Edward W. Blessing is the Managing Director of Blessing Petroleum Group, LLC, which was founded in 1989. The Blessing Petroleum Group advises and assists in the implementation of energy related natural resource projects. Mr. Blessing offers more than 30 years of experience in the global oil and gas industry. He primarily serves as an advisor to firms that are seeking to develop petroleum projects. Mr. Blessing has helped develop and finance projects in Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and across North America.

          Mr. Blessing has served as a Director of NGP Capital Resources Company (NGPC) since its inception. He is Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. NGPC, on its formation, completed an approximately $260 million IPO in the fall of 2004. Additional funding of $55.8 million was raised during the spring of 2008. During this offering period, Mr. Blessing was a member of the Pricing Committee.

          Currently, Mr. Blessing serves in a number of leadership positions. Mr. Blessing is Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, where he also serves on the Executive Committee. He is also on the Executive Committee for the Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. and currently serves on the Finance and Long Range Planning Committees. Mr. Blessing serves on the Board of Governors for the Park City Club. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Foundation Board of Governors, and serves on the Development, Grant, and Significant Sig Selection Committees. Mr. Blessing is Vice President of the Inwood-Northwest Homeowners Association, Inc. and is a member of the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) and the Dallas Wildcat Committee.

          In the past, Mr. Blessing served four years as Governor of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) North Central Texas Region and has served as a Director of the Dallas Petroleum Club. Mr. Blessing has participated in the National Association for Corporate Directors’ Corporate Governance Education Program and has been awarded the Certificate of Director Education from the NACD Corporate Directors Institute. He has appeared on KERA Channel 13 in Dallas in a two-part series of the McCuistion program on the subject of "Peak Oil." Mr. Blessing has addressed the 13th Annual International Energy Policy Conference in Denver, Colorado on the subject of "The World According to Oil." In the fall of 2005, Mr. Blessing chaired a panel discussion on "Inside and Outside Sources of Decision Support Information for Director Effectiveness" for the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance at The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management. Mr. Blessing addressed the University of North Texas Oil & Politics Conference on "Ethics and Politics in the Petroleum Industry." He has also served as both a mentor and judge for the annual conferences for public responsibility and ethics at SMU's Cary M. Maguire Center. Mr. Blessing has served as a part-time graduate-level Adjunct Professor at the University of Oklahoma. Additionally, he served as a volunteer Reserve Deputy Sheriff for both the Oklahoma County, Oklahoma and Dallas County, Texas Sheriff’s Departments.

          Prior to forming Blessing Petroleum Group, LLC, Mr. Blessing led the formation of Dallas-based Strategic Petroleum Inc., where he served as a Director and Chief Executive Officer. During the 1980s, Mr. Blessing managed Blessing Petroleum Corporation, an independent oil and gas firm located in Oklahoma City. He served as Executive Vice President and Director of Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Oil and Gas Company from 1978 to 1980. During the early '70s, Mr. Blessing served in various capacities within the natural resource venture capital industry. This included serving as Associate Managing Director for a privately held Swiss holding company which funded oil and gas and hard rock mining ventures, some of which were publicly traded. Prior to that time, Mr. Blessing served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc. in the company's New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices.

          Mr. Blessing earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University. Mr. Blessing was named a Significant Sig in 2008. This is an honor given to men whose achievements have brought honor and prestige to the name of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps.