Justin Balkenbush
COO
Justin serves as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer and oversees all reserve evaluations, asset operations, and well development. Justin has over 20 years of petroleum engineering experience in multiple plays across North America, including drilling, completions, production management, reservoir engineering and transactions/business development.
Prior to forming Iron Oil, Justin was Senior VP of Operations for Mountainview Energy, a Williston Basin operator from 2013-2015, a Senior Engineer for SM Energy in the Williston Basin from 2005-2012, an Operations Engineer for Occidental Petroleum in their Elk Hills field from 2003-2005 and a Workover Engineer for Arco-Alaska/BP in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and Gulf of Mexico from 1997-2003.
Justin has been a registered professional engineer since 2001 and holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and a M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech in Butte, Montana
Mitch Thompson
CFO
Mitch serves as a director and the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Thompson oversees corporate governance, financial reporting, finance and risk strategy, acquisition due diligence and regulatory/credit compliance.
Prior to forming Iron Oil, Mitch served as the Chief Accounting Officer/Chief Compliance Officer of Emerald Oil, Inc. from 2012 to 2016 and the Chief Financial Officer of Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. from 2010 to 2012.
Prior to entering the energy sector, Mitch was an Assurance Manager with the public accounting firm Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. in Billings, Montana from 2008 – 2009 and began his career with the public accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Brisbane, Australia from 2004 – 2008. Mitch has been a licensed CPA since 2006 and holds a B.S. and Master’s in Accounting from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.
J.R. Reger
CEO
J.R. serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, overseeing all business development and land-related functions. J.R. has over 20 years of experience leasing and developing oil and natural gas assets in the Williston Basin, Powder River Basin, DJ Basin and South Texas.
Born and raised in Billings, Montana, he is the fourth generation in a family of oil and gas explorers and developers dating back more than 70 years.
Prior to forming Iron Oil, J.R. was the Executive Chairman of Emerald Oil, Inc., an operator in the Williston Basin, from 2012-2015 and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc., a non-operating E&P company from 2010-2012. J.R. was also the President of South Fork Exploration, a mineral leasing company in Billings, MT with extensive interests in Montana and North Dakota. J.R. holds a B.B.A in Finance from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.