Bryan Atchison

Co-Founder & Managing Director

Bryan originally graduated with Honours as a Mechanical Engineer at Aberdeen University, and holds a MEng in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University. From 1981, Bryan has been working in the oil and gas industry, predominantly in the UK and Denmark.

He is an experienced project manager in drilling, well engineering and offshore operations. His operations management has covered most technical challenges within the North Sea and Atlantic frontier.

Bryan was previously Wells Manager for Valiant Petroleum and Silverstone in the UK, and Drilling and Wells Excellence Manager of Energy Transition Institute at Robert Gordon University (RGU). He is Managing Director at Safe Influx. 

Fraser Dunphy

Production Director

Fraser graduated as an electrical and electronics engineer from Aberdeen University and has over 30 years of experience in engineering, gained at reputable companies including Michelin and Halliburton.

In 2000 Fraser founded Finesse Control Systems, a company specialising in the development of industrial automation systems and focusing on several industries such as consumer electronics, tyre manufacturing and oil and gas.

Fraser is a Chartered Electrical Engineer. He is Managing Director at Finesse Control Systems and Production Director at Safe Influx. 

Muhammad Abbas Bhatti

Well Engineer 

Bryan Atchison

Co-Founder & Managing Director

Bryan originally graduated with Honours as a Mechanical Engineer at Aberdeen University, and holds a MEng in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University. From 1981, Bryan has been working in the oil and gas industry, predominantly in the UK and Denmark. 

He is an experienced project manager in drilling, well engineering and offshore operations. His operations management has covered most technical challenges within the North Sea and Atlantic fronti

Bryan was previously Wells Manager for Valiant Petroleum and Silverstone in the UK, and Drilling and Wells Excellence Manager of Energy Transition Institute at Robert Gordon University (RGU). He is Managing Director at  Safe Influx.  

Phil Hassard

Co-Founder & Investor

Phil brings over 32 years’ experience as a senior oil and gas professional in the UK and overseas, with a proven track record of knowledge and achievement in drilling and wells operations.

Phil has spent the last 18 years in a leadership role. This has been in development and learning, utilising drilling and well control simulator. He held senior management positions at BP and KCA Deutag, where he was the founder of Drilling & Advanced Rig Training.

Phil is Drilling Simulator Manager and Professor of Drilling Technology at RGU Energy Transition Institute.

Fraser Dunphy

Production Director

Fraser graduated as an electrical and electronics engineer from Aberdeen University and has over 30 years of experience in engineering, gained at reputable companies including Michelin and Halliburton.

In 2000 Fraser founded Finesse Control Systems, a company specialising in the development of industrial automation systems and focusing on several industries such as consumer electronics, tyre manufacturing and oil and gas.

Fraser is a Chartered Electrical Engineer. He is Managing Director at Finesse Control Systems and Production Director at Safe Influx.

Richard Rose

Development Director

Richard graduated with Honours as a Civil Engineer from Bristol University, and worked in the oil and gas industry for over 38 years, 28 of which were at BP and the remainder at Talisman (now Repsol Sinopec).

Richard has extensive experience both on and offshore, predominantly in wells, and his skill set includes those gained during project management, organisational management, contract management and well decommissioning.

Richard worked on projects in the UK and internationally, in Norway, Abu Dhabi and Trinidad. He is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Muhammad Abbas Bhatti

Well Engineer

Muhammad holds a MSc in Oil and Gas Engineering with Distinction from Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, and has over 8 years of hands-on experience in the upstream oil and gas industry. 

Prior to Safe Influx, Muhammad worked on various onshore drilling projects as a Driller in HPHT regions in Pakistan, where he has developed a diverse set of skills and attributes.

Julian Jones

Investor and Shareholder

Julian Jones founded the Drilling Systems Group an oilfield business specialising in Drilling Simulation in 1988.  Julian holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Southampton University graduating in 1983 and a Masters of Petroleum Engineering from Strathclyde University graduating in Scotland in 1984.

Julian has over 35 years of experience in the oil & gas industry, of which five years were spent in Drilling Operations offshore as a Drilling Engineer.  He built up his own company Drilling Systems from a start-up in 1988, to a global oilfield service company, with operational bases in Bournemouth, Houston and Dubai. In April 2015, Julian sold Drilling Systems Group to Blue Water Energy, a private equity Group. Currently, Julian is involved in commercial property investment on the Island of Jersey and UK Property development in Sandbanks, Dorset, he is the investor and shareholder of Safe Influx.

John MacGillivray

Non-Executive Director

John is a qualified professional with over 25 years’ experience in the Energy and Technology sectors. He held most senior executive roles at Wood, Schlumberger and Stratos. More recently, John has worked at ElevatorUK, advising companies on a range of strategic matters. He brings extensive corporate expertise in many areas including Business Development, R&D, Commercial and Finance.