Douglas Bennion received his bachelors degree from the University of Oklahoma, and his masters and Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, all in petroleum engineering. He worked for Mobil Oil in Canada for six years between degrees and taught at the University of Calgary in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department for 21 years. In 1986, he retired from the University of Calgary and became CEO for Hycal Energy Research Laboratories Ltd. He has guided Hycal to become an international company currently working in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America, with branch offices in the U.S.A. and South America.