Edward W. Blessing is the Managing Director of Blessing Petroleum Group, LLC, which was founded in 1989 to serve as a financial advisor to the energy industry. Mr. Blessing offers more than 30 years of experience in the global oil and gas industry. He primarily serves as an advisor to firms that are seeking to develop petroleum projects. Mr. Blessing has helped develop and finance projects in Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and across North America.

In addition to advising clients, Mr. Blessing currently serves as a Director of NGP Capital Resources Company (NGPC). He is Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. NGPC completed an approximately $260 million IPO in the fall of 2004. During the offering period, Mr. Blessing was a member of the Pricing Committee.

Prior to forming Blessing Petroleum Group, LLC, Mr. Blessing led the formation of Dallas-based Strategic Petroleum Inc., where he served as a Director and Chief Executive Officer. During the 1980s, Mr. Blessing managed Blessing Petroleum Corporation, an independent oil and gas firm located in Oklahoma City. He served as Executive Vice President and Director of Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Oil and Gas Company from 1978 to 1980. During the early '70s, Mr. Blessing served in various capacities within the natural resource venture capital industry. This included serving as Associate Managing Director for a privately held Swiss holding company which invested in publicly traded oil and gas and hard rock mining ventures. Prior to that time, Mr. Blessing served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc. in the company's New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices.

Currently, Mr. Blessing serves in a number of leadership positions within the energy industry. Mr. Blessing was recently re-elected to the Board of Directors of BIPAC (Business-Industry Political Action Committee). Additionally, he was asked to be Chair of the finance committee for the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, where he also serves as a Director. Mr. Blessing was recently selected as a Statutory Director of the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Inc. (NACD) where Mr. Blessing currently serves on the Governance and Nominating Committee. Mr. Blessing is among those who recently formed the Foundation of Energy Education of which he is a Director and a member of the Executive Committee.

In the past, Mr. Blessing served four years as Governor of IPAA's North Central Texas Region and as a Director of the Wildcatter's Fund, the Political Action Committee (PAC) for the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA.) He also co-chaired IPAA's Prosperity Project, a non-partisan issue-oriented political action program and has served as a Director of the Dallas Petroleum Club.

Mr. Blessing was elected as a Board Member for the Dallas Summer Musicals in November 2006 and maintains active memberships in the Dallas Petroleum Club, the Calgary Petroleum Club, and the Petroleum Club of Houston. Additionally, he is a member of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), the Dallas Wildcat Committee, the Dallas Energy Finance Discussion Group, ADAM (Acquisition, Divestitures, and Mergers) Energy Forum, the Harvard Business School Club of Dallas, and the Wildcatters of Houston. On a recreational level, Mr. Blessing belongs to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club.