Board of Directors

USA Energy LNG’s Board of Directors and Executive Management Team offer years of expertise in:

LNG business development
natural gas transportation
processing, storage and marketing

marine transportation
pipeline and processing facility construction
finance, management and operations

Paul A. Bragg

Chairman

An oilfield services executive with a career spanning nearly 40 years in the international contract drilling industry, both offshore and onshore. Until March 2016, Paul was Chairman of the Board and CEO of Vantage Drilling, which he co-founded in late 2006. Paul was with Pride International from 1993-2005, serving primarily as its CEO. Paul led the company’s transformation into one of the world’s largest drilling contractors, with operations in approximately 40 countries. Pride became a Fortune 1000 company under Paul’s leadership.

Steve Trauber

Steve retired from Citi as the Vice Chairman and Global Co-Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition where he led the at New York-based Citigroup to reduce carbon emissions. He has helped assemble hundreds of oil and natural-gas deals over the years, including Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s purchase of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for $37 billion in 2019. Steve’s previous experience includes UBS after earlier stints at Morgan Stanley and a predecessor firm of Credit Suisse Group AG. Steve double-majored in economics and management at Rice University. Steve also earned his MBA Business from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.

Don Hill

A 40-year LNG executive with extensive background and experience in the LNG and gas processing industries, including all phases of plant design, engineering, start-up, and testing.. Presently Don is the Principal and Owner of DKH LNG Consultants. Don served as the Global Vice President & LNG Product Line for McDermott. Prior to that he served as CB&I’s Senior Vice President, Strategy & Initiatives, and Don worked nearly 30 years at KBR involved in practically all of their LNG projects. As KBR’s Director of LNG, GTL, & Gas Processing Technology, he led the technology team responsible for the application and development of LNG and Gas Processing technologies. In his various roles he has lived and worked in the Middle East, Japan, Australia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, Peru, and the USA. Don has a Bachelor's and a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and holds three patents for cryogenic processes.

Steinar Thomassen

25 years in LNG, Industrial Shipping and International Drilling experience. Steinar served in Executive management roles with Mobil, Statoil [Equinor], Navion ASA and was a Board Member of Vantage Drilling International as Chairman of the Audit committee and Lead Director. He is an LNG Industry Consultant specializing in large scale LNG shipping projects.

Hugh R. James

40 years working both within and beyond North America. Hugh has taken organizations from startup to multi-billion-dollar enterprises including Pakistan’s largest foreign investment and Korea’s first LNG project. Experience includes development and financing of pipeline, oil & gas, power generation, production and export infrastructure. Hugh’s track record has involved complex political, regulatory, and economic environments both domestic and international. He has structured projects and restructured companies including LPG/LNG operations in Japan, Korea, North America, and Australasia. He is Managing Director of PCG Inc., an industry consulting firm providing executive, business and strategy expertise.