGL, and natural gas market. They utilize their in-depth understanding of North American energy data to help clients determine the opportunities and risks of upstream, midstream, and downstream assets and strategies in the face of ever-evolving market conditions.
Susan Brothers	Susan Brothers began her career in the energy industry in 1979 in Houston. After positions at several trading companies in the early '80s, she spent five years learning the propane business at Ferrellgas, and in 1990 moved to Phibro Energy. She spent the next 30 years in refinery supply and trading, retiring from Valero in 2020 as Executive Director of NGL and Propylene Trading.
Cheryl Chia	Cheryl is an Oil Market Analyst with FGE and she covers China and other North Asian markets. Cheryl graduated from Nanyang Technology University with a Bachelor in Accountancy and Business (Banking and Finance). Prior to joining FGE, she was a Corporate Tax Planning and Compliance Associate with KPMG Services Pte. Ltd.
Kyle Cooper	Mr. Cooper currently serves as Managing Director of Research for Cypress Energy, LP, an energy trading commodity fund in Houston, TX. Beginning in March 2006 and continuing through today, Mr. Cooper also performs duties as Director of Research at IAF Advisors, an energy consulting services firm where he conducts fundamental supply/demand analysis of the natural gas and petroleum markets.
Ryan Couture	Ryan joined Turner Mason & Company in September 2013 and has since become a contributor to multi-client publications and forecasts, including Outlook and Turning Point publications. Ryan joined the firm after over 5 years of experience with ExxonMobil, where he held a variety of positions in the downstream in Fairfax, VA, Baytown, TX and Billings, MT. He is experienced in process engineering, wastewater treating, catalyst selection and project/turnaround support. He graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BS in Chemical Engineering (2008).
Spencer Dale	Spencer Dale joined BP as group chief economist in October 2014. Prior to that, he was executive director for financial stability at the Bank of England and a member of the Financial Policy Committee. Between 2008 and 2014, Spencer was chief economist of the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. Spencer joined the Bank of England in 1989 and served in numerous roles, including private secretary to Mervyn King and head of economic forecasting. Spencer served as a senior advisor at the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors between 2006 and 2008.
Celine DeMoes	Celine DeMoes is an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University and is pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health. She will continue her education by obtaining a Masters in Financial Management after graduation. Celine joined the RBN Energy team as a Market Analyst intern in the summer of 2021. She is a part of Group XIII in the Trading, Risk & Investments Program in the Mays Business School.
Tim Deutsch	Tim Deutsch is a Consultant with Baker & O’Brien, Inc. (www.bakerobrien.com), an oil and gas consultancy specializing in market advisory as well as expert support for complex commercial disputes. Tim is experienced in refinery engineering, operations, economics, and planning with prior positions at Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Andeavor, and Flint Hills Resources. Tim holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. He can be reached by email at tim.deutsch@bakerobrien.com.
Elizabeth Dicken	Liz Dicken is a graduate student pursuing her Masters of Financial Management at Texas A&M University. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with her BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University in May of 2020. Liz worked as a strategic analysis intern at ARM Energy in the summer of 2020. She is a member of Class XI of Mays Business School’s TRIP (Trading, Risk & Investments Program).
Jared Dowdy	Jared Dowdy is an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University and is pursuing his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance. He will continue his education by obtaining a Masters in Financial Management after graduation. Jared joined the RBN Energy team as a Market Analyst intern in the summer of 2020. He is a part of Group XI in the Trading, Risk & Investments Program in the Mays Business School.
Bassam Fattouh	Dr. Bassam Fattouh is the Director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He specializes in international oil pricing systems, OPEC pricing power, security of Middle Eastern oil supplies, and the dynamics of oil prices and oil price differentials. Bassam has published a variety of articles on oil and gas topics and his publications have appeared in academic and professional journals. He also acts as an adviser to governments and industry, and is a regular speaker at international conferences.
Patrick Ferguson
Dean Ferguson	Dean Ferguson is the principal at Ferguson Energy Consulting. He spent 27 years at TC Energy with senior leadership roles in power generation and natural gas pipelines. His natural gas experience spans Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, providing unique insight into the relationships between the markets in all three countries.
Jason Ferguson	Jason Ferguson is a fundamental energy analyst, trading strategist and developer of energy market models. He was previously Director - Natural Gas Analysis for Koch Energy Services, Senior Natural Gas Analyst with Shell, and NYMEX Analyst with Goldfinch Capital. He started his career as a chemical engineer with ExxonMobil. Jason holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and an MBA from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.
Fereidun Fesharaki	Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki is founder and chairman of FGE, a leading consulting group focusing on the oil and gas markets East of the Suez, Europe, and the United States, with offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Dubai, Honolulu, California, Melbourne, and Mumbai. Born in Iran, he received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Surrey in England. He then completed a Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies. In 1995, Dr. Fesharaki was elected a Senior Fellow of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics for distinguished services in the field of energy economics. In 2002, he was appointed a Senior Associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. In 2008, Dr. Fesharaki was appointed to the National Petroleum Council by then US Secretary of Energy and was re-appointed by US Secretary of Energy Moniz in 2014. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) Board of Directors. Dr. Fesharaki is the author of more than 100 papers and has authored or edited over thirty books and monographs.