Amir Paknejad, PhD, PE - Managing Director

  • Dr. Amir Paknejad is a Texas board-certified professional engineer with 20+ years of experience in well control engineering. A recognized subject matter expert in transient multiphase flow analysis and wellbore dynamics, he has played a pivotal role in managing complex source control operations.
  • As the leader of IMR’s 24/7 dedicated Source Control Emergency Response Center, Amir has overseen rapid response efforts for a wide range of source control events, conducted drills, and provided expert support for Flow Engineering, Relief Well planning, Capping, Flowback, and SIMOPS. During his tenure at Boots & Coots, he developed the Well Intervention Toolkit, a critical resource that has been successfully utilized in multiple intervention and P&A operations.
  • Beyond responding to well control incidents, Amir has contributed to over 500+ blowout and kill contingency plans and has played a key role in supporting more than 100+ planned and unannounced real-time source control and emergency response drills conducted by MWCC, HWCG, and OSRL in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.
  • Amir proudly holds both an MSc and a PhD from Texas A&M University. Gig 'em Aggies

Arash Haghshenas, PhD - Operations Director

  • Arash Haghshenas is a senior well control engineer with 20+ years of experience in supporting and developing engineering programs for well control incidents, contingency planning, critical well design reviews, well intervention, and P&A operations.
  • His expertise spans a wide range of drilling and P&A activities, including relief well design, dynamic kill operations, well control modeling, wellbore re-entry, and casing design. Dr. Haghshenas has played a key role in several high-profile well control incidents, including the CO₂ leak in Delhi, LA, and the gas storage leak in Porter Ranch, CA. Internationally, he has been involved in major well control responses in Nigeria, Congo, and Indonesia.
  • He holds a BSc from the Petroleum University of Technology, an MSc from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a PhD from Texas A&M University. An active member of IADC, AADE, SPE, API, and Pi Epsilon Tau, Dr. Haghshenas has contributed extensively to the industry through authorship and collaboration on numerous technical papers and publications. His notable works include contributions to the Managed Pressure Drilling Book, the IADC Drilling Manual, and IOGP 598.

Matin Ansari, M.Sc.
Technical Director / Regulatory Compliance

Matin Ansari is currently acting as the technical director at WellCTRL Engineering. She is a subject-matter expert in offshore regulatory practice and carbon capture and storage, and previously served within the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs (OORP). She has led major technical initiatives and acted as an interagency representative with agencies such as BOEM, DOE, and EPA on program development, regulatory coordination, and emerging offshore technologies. In addition to her U.S. regulatory work, she has engaged extensively with foreign and international regulatory bodies—including Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP)—providing perspective on global standards, practices, and harmonization efforts. Prior to her government service, she worked as a well control engineer with Boots & Coots company, where she supported relief well planning, blowout contingency modeling, dynamic kill analyses, and a wide range of field and engineering operations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective that integrates subsurface engineering, modeling, and regulatory expertise to her technical engagements.