C?hristopher A. Ryan’s attraction to geology and an international career helped form an interest in searching for minerals that would move him into the oil and gas business.
Ryan grew up in Virginia, graduating from Virginia Tech in 1995 with a bachelor’s in geochemisty. He then attended Oregon State University, doing graduate work in economic geology. He left school before completing his master’s degree, going to work for a gold-mining company in Alaska in 1997.
After spending five years there, the mine was shut down for a five-year environmental study and for construction of infrastructure. Ryan joined his brother-in-law in forming a consulting group in Brainerd, Minnesota, where he worked as a mud-logger.
After some 18 months at this, Ryan met Admiral Bay Resources Inc. president and chief executive Steven Tedesco while doing field work for the coalbed-methane-focused E&P company in Kansas. Tedesco was impressed with Ryan’s work and credentials and plucked him up. He joined Denver-based Admiral Bay in 2006 as manager of business development.
The Colorado environment and the work at Admiral Bay were appealing to Ryan, and he turned down job offers from a few other companies because he didn’t want to leave his new home. At press time, he had just received his MBA in the executive program at the University of Colorado.
Ryan took a few moments to speak with Oil and Gas Investor about Admiral Bay’s projects, mentors and the finer points of brewing your own beer.
Investor What attracted you to the energy industry?
Ryan Originally I was attracted to geology, like petroleum, mining, geology. I liked the exotic aspect of it, the traveling. I spent time in Alaska, and when I was in graduate school I went to South America. So I got into oil and gas for the international aspect of it.
Investor How were you approached to join Admiral Bay?
Ryan When I was working with the mud-logging company, they had some jobs in the Forest City Basin in northeastern Kansas, and I met Steve Tedesco. He basically hired me on location. He came out to the well site, and we had done about four or five wells on his properties. I guess he liked me and the work I did.
Investor What were the first few years like?
Ryan The first couple of years when I was working for Steve, before Admiral Bay was really going, I did some similar work. We had some larger clients like Whiting and Berry Petroleum. It was really active in the Forest City and Cherokee basins.
Investor Tell me about your GasRock funding
Ryan They really helped us out at just the right time. We had some funding from another group. We didn’t like the terms and how things were going, so GasRock came in just at the right time for us. It’s mezzanine funding, so it’s not exactly cheap, but it’s pretty much what we needed. We’ve been working very closely with them and they’ve been very helpful.
We put together a Phase 1 for our Mound Valley project in Kansas, where we then tripled production. So they agreed to go forward with funding for the second phase and that’s going to really ramp up the operations in our Pennsylvania project.
Investor Who has had the biggest influence on you?
Ryan I would say my grandfather. He was around when I was younger, and while he passed away when I was younger, he was a very good influence on me.
Professionally, I would definitely have to say both Steve and Robert Carington, our CFO. They force me to be very detail-oriented and tenacious. Success in the coalbed-methane business is very thin, on the margins, and you really have to focus on the details. They’ve forced me to learn how to multi-task a lot.
Investor What do you like best about your job?
Ryan It’s still a very small company, so I really get to see and be involved in every aspect of putting a project in a play together. I get to cross all the boundaries, and I learned a lot I wasn’t necessarily trained for. If I was in a larger company, I wouldn’t get the aspect of being involved in every part of the business and getting the cross-training that I get here.
Investor How do you see the M&A marketplace in 2008?
Ryan It depends on what side of the table you’re on. It’s going to be little more difficult with gas prices going up if you’re trying to acquire other assets. We’re not looking to get picked up, so that’s good for us. The good thing about our Cherokee Basin is there are four or five large players, but there’s also small-time mom-and-pop business. For us, it’s not really going to be as bad as it is for a hot location.
Investor What are some of your interests?
Ryan I like traveling. I have some friends and family that live in Ireland. Some of my hobbies are skiing, gardening and home brewing.
Investor How long have you been home brewing beer?
Ryan About eight years. I don’t have my own recipe perfected; I like to make little batches of different recipes, have some variety. I definitely like Porter’s. I like IPAs. I like hoppies, a kind of bitter, dark beer. I would like to have my own brewery at some point.
Investor Where do you see yourself in five years?
Ryan I have my MBA now, so I might be more open to joining a larger firm, but I like where I’m at.

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