ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Dr. Andy Butler
A geologist by training, Andy Butler has 30 years’ experience in technical and commercial roles in the energy sector, working previously with Mitra Energy, BG Group and Hess. He founded SundaGas in 2016 and sold it into what is now Sunda Energy in 2021. Andy is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and an active member of SEAPEX, GESGB, SPE and AIEN. He has a Geology degree from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is also an Independent Director of RH Petrogas Ltd, a Singapore-listed oil and gas production company operating in east Indonesia.
Dr. Mac Beggs
Dr. Mac Beggs founded Petroleum Exploration and Prospecting Limited (PEP Ltd) in 2025 to develop opportunities in offshore New Zealand basins. Mac’s professional career began in 1982 as an exploration geologist developing prospects in the offshore Gulf of Mexico. In 1988 he returned to New Zealand joining the NZ Geological Survey petroleum and sedimentary basins team, becoming manager of the Hydrocarbons Group at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences in 1992. In 1997, he co-founded GeoSphere Ltd, undertaking consulting projects and business development activities. Mac convened the Oceans programme for the Centre for Advanced Engineering at the University of Canterbury for several years and in 2001 he served on a Ministerial Advisory Committee for Oceans Policy. He was appointed Exploration Manager for New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd in 2009, with responsibility for an extensive portfolio of projects in Taranaki and other New Zealand basins, and international business development which led to projects offshore Tunisia and in Sumatra, Indonesia. Leaving NZOG in 2016, Mac resumed consulting work and contributed to research at the University of Canterbury, as an Adjunct Professor. Besides petroleum exploration, he has experience with geothermal evaluations and geostorage, notably for hydrogen. In 2019, Mac Beggs was inducted into the New Zealand Petroleum Industry Hall of Fame.
