Michael R. Canich, P.G., C.P.G

Ammonite Resources is pleased to announce that Mike R. Canich has joined Team Ammonite as a Senior Consultant for Geoscience and Project Management.  Mike has over 39 years of experience as a distinguished geoscientist and company manager, principally in the Appalachian Basin. 

During his career Mike has held numerous leadership positions, the two most notable were as Director of Business Development for Statoil Energy, and as Director/VP of Geology for EQT (formerly Equitable Resources).  During Mike’s 4 year tenure as Director of Business Development at Statoil, his team performed due diligence on  21 asset packages resulting in the $575 MM acquisition of Blazer Energy, a subsidiary of Ashland Oil company in 1997.  After the acquisition, Statoil Energy owned 1.7 million acres of mostly HBP acreage in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He oversaw the assimilation of the Ashland acquisitions into the Statoil corporate structure, and the subsequent purchase of a high percentage of Ashland’s joint venture partner’s working interests and overriding royalties. As Director/VP of Geology for EQT, Mike increased the drilling program size from just over 200 wells a year in 2000 to over 650 wells in 2008, with a 950 well program planned for 2009.   The increase was due to Mike’s institution of team building and operational process awareness in each of the three asset teams in the company.  Each geologist, engineer, landman, drilling engineer, production engineer, and administrative support person was made aware of their importance in the overall drilling process which extended from project inception to the sales meter. He also directed Equitable’s first 3D seismic program in the Appalachians. Mike Canich was responsible for drilling over 5000 wells during his 39 year career. Over 100 of these wells were drilled horizontally in the Huron and Marcellus shales in Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania when Mike worked at EQT.   Mike was instrumental in the drilling of EQT’s first Utica Shale well in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Based on the strong geologic foundation created by Mike during his tenure, EQT has become one of the premier Marcellus shale operators in the Appalachian basin. 

In 2009 Canich joined Sylvan Energy as Chief Operating Officer, and was Sylvan’s President from 2010-2013. The company was active in the Gulf Coast and Michigan basins. From 2013-2015, Mike was President and COO of Trimont Energy where he managed operations of Trimont and Grandview Drilling LLC in the Appalachian Basin.  He became an independent consultant in 2016.

 Mike Canich holds a BS in electrical Engineering and a MS in Geology from Penn State University. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and has been very active in the AAPG Division of Professional Affairs (DPA) serving in all of the Executive Committee positions including President. He currently serves as the Chairman of the board of certification for DPA.  Mike was also co-founder and three times President of the Pittsburgh Association of Petroleum Geologists. He is currently involved with Penn State University professors in bringing geologists, geophysicists and engineers, who are working carbonate and shale plays in the subsurface of the Appalachian Basin, to the numerous outcrops in Central Pennsylvania.  Discussions occur at each outcrop regarding similarities and differences in stratigraphic, structural and geophysical aspects that can be expected between the outcrop and the subsurface.  The objective of the field trips is to provide the geologist, geophysicist and engineer with a different perspective of the rocks they are encountering in their exploration and development programs.  From a less academic perspective, these trips to the outcrops are also of interest to investors in the unconventional plays.

Mike holds Pennsylvania Professional Geologist License # PG 001287G and AAPG Division of Professional Affairs, Certified Petroleum Geologist Certificate #4177.  He resides in State College, Pennsylvania.

Ammonite Managing Partner Skip Hobbs said that “Ammonite is excited to have Mike Canich join our consulting group. In addition to being a very experienced geoscientist, Mike is also a manager who has supervised very large exploration and development drilling programs. This is a valuable addition to our consulting expertise.”