Executive Team

Xianhuai Zhu

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Xianhuai Zhu has more than 35 years of both oil and service company experience. He received a BS degree in geophysics from China University of Petroleum. After receiving his PhD in geosciences from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1990, he worked at Anadarko (formerly UPR) in Fort Worth for six years, PGS Houston as Manager of Reservoir Imaging for six years, Fusion Petroleum Technology as VP Seismic Imaging and a Minority Partner for four years and ConocoPhillips as Team Lead of Land Seismic and Acquisition Research for nine years. Zhu, as he is known to his friends, has been a technology champion for near-surface velocity estimation and turning-ray tomography, full-waveform inversion (FWI) and reflection tomography.  He received the Reginald Fessenden Award from SEG in 2012 for his pioneering work on turning-ray tomography and tomostatics, Life Membership Award from SEG in 2017, and Kauffman Gold Medal Award from SEG in 2022. He served as a Director-at-Large in the SEG board of directors from 2014 to 2017, and the 1st Vice President of Geophysical Society of Houston (GSH) in 2018.

Junru Jiao

Chief Technology Advisor

Junru Jiao has more than 30 years of both oil and service company experience. He received a BS degree in 1982 and MS in 1989, all in geophysics, from China University of Petroleum, and PhD in geologic sciences from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998. Junru is a recognized expert in reflection tomography and depth imaging. He worked for Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting (BGP) with various positions from 1982 to 1996, including two years as Chief Geophysicist for its Department of Research, Manager of Velocity Section for PGS from 2001 to 2011, and Advisor Research Geophysicist for Repsol from 2011 to 2015.

Grace Yan

Depth Imaging Advisor 

Grace Yan has more than 25 years of experience in oil exploration, with both oil company and service company. She received a BS degree in geophysics from China University of Petroleum in 1990 and a MS degree in geophysics from the University of Calgary in 2001. She worked at Xinjiang Petroleum Exploration Company for eight years, GXT Canada for five years, CGGVeritas as Senior Geophysicist and Team Leader for six years, and ConocoPhillips as Staff Processing Geophysicist for four years. Grace's specialties are pre-stack time and depth migration, tomographic velocity update integrating wells, horizon picking, and VVAZ/AVAZ processing.

George A. McMechan

Sr. Advisor

George A. McMechan is perhaps the most complete technical geophysicist who ever lived. He has authored over 200 SEG publications, including 89 since 1997. Many have been foundational, leading to over 600 SEG citations. More impressive than these numbers is the astonishing range of topics covered: seismic (acoustic, elastic, multicomponent, viscoelastic, and poro-elastic isotropic and anisotropic wave propagation, and the corresponding inversion, imaging and migration processes; seismic physical characterization and interpretation, with applications to reservoir and aquifer characterization, AVO, crosswell and VSP surveys; earthquake source studies, and wide-aperture analyses) to electromagnetic (2D, 2.5D and 3D ground-penetrating radar forward and inverse problems, with applications to reservoir analogs, sedimentological mapping, earthquake fault mapping, and engineering and environmental problems). Of course, this productivity is accomplished through legions of UTD students (he’s supervised over 40 PhDs and 20 master’s degrees), most of whom have gone on to productive careers in the hydrocarbon industry and some of whom have become outstanding members of the profession. McMechan received the Maurice Ewing Gold Medal in 2012 and the Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal Award in 1997, both from SEG.

Ming Zha

Sr. Advisor

Ming Zha is a professor of China University of Petroleum (UPC). He was a former Vice President of UPC from 2002 to 2017, responsible for domestic and international cooperation and development of science and technologies.  He obtained his Ph.D. in petroleum geology and exploration from the China University of Geosciences (Beijing) in 1995. Professor Zha is the Head of Excellent Innovative Team Hydrocarbon Geology and Exploration of Shandong Province, the Director of Branch Lab of Hydrocarbon Migration Mechanism of Key Laboratory of Basin Structure & Hydrocarbon Accumulation of CNPC (PetroChina). His research interests include petroleum resources assessment (methods and applications), quantitative basin analysis & simulation, petroleum migration and accumulation mechanism.  He is the members of AAPG, Petroleum Society of China and Geological Society of China, and is the Distinguished Expert who obtained the Special Allowance from the State Council. He has published more than 120 research papers and 10 books (including co-authors). He got the second-class Awards of the State Science and Technology progress and Teaching awarded by the State Council of China, and over 12 provincial awards in science & technology and Teaching. Dr. Zha is editorial advisory board members of Journal of Paleogeography, Oil & Gas Geology, China Petroleum Exploration, and Petroleum Exploration and Development. 

Allen Bertagne

Sr. Advisor

Allen Bertagne is a hands-on, fully-Kingdom-proficient, geophysicist/explorationist with more than 35 years experience gained while working in numerous basins around the world.  After receiving a B.Sc. in Geology from the Royal School of Mines at Imperial College and an M.A. in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin, he worked for Exxon and explored in the Wyoming Thrust Belt and other Rocky Mountain Basins. Next, he worked for service companies including CGG, PGS, Core Lab, and Fusion Geophysical, providing exploration and production analysis and advice to domestic and international oil companies. From 2006-2010, he was the lead Geoscientist in Shell’s Gulf of Mexico Commercial Team and was responsible for business deals with a total value of more than $500 million. In 2010, after raising the necessary drilling funds, he became Country Manager in France for a 2-year exploration campaign in the Aquitaine Basin, on behalf of an exploration JV that included a company he founded, Hexagon Natural Resources. After completing the France project, he worked in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Colombia for 18 months at Shell, before participating as a Geophysicist and Investor in a new Deepwater Gulf of Mexico $2 billion exploration startup, Venari Resources. Since January 2015, he has been a Technical Advisor to several companies, primarily providing high-end integrated interpretation using the IHS Kingdom Suite. He has also been developing plans for new E&P startup ventures. In his spare time, Allen has served on The Leading Edge Editorial Board, as First Vice President of the SEG and was named as an Honorary Member of the Geophysical Society of Houston in recognition for his contributions to the profession and the industry. Over the years, he has also presented lectures and short-courses to many students.