We Build for the Future

Phoenix
Development Company

Phoenix Development Holding Company, LLC (PDC) was formed by
a group of entrepreneurs out of Texas, Suriname, the Netherlands,
Curacao, New York, Miami and London.

Core Values

Authenticity – Adhering to strong moral and ethical principles in all we do.

Responsibility – Developing responsibly, preserving, and enhancing human and material resources.

Consciousness – We are a part of nature, and nature is a part of us.

Fairness – Communicating and working with others for the benefit of all.

Respect – Recognizing and valuing the dignity and uniqueness of every person.

Relationships

Our team members have relationships with Qatar Terminals Limited, Freeport LNG, General Electric, Siemens Energy, Baker Hughes, Worley Parsons, Repsol, Bechtel, Dentons, Vinson & Elkins, Hogan Lovells, Shell, Port of Rotterdam, TotalEnergies, Schlumberger, BW Offshore, Technip, RWE, CB&I MCDERMOTT, Naturgy, BW Energy, Shanghai Gorgeous, Havenbeheer Suriname, Shaw Group, Schwob Energy, Black and Veatch, Aker Solutions, Leif Hoegh, Abengoa, Centrica, Uniper, ConocoPhillips, Martano Inc, Golden Pass LNG, Ocean Energy, and other customers and partners.

Strategic Partner

Strategic Port Development Advisor

Strategic Legal Advisor
Firebird LNG

Strategic Partner

ESG Consultants / Advisor

Team Bio's

Meet the team

Walter C. Teter

Mr. Teter has focused his 25+ career on the development of energy related projects with a specific focus on projects based on clean power sources reducing GHG emissions using liquid natural gas (“LNG”). Investor/client value creation through identification of undervalued assets, the management of permitting, and the commercial structuring of opportunities has been the hallmark of his career activity. Mr. Teter has negotiated multiple complex agreements on behalf of clients and investors, including Purchase and Sale Agreements, Terminal Use Agreements, and corporate structure agreements required to execute complex power delivery chain and related infrastructure activities.

Over the last decade, Mr. Teter has been a principal negotiator or advisor for LNG SPA contracts with a notional volume in excess of 7,000,000 MM BTU/day. Additionally, he has been an investor, advisor and negotiator for the development and utilization of nearly a dozen LNG receiving and liquefaction terminals. In the terminal development role, deals negotiated by Mr. Teter secured investors a return of 600% in a period of only 18 months.

Prior to 2002, Mr. Teter held the position of Senior Vice-President at El Paso Energy where he was responsible for negotiating long-term LNG contracts and all LNG spot trading. The value realized during his three years at El Paso Energy exceeded $225 million (cash basis) and included the successful negotiation and monetization of a 20+ year LNG SPA, the re-opening of the Elba Island LNG receiving terminal, and the acquisition of more than a dozen spot cargoes.

Mr. Teter then embarked on a career in energy with Statoil (Equinor), first in North America with the startup of power trading and IPP development and subsequently undertook a key role in the commercial development of the first LNG export project in Europe (Snøhvit). The Snøhvit project has been instrumental in opening up an entirely new frontier energy province, creating prosperity for Northern Norway and enhanced energy security in the Atlantic basin.

Mr. Teter has also been involved with projects such as QG2, QG3, QG4 with Qatar Terminals Limited, Ras Gas, Kitimat LNG Project, Panama NG, Martano Panama Projects, Elba Island Reactivation and LNG Deliveries, Access Northeast Energy (Bear Head) LNG Facilities, Lake Charles LNG Deliveries, Cove Point Negotiations (Reactivation & Supply), Neptune LNG Deepwater Port (Boston Harbor), Global Energy Bridge TM Projects, Martano Project Panama.

Mr. Teter is a founder and President of Featherwood International Management and Consulting, a leader in energy markets.

Maarten Scholten

Maarten R. Scholten holds a Master of Science in politics from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and a JD Commercial Law from the University of Amsterdam. He started his career at Loeff & van der Ploeg a Dutch law firm (now part of Allen & Overy ) working in the Amsterdam and New York offices after which he spent two decades in senior and executive positions at Schlumberger Ltd.

Maarten Scholten has almost 30 years of extensive legal and financial experience in the oil and gas industry.

During his 20 year career at Schlumberger, Maarten was Director of Legal Service, Head of Finance, President Schlumberger Oilfield Services ECA (Europe, Africa and CIS), and Director Mergers & Acquisitions.

From 2006 – 2009 he was Co-founder and Co-executive Director of Delta Hydrocarbons SA (Luxemburg and Amsterdam) a private equity firm investing in the oil and gas business.

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Upon leaving Schlumberger in 2006, he co-founded Delta Hydrocarbons SA (Luxemburg and Amsterdam), a USD 1.1 billion Oil and Gas investment firm.

From 2013 until 2017 Maarten Scholten was appointed Senior Vice-President, General Counsel of Total S.A., based in Paris.

Mr. Scholten has been active as an investor and advisor in energy related business opportunities. Subsequently, Mr Scholten acted as advisor and board member of several companies in the energy, medical and IT sectors. Mr. Scholten is currenty also on the Board of BW Offshore.

JEFF OETTING

Qatari Supply Contracts - As the lead commercial negotiator Featherwood drafted the export contracts along with the Qatari legal Counsel Charles Woods of Denton’s in London that resulted in the template contract for the majority of volumes for export into the Atlantic basin for the Qatari liquefaction terminals QG2, QG3, QG4. These contracts form the basis for LNG sale and purchase agreements in which billions of dollars of LNG have been transacted throughout the world marketplace.

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 GNLQ Export Project Eastern Canada - Featherwood is currently working with the project sponsor to secure long-term sales of the LNG production from the export terminal located in Quebec on the Saguenay River (a tributary to the St. Laurence River).  We are engaged with over 20 buyers in the European market to secure long-term offtake agreements.  Featherwood has advised GNLQ on gas supply markets and conducted due diligence on the competitiveness of the project in the global LNG marketplace.  Featherwood is independently developing financial models to assist in marketing strategies that examine the LNG value chain from an energy commodity portfolio risk perspective.

Panama Terminals - Featherwood is currently managing the development of two LNG terminals in Panama on the Caribbean side of the Canal near Colon. The combined projects will have a capacity of over 1000 Megawatts. One terminal is utilizing an FSU to receive LNG cargos while the regasification facilities are located on-shore. The second terminal is utilizing an FSRU to vaporize the LNG on ships and deliver natural gas into the Panama power market. These projects are sensitive to precise operation because of the costly embedded penalties in Power Purchase Agreements which demand efficient operations from LNG delivery to power generation delivery into the local power grid. FW is integrating the LNG supply agreement with the receiving facilities and delivery into the Combined Cycle Power plants. FW is in the process of integrating the storage facilities of the two projects which will save the combined projects over $125,000.00 per day in operating expenses. 

Along with the project sponsors, FW is securing LNG supply for both projects for a 20-year supply contract. FW created a competitive bidding process with 11 different suppliers and is now in final negotiations. These negotiations for supply provide FW unique insight to the pricing and structure of the supply community as the suppliers represented were global in reach from the Middle East to Europe to the US Gulf coast and Oceania.

Snøhvit LNG Project (Hammerfest, Norway) - Scope of Activity: Conceptual design team tasked with examining and determining the product slate, which included an examination of product quality (LPG grades) and the commercial viability of non-standard product production (carbon dioxide and liquid ethane).  Responsibility for the marketing of LNG to select markets in Europe and North America and securing required LNG receiving terminal capacity, marine transportation, and downstream pipeline capacity.

Unique Attributes and Challenges:  The hydrocarbon fields that produce the raw stream are located up to 140 km offshore in the Barents Sea and were completed sub-sea with flow back in a multi-phase line (the longest in the world at the time of completion).  The receiving systems, treatment, separation and liquefaction plant are located on a reconfigured island in sheltered waters.  The project is the first LNG project which required the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide produced from the feed-gas stream.  The decision to re-inject the CO2 was made after a thorough examination of the potential uses of the waste gas stream.  The northerly location (70° N) presented substantial construction challenges as well as a requirement for specialized training for vessel and plant operators.  The project constituted the first LNG export project in Europe expanded the benefits of hydrocarbon exploitation to the North of Norway where previously such activities were concentrated in the South of the country.

Kitimat LNG Export Terminal - Scope of Activity: Review of potential sites, review and evaluation of Kitimat site, negotiation of terminal agreements/purchase and sale agreement for the facility, negotiations of partnership agreements, discussion, and negotiations with First Nations stakeholders.  FWC was lead commercial negotiator for the principal party in the negotiations for the purchase of the Pacific Trail Pipelines project and the formation of the related project agreements.  FWC was responsible for the Creation of a project design and model covering liquefaction, transportation, sales, and delivery.  FWC also provided in depth analysis of the various markets available to the project and the competitive environment in which the project is being developed.

Unique Attributes and Challenges:  The hydrocarbon fields that produce the raw stream are located up to 1000km from the site, which necessitates lengthy pipeline transportation over rugged terrain.  The distance and costs of transportation from the fields to the plant requires extensive planning and analysis.   The field gas from many areas of British Columbia (particularly Horn River) is high in carbon dioxide and low in high value liquids (LPG’s and heavier), which presents additional costs and a reduction in revenue.  There is a set of challenges in the requirement to produce natural gas economically in a harsh environment, transport such gas over extended distances via pipeline, construct and operate a plant in a relatively remote location and then sell such volumes into a highly competitive Asian marketplace.​

Jamaica LNG Project - Scope of Activity: Review of potential sites, review, and evaluation of previous site selection and development plans.  FWC, after reviewing the previous development plan recommended to the LNG Steering Committee, under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minster, that a revamping of the project be undertaken.  The LNG Steering Committee adopted the recommendations and embarked on parallel RFPs for the provision of LNG supply and requisite infrastructure to deliver the natural gas to end-users.   FWC then worked extensively with the technical advisor (Worley Parsons) to define the technical parameters including site selection, pipeline routing, and acceptable terminal design parameters.  FWC was directed to draft the RFP for LNG supply and to draft the commercial and conceptual sections of the RFP for LNG infrastructure, which were issued by the Government of Jamaica.  FWC was the lead external evaluator for the LNG Supply RFP and was a principal advisor to the selection committee for the LNG infrastructure RFP. 

Unique Attributes and Challenges:  The Jamaican market is relatively small, located on an island that is currently devoid of any natural gas infrastructure, completely isolated from any other national pipeline grid, and had no plant or equipment that was natural gas capable.  The country was under a restrictive agreement with the IMF and lacked a single credit-worthy buyer for such a transaction which necessitated innovative structures commercially to secure long-term volumes.  The LNG infrastructure was designed to anticipate major storm events including named storms and to effectively match and follow the load requirements of a limited number of customers with potentially high swing volumes including power generation that was subject to hourly dispatch.  The system was further designed to accommodate the introduction of domestic natural production should such volumes become available because of exploration efforts.​​​​​​​​​

Steve Rowan

Steve Rowan is a British Chartered Chemist with over thirty years’ experience as an environmental professional and investment advisor. He began his career as a regulatory enforcement officer and Waste Management Specialist for UK Waste Regulation Authorities before moving to the private sector where he has worked as a consultant since 1990.

He has worked for and been instrumental in the growth of several global consulting firms until 2010 when he founded Earth & Marine Environmental Consultants (EAME). EAME is a niche consulting practice focusing on environmental and sustainability appraisals of investment projects in emerging markets. Since 2015, he has been focusing on Sustainable Development projects in Guyana.

Mr Rowan has extensive technical experience in a wide range of projects, including: environmental due diligence of large real estate and manufacturing portfolios, industrial complexes and specialist businesses; environmental risk assessment for Corporate Governance, Insurance or funding purposes; Environmental Impact Assessment of major infrastructure projects, port facilities or large property developments and detailed technical appraisals of businesses from every sector for either permitting, compliance or resource efficiency studies and investment appraisals of major infrastructure projects. 

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Mr. Rowan has worked internationally in over 50 countries, has been retained by many large corporations as an environmental adviser and has provided expert witness testimony in planning appeals, licensing appeals and litigation. He has also presented at both national and international conferences, presented hundreds of training sessions, and authored guidance documents and manuals.

George R. Wentz Jr.

George R. Wentz, Jr. is a partner with the Davillier Law Group, which has offices in New Orleans, Louisiana and Sandpoint, Idaho. Mr. Wentz received his Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Delaware, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, in 1983 and served as the Administrative Editor of the Georgetown International Law Journal.

Mr. Wentz was appointed to the Office of Policy Development of the Federal Trade Commission by President Ronald Reagan, where he analyzed the economic impact of trade laws and regulations. He also developed and proposed legislative and regulatory approaches to enhance the overall efficiency of regulatory bodies. Since his days in the Reagan Administration, Mr. Wentz has continued to work in the areas of constitutional law and the intersection of economics and law.

Mr. Wentz has over thirty years experience in handling complex international litigation, maritime litigation, oil and gas exploration and production matters, alternative dispute resolution, international transactions, and providing general business advice. Mr. Wentz has been chosen to serve as an arbitrator in several significant international arbitrations.

Mr. Wentz has a reputation as a result-oriented lawyer known for innovative thinking and problem solving. During his career, he has worked in most aspects of the oil and gas business, representing leading international oil and gas exploration and production companies. He has also represented CFE (the power company of Mexico) in various matters. Mr. Wentz has been active in the power generation industry as well as the transportation industry on national and international levels.​

Mr. Wentz has represented underwriters of various energy and power generation companies in significant subrogation matters, including Houston Casualty Company and underwriters at Lloyd’s of London. He has expertise in international tax issues related to offshore banking as well as commodities transactions, including banking and financing related to those transactions.

Mr. Wentz has assisted alternative energy and high tech companies in bringing their products to market.

Mr. Wentz is an active member of the Louisiana State Bar Association. He provided pro bono work following Katrina, where his efforts assisted in the formation of New Orleans’ public-private partnership for economic development. He received the 2008 Leadership in Law Award from New Orleans City Business Magazine.

Mr. Wentz is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Supreme Court, and all Louisiana State Courts. He has also litigated cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and in various Texas state courts.

Mr. Wentz resides in Sandpoint, Idaho. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Idaho College of Law, where he teaches a course in International Business Transactions.

Lieutenant General Jon M. Davis

Lieutenant General Jon M. Davis, USMC (Ret); President, Green Monarchs Enterprises Inc.

Jon joined the Marines in 1977, was commissioned after he graduated from college in 1980 and served 37 years as an aviator, instructor, leader, thinker, and doer.

He flew the AV-8A, TAV-8A, AV-8B, F-5, FA-18A-D, MV-22, AH-1W/Z, UH-1N/Y, CH-53D/E and KC-130T/J in service with the United States Marine Corps. In service as an exchange officer with the Royal Air Force in the UK and Germany, he flew Jet Provosts, Hawks, Harrier T-4, and Harrier GR-3, 5 and 7. He commanded VMA-223, MAWTS-1 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

In the course of his career, he has flown over 4,300 mishap free military hours plus over 1500 hours in general and experimental aviation aircraft. He is a rated Kodiak 100, Mooney Ovation and Velocity pilot.

Lt. General Davis also served as Deputy Commander --Network Warfare at Fort Meade, as well as Deputy Commander, United States Cyber Command where he stood up to lead the nation’s first Cyber Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF).

His last active-duty billet was to serve as Deputy Commandant for Aviation, Headquarters Marine Corps.

He retired in 2017 from the Marine Corps after 37 years active-duty service and began his business career, helping good companies become better and helping many companies bring great ideas both to life and to market.

He holds a Bachelor of Science from Allegheny College, a Master of Science from Marine Corps University, and a Master of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is a graduate of the Wharton School, “Boards That Lead” program.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rolls Royce North America, a Director on the board of Chemring Group, the Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board of Make A Difference Energy, and as a business advisor for several cutting edge companies.

His expertise in both business strategy and implementation is invaluable to the goals, direction and overall future of PDC.

Gregg Oetting

Gregg C. Oetting is a partner at Featherwood Capital LLC located in Houston Texas.  Mr. Oetting received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995.  Mr. Oetting is published in the Journal of Hydrology, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, the Society of Economic Petrologists and Minerologists Bulletin, Geological Society of America, and the Austin Geological Society.

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At Featherwood Capital Mr. Oetting was a leading commercial advisor to Qatar gas in negotiations for SPA agreements with tenures of 20 years and delivery volumes in excess of 20 million tons per annum.  Mr. Oetting led efforts to establish the competitive advantages of an LNG project being developed in eastern Canada that resulted in the execution of preliminary agreements with multiple European counterparties for offtake volumes.  Mr. Oetting was the project lead for a USTDA sponsored gas distribution feasibility study conducted for the City of Cape Town, which established the cost of power service interruption is a major driver behind the economics of gas distribution in Cape Town South Africa.

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Mr. Oetting established at Aquila Energy one of the first power transmission trading portfolios in 1998 generating trade profits over two years of nearly $5.0 Million from a total investment of less than $1.2 Million.  At Aquila Mr. Oetting also created the power trading market’s first hydroelectric power forecasting model.  Following his tenure at Aquila Energy Mr. Oetting went on to power and natural gas trading positions at Mirant Americas Energy Marketing, RWE North America, Endure Energy, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and DTE Energy where he generated trading profits of over $16 Million.

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Mr. Oetting led transmission interconnection efforts at Mirant Americas Energy Marketing for the Boradman Oregon Coyote Springs II project and the Henderson Nevada APEX project: two combined cycle natural gas power plants with an aggregate capacity of 740 MW.  In various Featherwood engagements Mr. Oetting has advised multiple LNG project developers in matters concerning gas supply, market fundamentals, gas trading and hedging, and the global maritime LNG trade.

Stephen Joslyn

Stephen Joslyn is an executive with over 30 years experience in Team Building, Marketing and International Project Development.

He takes pride in trouble shooting difficult and complex projects in any part of the world.

He has enjoyed working on projects in Africa, South America and the former Soviet Union.

Past affiliations include the Mid-America Committee, American Countertrade Association and the World Trade Center.

He received his education in Business at South Dakota State University and the University of Sioux Falls. 

Vidjai Doerga

Vidjai Doerga, a Curacao-native of Surinamese origin, lived and studied in Miami, Florida. As the Project Manager of the Project Lead the Way STEM Program at Gulliver Preparatory, Vidjai was instrumental in his high school engineering team to receiving the Toyota Tapestry Grant, and also competing in the university-level competitions such as National Engineering Design Competition (NEDC), Battle Bots, Bots IQ, etc.

He then received his degrees in International Relations and International Political Economics from Florida International University in 2014.

With eye on the rapid shifting of the global political- and trade-systems, as well as, rapidly evolving global markets, Vidjai is working to help Suriname fit into the world’s newly forming Supply Chains. To that end, he co-founded Phoenix Development Company in 2018 with Raxshaaz Ilahibaks.

As a partner at the company his father founded as well, The Alesie Group, Vidjai is diversifying the portfolio. The focus is to develop industries that will carry us into the next 100 years. His current ventures delve into Sustainable Development, Renewable Energy, Manufacturing, Agro-Industry and R&D, Hemp Industry and R&D, Brokerage, Blockchain Technologies, Auto-Industry, and the Overall Development of Emerging Markets.

Rax Ilahibaks

Rax Ilahibaks, a Suriname-native, quick learner and serial entrepreneur starting off with a local import business in Paramaribo at the age of 18.
In 2010, he joined the "Parboiled Producers" Economic Development team for the Private Sector Investment Programme by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

In 2012 he founded one of the leading training, inspection and consulting companies in the mining, construction and production industry for local and international industry leaders such as: Newmont Goldcorp, IAMGold, Koole BV, Baitali Group, Kuldipsingh, Argos, ALCOA, Surmac Caterpillar, Parbo Bier Heineken, Fernandes Group (Coca-Cola), etc.

Utilizing his successful experience in developing business from ground up in Suriname, Raxshaaz co-founded and serves on the Board of Phoenix Development Company.

Today, Raxshaaz’s role is integral in the development of Suriname’s Deep Water Port & Special Economic Zone, creating a bridge upon which his home country can successfully, and proudly step onto the world’s stage.

Sebastian Antonio Ortega 

Antonio Sebastian Ortega graduated from Lynn University with Bachelor’s Degrees in Business, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Entrepreneurial Finance. 

Antonio was scouted by Raymond James, one of the top public financial services firms in the US to work directly under the Senior VP directly overseeing client relationships and portfolio management. Antonio then co-founded a boutique asset management firm specializing in the wealth management and advisory services for high net worth individuals. 

Antonio is a Managing Partner and heads up his family’s investment company, Inception Group. In this he directly oversaw the management and capital investment in Real Estate, Insurance, Blockchain Technology, Jet Charter Services and Energy/Infrastructure projects around the world. 

Antonio has founded several entrepreneurial ventures internationally and has used his expertise in international corporate finance and capital raising. By utilizing his network of financial institutions, family offices, and ultra high net worth individuals, he delivers ventures to success. Antonio also serves on the board of directors of Custodia Financial, a financial technology company based in Dallas, Texas currently valued at upwards of a billion dollars. 

In his latest endeavor, Antonio became a co-founder, and serves on the Board of Phoenix Development Company (PDC) which is the exclusive developer of Suriname’s Deep Water Port & Special Economic Zone.

We Aim to Build a Better Tomorrow