Team Bios

Amir’s experience in building a successful laboratory and consulting business (Prograding Rock Services), as well as his extensive background with Sedimentology, has allowed him to take on a joint venture with Sethi Research and Testing’s laboratory, which had been in operation for many years in Fort McMurray under the direction of Dr. Amar Sethi, providing analyses and field services on pilot plants for a number of oilsands mining operators. He supervises and manages the day-to-day operation of our combined laboratories, now Argile Analytica Inc., Calgary, AB, which includes research projects, consulting services and laboratory analyses for our clients in the O&G industry in Western Canada and beyond.

He heads business and customer development including managing client projects, and researching and developing new techniques that can help our clients to meet their various challenges in exploration, characterization, drilling and completion of hydrocarbon plays. He guides our team of highly qualified and invested professionals, in a process of continued expansion of our lab services, with a special emphasis on quality of results for our clients. Amir earned a Masters of Science degree in Sedimentology, from the Institute of Geology, University of Oslo, Norway, through his research on the diagenesis of interbedded sandstone and mudstone sequences in the North Sea.

In addition to running the lab, Amir enjoys volunteering with the Geosciences Forum of Alberta, where he organizes technical presentations and field trips, and currently acts as elected treasurer.

Dr. Sethi has been integral in the development and expansion of the laboratory services and analyses that Argile Analytica provides to its clients. In a very hands-on-manner, he has been directing, mentoring and guiding the development of the team and laboratory analyses. His innovative designs and customization of proprietary laboratory systems has improved the quality of our services.

He holds a Ph.D. in applied chemistry, in the area of surface and colloidal properties of sub-micron particles and droplets, and has over 40 years experience in the oil sands industry. Over the years, Dr. Sethi has made extensive contributions to the O&G industry, having been granted 28 patents pertaining to the petroleum industry, and authored and co-authored numerous reports and research papers in the field.Prior to developing Argile Analytica as a joint venture, Dr. Sethi was the Founder and Manager of Sethi Research & Testing Ltd., in Fort McMurray, AB, which provided analyses and field services for pilot plants for a number of oilsands mining operators.In memory of his wife Christine, Dr. Sethi created the Christine A. Sethi-Van Impe Foundation, which he administers along with his children. He donated the full proceeds of his success with Sethi Research & Testing to the Foundation, which supports registered charities that Christine believed in, such as helping disadvantaged people and children. He has again made the personal commitment of donating the proceeds of his efforts at Argile Analytica directly back to the Foundation, and we are pleased to support him in this remarkable commitment.

With extensive experience in the fields of chemistry such as analytical, catalysis, nanotechnology and fluid-surface chemistry Zohrab has effectively contributed to the success of our team at Argile Analytica. He has developed fundamentals and optimized the methodologies for analyses of minerals and fluids by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) in terms of sample preparations and instrumentation. He also develops new techniques and eventually SOPs for a variety of analyses such as surface, colloid and fluid characterizations and ensures analysis procedures are aligned with QC/QA regulations. In addition, he is leading the grant research and writing to raise additional funding to support the R&D activities at Argile Analytica Inc.

Zohrab received his Ph.D. in chemistry from University of Victoria in 2013 with a focus on catalysis discoveries by Electrospray Mass Spectrometry. He received his Master of Science degree in chemistry in 2006 working on nanochemistry and photo-catalysis. Zohrab brings three years of work experience as an R&D Chemist and Product Development Lead to Argile Analytica. He has also co-authored ten scientific papers and three patents, won three academic awards and presented at several national and international scientific conferences.

At Argile Analytica Inc. Adnan is currently involved in sample preparation and interpretation of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis. He is assisting in improving internal SOP’s for sample preparation and analytical methods for XRF analysis.

Adnan has recently received his M.Sc. degree in Geoscience from the University of Oslo, Norway, through his research on the reservoir quality and diagenesis of deeply buried sandstones in the North Sea. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sedimentology from the University of the Punjab, Pakistan. Adnan has done field work in the Ainsa Basin (Spain), Svalbard (Arctic) and the Salt Ranges (Pakistan). He has also worked as a Geophysicist (Intern) in the exploration department of Statoil ASA, where his role included interpretation of seismic and well log data, as well as prospect identification and evaluation.His hobbies include playing Badminton and Cricket.

Michael is a trained experimentalist with extensive experience developing analytical apparatuses which require a high degree of precision. He is involved in research for improving techniques in petrography at Argile Analytica. Michael helps fulfill the unique needs of clients by producing customized thin sections and problem-solving for processing challenging samples. He is also training to perform high-magnification imaging and petrographic analysis and interpretation.

Michael has received an M.Sc. degree in Geology from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia for his research on understanding core formation through the application of X-ray computed tomography on meteorites. He has also received a B.Sc. degree in Geology from the University of Calgary, Alberta.In his spare time he enjoys climbing, weight lifting, and hiking.

Vicente has recently joined the team at Argile Analytica to perform research in the area of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and Rietveld refinement, in order to identify and quantify minerals present in reservoir samples, in particular the clay mineralogy.

He has completed a Physics degree and has also earned Masters degrees in Materials Science and Engineering, both from one of the top universities in Brazil (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul). He characterized the stability of clay minerals under high pressure and temperature, which resulted in two papers being published in the Applied Clay Science Journal and a presentation at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference, in Montreal in 2012. In addition, he has more than 5 years experience working with XRD and other mineral characterization techniques.Vicente has also been involved in the preparation of samples and characterization of minerals using XRD, SEM and Raman in the Department of Mineralogy at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), in Toronto.In his free time he enjoys photography, hiking and playing soccer.

Kathy’s experience as a Petroleum Geologist in various exploration, exploitation and field development roles, for a variety of conventional and unconventional projects in the WCSB, has allowed her to successfully undertake geological projects for our clients, including using drill cuttings and core data for thin section, XRD, XRF and PSD analyses and interpretation and integrated petrographic projects. In addition to geological consulting, she also liaisons and networks with clients, having an integral role in customer, marketing strategy and materials development. For over 10 years, she has been an independent consultant in the O&G Industry, as well as having worked at Nexen, IFP Technologies (Canada), Northstar Energy/Devon Canada, the GSC in Calgary, and the University of Calgary.

She received a B.Sc. in Geology with a minor in Geophysics from the University of Calgary in 2003, and earned her Professional designation from Apega in 2008. Kathy balances her interest in new technologies, innovation and discovery in the petroleum industry, with a keen interest in other people, and the communities and environments in which we live and work. She dedicates part of her time and energy to start-up enterprises and ideas that she values, especially when they have a strong social or environmental benefit. Her permaculture farm in rural São Paulo, Brazil is an example of one such project.