InterAct, an Acteon company, has appointed Val Lerma, P.E., as engineering manager. Lerma will be based in InterAct’s Ventura, California, office and has more than 30 years of experience working with major and independent oil and gas operators, both on and offshore.  She has experience in drilling, reservoir and production engineering as well as management roles and will enhance InterAct’s engineering capabilities. 

Lerma served as the engineering manager, business development manager and president of Orchard Petroleum Inc., and Orchard E&P, LLC. Lerma also taught the drilling engineering undergraduate and graduate course at University of Southern California (USC) for seven years, and currently teaches various oil and gas classes for both the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) and Electric Utility Consultants Inc. (EUCI). 

Lerma is on the Curriculum Advisory Board for the University of North Dakota’s petroleum engineering department, and is a member of the local American Petroleum Institute (API) Board. She has authored and co-authored several Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) papers and is a licensed professional petroleum engineer in the State of California.

Michelle Pasini, president of InterAct, said, “We are delighted to welcome Val as part of the InterAct team. Her strong technical and management experience will enable us to continue to grow and develop the business, and the depth of her expertise in production engineering and field development optimisation enhances our consulting offering to the industry. Val’s background working for both large and small operators gives her intimate awareness of our clients’ needs. She will continue to lead training courses in drilling-related topics to the benefit of our staff and customers alike.”