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Susan Morrice

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Susan Morrice (born 1952) is a geologist, explorer, and entrepreneur located in Denver. She is a long time promoter of the Educo Cult.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] She received a MoD degree in geology from Trinity College Dublin.[12] She is the first woman/person to have found oil in commercial quantities in Belize and is one of the founding members of BNE (Belize Natural Energy).[1] Later on she started XJet Worldwide.[2]

Early life

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She was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland and is the elder sister of Jane Morrice.[13] She currently resides in Denver and has two daughters, Hannah and Clare. Her interest in geology stems from her childhood memories. "My attraction to geology was nature. As a young girl in Ireland, dashing about the rocks, playing in the waves... I was just fascinated."[14] As a child, she visited popular geological sites with her family, which made her develop a passion for rocks and soils. She later decided to pursue a career in Geology when she learned it was a profession. She recalls thinking, “I’m going to do that”.[1] During her post secondary education, the movement of tectonic plates was an emerging study. She later learned how the Geology industry works when she started traveling around the world for an American-Canadian stratigraphic. By discovering the world and the industry, she developed a strong interest in mapping and the geological aspects of new areas like farmlands.[1]

Education

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Susan attended grammar school at Ashleigh School, which is now called Hunterhouse College.[15] She was one of four women during her first year who studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College in Dublin, and later specialized in geology.[15] Susan graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts (honors) in Natural Science/Geology.[15] During her time of education, continental drift was becoming a more accepted theory. The geological world was evolving and changing due to new concepts coming to life and becoming more relevant. Susan pointed out, “geology was really evolving."[4] Unfortunately, Susan had failed her first year of college. Through a recommendation and push from her Geology professor, she was given the chance to redo her first year. Due to financial burden of post- secondary she got a job at Captain Americas (restaurant) while redoing her first year.[15] Through experience from Captain Americas, Susan attributes that success comes from hard work.[15]

Career

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After graduating from Trinity College, Morrice began working for American-Canadian Stratigraphic[1] where she was given the opportunity to travel the world surveying and networking with other geologists in the industry. When talking about this time of her life, she recalls how “the concept of plate tectonics was just taking hold, [geology] is a science where you can keep asking questions, and I loved being a part of the process”. She joined Knight Royalty[16] as a frontier geologist. This job included mapping and more community-based interactions. In 1982, she left Knight Royalty and started her own company, S. Morrice and Associates, LLC. In the early 1990s, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) asked her and Roger Slatt to head the international convention of the AAPG.[16] This led to the birth of the International Pavilion which gives a platform for oil companies to access new contracts in different countries. She founded Belize Natural Energy (BNE) with Mike Usher in 1991 and located their first oil well in a sandstone reservoir. In the mid-2000s she started another company, XJet Worldwide. She is currently the chairwoman of BNE and CHx Capital, a private investment firm.[15]

Belize Natural Energy (BNE)

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As a young geologist, Morrice was invited to go to Belize to look into the oil potential. Although she was seeking for new job opportunities, she enjoyed working with everyone in Belize and knew there was a good chance in finding oil in Belize. She and a Belizean man, Mike Usher,[16] explored for many years shooting seismic and by drilling but were unsuccessful. Morrice spent four years researching and found a seminar presented by Tony Quinn that she felt could help her learn more. She attended a 12-day Educo Seminar in 2002. Immediately after that, she went to Belize to set up BNE. Soon after trying to start this in Belize, she realized that it was a difficult sell as there were 50 dry holes. Together, Usher and Morrice went to Ireland to talk to others who took the Educo course and were willing to help in Belize. After receiving funding, for the drilling, from Irish investors, Usher abruptly became ill and passed away in June 2004.[5] They only had enough income for two wells, and in 2005 the first well was a success and was named it "Mike Usher #1". After the success of the first well, they drilled five more wells which were all successful and carried on to build BNE. Since starting the company, BNE has drilled more than 62 wells, producing over 10 million barrels of oil.[5]

International Natural Energy (INE) was created to hold shares in BNE.[17] International Natural Energy was founded by Shelia McCaffrey, Paul Marriott, Jean Cornec, Mike Usher and Morrice.[18] Usher died a year before oil was struck in Belize.[19] Morrice was named as defendant with 3 cases brought by 3 of the remaining living co-founders of INE.

In January 2011 Tony Quinn was ordered by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court to purchase Marriott's shares in INE and found in breach of his fiduciary duties to INE in a case against Quinn, Morrice and INE. Quinn was ordered to pay costs for the action. Marriott expressed a hope INE would dissociate with Quinn and recover damages by him against shareholders.[20][21]

In January 2012 Quinn was compelled by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy of the Irish High Court to give video evidence in a case in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado brought by Cornec who claimed to not be paid fully the amount of $15 million for the sale of shares in INE to Morrice. Morrice counterclaimed that Cornec broke his contract with a campaign of disparagement against Quinn resulting in the loss of a $100 million investment from Dubai.[22][23][24]

In July 2012 Mr Justice Gerard Hogan ordered Sunday World journalist Nicola Tallant and Dialogue Ireland director Mike Garde to appear in United States District Court for the District of Colorado to give evidence in the case and adjourned for a month to allow them to apply the orders to be set aside. The court heard how both were "party to communications relevant to the Colorado proceedings." It was claimed Tallant could be urged to reveal the sources for her stories.[25][26]

Later in September 2012 the Irish High Court ruled that Nicola Tallant and Mike Garde did not have to give evidence. Mr Justice Gerard Hogan set aside orders saying "if, as she maintains, Mr Quinn holds unorthodox religious views and is effectively the leader of a religious cult which has used psychological techniques as a means of controlling gullible adherents, the media are entitled to educate public opinion in this regard."[27][28][29][30]

In July 2012 Mr Justice Bannister declined to dissolve INE or to order the company to purchase McCaffrey's shares, but granted a declaration that Quinn's appointment to the INE board was invalid and that McCaffrey's suspension from the INE board was invalid. In discussing the hiring of soldiers the judge said "Whatever may have been the need for some personal security, the expenditure was made in very large part for the purposes of Mr Quinn, who appears to have hired what amounted to a private army at the sole expense of INE".[31][32]

In 2012 Sunday World revealed McCaffrey had been included in an intelligence-report paid for by INE and produced by Henrima Ltd.[33]

Mr Justice Bannister described Quinn as "a highly controversial figure both in the Republic of Ireland and further afield. He runs what he calls Educo seminars, which people are persuaded to attend at very high cost." He described Quinn's unique business structure as "no more than advice to promote better employees in preference to inferior ones". A letter alleged to invite Quinn to accept a shareholding was described by the judge as a "clumsy forgery" and an "after-the-event concoction written in an unsuccessful attempt to legitimise the allotment".[31][32]

In October 2012 a BBC Spotlight programme on the subject of Morrice and her involvement with Tony Quinn was broadcast. In February 2014 Charles Colville, 5th Viscount Colville of Culross spoke in the House of Lords about the harassment endured by the team behind the programme, with hourly phone calls with threats of defamation and how after broadcast a libel writ issued was dropped after thousands of licence-fee payer funds were paid preparing a defence. Colville added "Morrice [was] found guilty in a Caribbean court of having siphoned off thousands of pounds of company money for her personal use."[34][35][36]

Educo

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Morrice is known to promote the Educo Seminar and the discredited Educo Model and recruit for the group, which has been described as Cult-like.[37][34][6][7][8]

In the June 2018 edition of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' "Explorer" magazine Morrice states she sent Elsia Pop, winner of the Diana Award in 2017, to the Educo Seminar.[38]

Between October and December 2018 Morrice was decorated with the role of "GEM Executive in Residence" by the University of Colorado Denver which also mentioned the discredited Educo Model on its own website.[39]

At the Society of Exploration Geophysicists 2019 Annual Meeting Morrice featured on a Permian Basin Experience Podcast where she claimed BNE was founded on the philosophy of Educo.[40]

The Rotary Club of Melbourne hosted a Zoom event featuring Morrice in November 2020 where she spoke about the Educo Seminar.[41] The Melbourne Rotary Club promoted the event on its own website with a link to Educo's own website.[42][43]

In April 2021 Morrice appeared on the Society of Exploration Geophysicists "EVOLVE" YouTube channel where she talked about the Educo Seminar and made claims about its influence in Belize.[44] Morrice stated that Mayor of Belmopan Khalid Belisle attended Educogym and that Chief Of Police Howell Gillett had halved crime in Belmopan upon returning from the Educo Seminar.[45]

On 15 March 2022 Morrice addressed the Caribbean Oil and Gas Virtual Summit and made claims that the use of Educo in Belize was being utilised by the Prison System and in Crime Prevention.[46]

Awards and achievements

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  • Morrice was the first woman to ever receive the Norman Foster Outstanding Explorer award by the AAPG.[14]
  • Morrice and BNE won the GetEnergy award, beating 43 other countries.[47]
  • Morrice was awarded the AAPG Presidential Award for Exemplary service in recognition of her work in geoscience.[48]
  • Morrice received the 2018 Outstanding explorer award.[49]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "The Oil Within". GEO ExPro. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Susan M. Morrice". AAPG. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  3. ^ Morrice, Susan. "Educo Seminar the key to Susan and BNE's Success". susanmorrice.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Be Our Guest: Susan Morrice | Calgary Petroleum Club". www.calpeteclub.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Ponton, Rebecca. "She Found Oil In Belize, Now This Geologist Is Helping To Imagine Its Post-Oil Future". Forbes. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b Sue Denham (Pseudonym for Sunday Times Ireland's Staff Writers) (3 September 2006). "Comment: Sue Denham". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 5 January 2021.(subscription required)
  7. ^ a b Paul Cullen (22 July 2012). "Tony Quinn in court row over oil firm millions". Irish Times. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  8. ^ a b Paul Cullen (22 June 2012). "Quinn tells court he asked oil firm to provide security". Irish Times. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  9. ^ Paul Cullen (29 June 2012). "Quinn link to oil firm downplayed over cult claim, court told". Irish Times. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. ^ Nicola Tallant (25 January 2009). "Bodybuilder reveals dodgy practices in the cult-like organisation". Sunday World. pp. 20, 21.
  11. ^ Nicola Tallant (20 September 2009). "Minder Bender". Sunday World. pp. 10, 11.
  12. ^ "Susan Morrice, Speaker of the NOC Assembly | Oil & Gas Council". Oil & Gas | Events. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Why life's never boring for Belfast's oil baron". Belfast Telegraph. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  14. ^ a b Feldstein, Tammy (25 February 2019). "Just roll up your sleeves and do the work". Pink Petro. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "Belfast born Susan Morrice struck Oil in Belize". NI Connections. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "Susan Morrice, Belize Natural Energy, Executive Interview". Energy Council. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  17. ^ Liam Collins (23 September 2012). "Liam Collins: Courts lay bare Quinn's oil empire". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 February 2022.(subscription required)
  18. ^ Aine Coffey (11 March 2012). "Quinn's €17m oil firm payout". The Times. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  19. ^ Rebecca Ponton. "She Found Oil In Belize, Now This Geologist Is Helping To Imagine Its Post-Oil Future". Forbes. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  20. ^ Paul Cullen (9 February 2011). "Quinn found in breach of financial duty to oil firm". Irish Times. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  21. ^ Maranco LLC v Susan Morrice, Tony Quinn, International Natural Energy LLC & Belize Natural Energy LLC (Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 31 January 2011) ("IT IS HEREBY DECLARED THAT Quinn has breached his fiduciary duties to INE").
  22. ^ "Tony Quinn ordered to give evidence". Irish Times. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  23. ^ Aodhan O Faolain (6 January 2012). "Lifestyle guru Quinn ordered to testify in multi-million US lawsuit". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Lifestyle guru to give evidence". Irish Independent. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  25. ^ "Order for journalist to appear in Quinn case". Irish Times. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  26. ^ Tim Healy (25 July 2012). "Journalist and charity director must give evidence in Tony Quinn US lawsuit". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Journalist is not obliged to testify in US case". Irish Times. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Pair spared stand in 'guru' Quinn case". Irish Independent. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  29. ^ Aodhan O'Faolain; Ray Managh (19 September 2012). "Court protects journalist and charity boss". The Herald (Ireland).
  30. ^ Cornec v Susan Morrice & Ors (High Court (Ireland) 18 September 2012) ("In view of the conclusions I have just reached, it would not seem to me to be necessary or desirable that I should express a view on the question of foreign law presented before me, namely, the construction of Colorado’s press freedom statute and whether Ms. Tallant and Mr. Garde would have been able to avail of it in order to assert a journalistic privilege conferred by statute. In conclusion, therefore, I respectfully decline to give effect to the letters rogatory for the reasons stated in this judgment"), Text.
  31. ^ a b Cullen, Paul (18 July 2012). "Quinn payout of $23m on oil firm shares in doubt". Irish Times. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  32. ^ a b SM LIFE VENTURES LLC v Susan Morrice, Tony Quinn, International Natural Energy LLC & Belize Natural Energy LLC (Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 18 July 2012) ("I will grant a declaration that the 2007 Operating Agreement is invalid and that Mr Quinn was never validly appointed to the board of INE. I will also declare that Ms McCaffrey has never been validly suspended from the INE board."), Text.
  33. ^ Mick McCaffrey (23 September 2012). "Tony's €2M Spy Fund". Sunday World. pp. 12, 13.
  34. ^ a b "Belize Oil". Spotlight. 16 October 2012. BBC One Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 January 2022. Visionary, Guru, Hypnotist... Life-coach and Saviour to some, Cult leader to others
  35. ^ "Lords Hansard text for 25 Feb 2014 (pt 0002)". Hansard. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  36. ^ Charles Colville, 5th Viscount Colville of Culross (25 February 2014). ParliamentLive.tv - House of Lords. parliamentlive.tv (Television production). Parliament of the United Kingdom. Event occurs at 17:57:09. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  37. ^ 20/20. 2 March 2001. TV3 (Ireland).
  38. ^ Friedman, Barry (1 June 2018). "Finding Oil in the Unconscious Mind". AAPG EXPLORER. Retrieved 6 January 2023. "I wondered," she said, for the longest time, "about the women and the mind as well." She found an answer by sending a young Mayan girl, Elsia Pop, to the same Educo Seminar, who was not only mentored in entrepreneurship by the BNE employees but won the Princess Diana Legacy Award. "Pop was on a plane for her first time to London," Morrice said, "as a guest of the Royal Family."
  39. ^ "GEM Executive in Residence Program". CU Denver Business School. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  40. ^ SEG 2019 Series: Episode 6: Susan Morrice and Anglia Sweet. PBE Podcast. 28 May 2020. Event occurs at 15:37. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  41. ^ Positive Energy for a Better World. 17 November 2020. Event occurs at 00:09:54.
  42. ^ "November Membership Event - Positive Energy For A Better World". rotaryclubofmelbourne.org.au. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  43. ^ "Positive Energy For A Better World Flyer" (PDF). Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  44. ^ Ms. Susan Morrice - Can Geoscientists Follow Their Passion, Make a Living And Be a Positive Force?. 23 April 2021. Event occurs at 35:07. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  45. ^ Ms. Susan Morrice - Can Geoscientists Follow Their Passion, Make a Living And Be a Positive Force?. 23 April 2021. Event occurs at 56:19. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  46. ^ Session 1- An Overview Of The Oil & Gas Sector. vFairs. 15 March 2022. Event occurs at 2:45. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  47. ^ "Belize Natural Energy wins the Getenergy award!". susanmorrice.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  48. ^ "Susan Morrice Founder & Chairperson Belize Natural Energy Co-Founder and Chairperson XJet Worldwide, Belize Natural Energy | Energy Council". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  49. ^ "Susan Morrice Receives the 2018 Outstanding Explorer Award". www.aapg.org. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
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