139 W. 2nd Street
Suite 200
Casper, WY 82601
(307) 265-7252
John Wold, Chairman and CEO
John Wold is the first professional geologist ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. As the "member from Wyoming", Congressman Wold served on the House Interior Committee and was the original author and sponsor of the "National Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970". It extols the need for a strong, domestic, free-enterprise mineral industry to strengthen national security.
The American Heritage Foundation of the University of Wyoming in 1999 elected Mr. Wold as Wyoming's "Oil/Gas and Mineral Man of the 20th Century", a singular honor for which the career appraisals included all mineral personnel at every industry level.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Union College and St. Andrew's University Scotland, an M. S. in geology from Cornell University, an LLD (hon.) 1991, University of Wyoming; and a DSci. (hon) 2008, Union College. His oilfield career started in 1939 as a geologist with Socony Vacuum's Magnolia Petroleum Company in Oklahoma and Texas. He was an early 1941 World War II volunteer officer with the Navy Bureau of Ordnance, later serving as Gunnery and Executive Officer of a destroyer escort in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters. In 1946, he returned to the oilfields with Barnsdall Oil Company's gulf coast operations, moved to Wyoming as Rocky Mountain Division Geologist and became an independent oil and gas producer in 1950. Wold Oil and Gas has been a significant exploration and production operation in the Rocky Mountains for over 50 years. It is now headed by his sons, Peter and Jack, with continuing operations in the Rocky Mountain states as well as exploration activities in Southeast Asia.
In the early 1970's, John added joint venture coal exploration and acquisition programs, on a nationwide basis with Peabody and Consolidation Coal Companies. He introduced Exxon, Mobil, Sun, Mapco and other major players to the coal resources of the Rocky Mountains.
In 1973, he founded Wold Nuclear Company and with Page T. Jenkins was co-discoverer of Wyoming's Christensen Ranch major uranium ore body. He was a principal in the Highland Uranium Mine, which became the largest uranium solutions in the world.
John is currently chairman and CEO of GasTech, Inc., of Casper, Wyoming, associated with British Petroleum Co., proving up deep underground coal energy extraction technology to achieve U.S. "energy independence". He has headed Wold Trona Company which developed soda ash technologies at Hazen Research and Colorado School of Mines Research Institute of Golden, Colorado. These processes have the potential of revolutionizing Green River operations which produce one third of the world's soda ash. John is also the chairman and CEO of American Talc Company at Van Horn, Texas, which operates what is considered to be the largest, most efficient talc mine in North America.
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