The Board consists of five members who are appointed for fixed terms of office. The Chair is jointly appointed by both the Government of Canada and the Government of Nova Scotia. Each government appoints two Board members, and each government may also appoint one alternate member. The Chief Executive Officer reports to the Board and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Board and a staff of thirty-eight professional and support personnel.
Click here to review the CNSOPB Board Governance Charter
Board Member (Provincial) Acting Chairperson
Keith Evans is a practicing member of the Law Society of Alberta and non-practicing member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society. He resides in Edmonton, Alberta, where he is Vice President, Legal & Corporate Secretary for Lilydale Inc., (a Sofina Foods Inc. subsidiary), one of Canada's leading chicken and turkey processors. Until the end of 2006, he served as the General Counsel for Scomi Group Berhad, a Malaysian public company, and the KMC Oiltools Bermuda Limited group of companies, which are owned by Scomi. That group was involved in drilling fluid and waste management activities in the oil and gas sector worldwide. With this experience, Keith has been involved in many aspects of the oil and gas industry for over 15 years. He holds an LL.B. Degree from Dalhousie University and an LL.M from the University of Sydney, Australia. He originally started his legal practice in Halifax with what was then Cox, Downie, Nunn & Goodfellow, and also worked with Baker & McKenzie, the world's leading global law firm, in their Singapore Office. He has served on the full-time faculty at the Law Schools at the National University of Singapore and Dalhousie University. From 2002-06, he also served as President of the Nova Scotia Law Reform Commission.
Board Member (Provincial)
Tim Brownlow is a government relations and business development executive with over thirty years of experience in the offshore oil and gas sector. He is currently Director of Government Affairs and Business Development with Irving Shipbuilding Inc., and recently worked with Kiewit Energy Canada Corporation as Business Development Manager in Calgary, Alberta. He began his offshore career in the oil and natural gas industry in 1978 working for the following companies: ODECO Drilling, Magcobar, and Rowan Companies Inc., both domestically and internationally. He then joined the Nova Scotia Government in 1990, holding positions as Petroleum Operations Officer, Director of Benefits & Training and Chief Advisor for the Department of Natural Resources and the Offshore Energy Office. During Tim’s offshore and government days he was fortunate to have been directly involved from the discovery phase through to the production phase for both the Sable Offshore Energy Project and the Cohasset-Panuke project. He has served on numerous boards and committees, including: the Premier’s Energy Advisory Council, Chairman of the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Energy Roundtable, seconded to the Grampian Regional Council (Aberdeen, Scotland), Associate Member for the World Energy Cities Council, and former Co-Chair for the Federal/Provincial Regulatory Review Committee.
Alternate Board Member (Federal)
Doug Gregory's career with Shell Canada and Royal Dutch Shell spanned over three decades. He began as an exploration geophysicist in Canada and would later work with Petroleum Development Oman, a joint venture company working in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. After returning to Calgary and focusing on exploration in Western Canada, he went on to hold various management positions including: Exploration Research Manager at Shell Canada's Calgary Research Centre, Manager Geophysical Operations, and Manager, Safety and Environment providing technical support to Shell Canada's Upstream Operations. In 1999, Doug moved to Halifax to open Shell Canada's exploration office, focusing on deepwater seismic exploration over Nova Scotian slope (deep water) acreage. He retired as East Coast Manager in 2003. He has been active in various organizations including: Co-chair, Petroleum Fisheries Liaison Group - Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) 2001-2003; Chair, Atlantic Canada Committee - CAPP 2001-2003; Director, Greater Halifax Partnership representing the Energy sector (2002-2004); and, President, Rotary Club of Halifax Northwest (2007-2008). He holds a M.Sc. in Microwave Physics (1970) from the University of Waterloo, Ontario and a B.Sc. Math & Physics (1969) from Sir George Williams University, Montreal. Doug resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Board member (Federal)
Brian graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1982. He began his working career in Store Management with Lawton's Drugs. He started work in the Offshore in 1984 working for Rowan Companies. Initially he worked in Offshore Nova Scotia and spent a year with Rowan in the Gulf of Mexico. The final 3 years working with Rowan were on the Panuke Cohasset Project. He was Co-Chair of the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee during his final years in the Offshore. In 1993 he started working for CFM a division of J D Irving in Dartmouth and was involved in supplying industrial products and services to all industries including the Offshore. Products and services included hydraulic services and products, rigging gear and services including Water Weight crane testing, crane cables, industrial hose and many other related products and services. In 1998 CFM was awarded the hose supply contract for the Sable Offshore Project and maintained this Contract without incident for 8 years. Having worked in the Offshore Brian has an understanding of the types of products and services needed to ensure that reliability and safety are never compromised. In 2008 he went to work on a Contract as a Production Supervisor for Halifax Shipyards. He spent 20 months working at the Woodside Yard in Dartmouth on the Offshore Support Vessel Chemul refit. He is now working for The Guildfords Group of Companies as their Manager in Central Nova Scotia. Brian resides in Stellarton with his wife Christine and their 2 sons John and Tyler. He has always been active as a volunteer with minor hockey and baseball and served 5 years on the G. R. Saunders School Advisory Council. He was appointed by the Federal Government to the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board in June 2010.
Board member (Federal)
Rodney was sworn in as Premier of Nova Scotia from February 2006 to June 2009. During this time he put in place two major agreements for Nova Scotia's Offshore: The Crown Share -An 870 million agreement between the Government of Canada and Nova Scotia setting a decades long dispute; and the Deep Panuke Agreement- Nova Scotia's second major project for Nova Scotia's Offshore. Rodney was first elected to Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the constituency of Inverness in July 1999, re-elected in 2003, 2006, and 2009. Portfolios held include: President of Executive Council; Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs; Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Heritage; Minister of Health Promotion; Minister of Immigration and Minister responsible for Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, Youth Secretariat, Heritage Property Act. Rodney received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Saint Francis Xavier University in 1994. He was employed by the Strait Regional School Board 1994-1999. In his spare time Rodney is a musician (Violinist/Dancer) and is a two time East Coast Music Award Nominee. Presently Rodney is President and Owner of RMD Development Incorporated - a Consulting and Business Development Company.
Alternate Board Member (Provincial)
Paul Taylor recently retired from the Government of Nova Scotia after a 27 year career. A native of Nova Scotia, he spent several years as an exploration geologist in Western Canada before returning to join the Province in 1982. He held positions as Senior Policy Analyst with the Priorities and Planning Secretariat, Director of Energy Transportation and Utilization with the N.S. Petroleum Directorate and Executive Director of Policy with the Department of Energy, during which time he was responsible for development of the Province’s new Energy Strategy. His last five years with the Province were spent as Deputy Minister of Economic Development. He has served in various capacities on the Boards of Nova Scotia Business Inc, InNOVAcorp, and the Greater Halifax Partnership, Chair of Deputy Ministers Forum on Sustainable Prosperity and Vice Commodore of the Armdale Yacht Club. He holds an Honours Degree in Geology from Dalhousie University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of British Columbia. Paul resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
January 27, 2012
CNSOPB Issues Revised Guidelines on the Issuance of Exploration Licences and is re-instituting its practice of considering nominations received.
January 20, 2012
Offshore Board Announces Results of Call For Bids NS11-1
January 10, 2012
Call for Bids NS11-1 is now closed
