CERAWeek: The Human Side of the U.S. Natural Gas and Oil Industry

Chris Carroll
Posted March 9, 2022

Business leaders, government officials and energy advocates from all over the world have convened in Houston at CERAWeek for five days of policy discussions and big debates. Everything one could possibly imagine is on the table for discussion: how data is accelerating decarbonization, why more investment is needed for critical infrastructure projects, how different sectors align on a lower-carbon future and more.

Even petroleum-based plastics got a panel, where the moderator briefly referred to the 1967 classic “The Graduate,” in which a family friend aptly tells Dustin Hoffman’s lead: “There’s a great future in plastics.”

So, policy is well-covered, and ministers, CEOs, senior-level executives and emerging energy leaders alike are exchanging ideas about the biggest energy and climate challenges facing our planet. The panels and discussions are invigorating, and it’s the ultimate gathering of global minds to solve huge problems.

A less-explored and underreported angle is how leaders from API, ExxonMobil, Chevron, bp and others are looking to attract a rising generation of problem-solvers to this industry.

Executives here are eager to convey to young people the evolving strategies that companies are implementing to build energy security and help address climate change.

At one CERAWeek panel, Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil & Gas Company, used an economy of words to convey the key point: “Don’t forget the role of motivated people.”

More from Mallon:

“People want to do things that are not only good for them, but good for society. … At ExxonMobil we’ve been doing a lot of work on creating an inclusive culture, where people feel that their voices can be heard and they can bring their best every day. … Our message is: Even if the business changes, your skills will be relevant. And we’re proving it as we build our low-carbon solutions."

Equally important, an IHSMarkit study shows that, of the more than 1.9 million future oil and gas industry jobs, nearly 21% will be filled by women and 42% will be filled by people of color through 2040. To make this a reality, oil and gas are going beyond past recruitment strategies to attract the best minds from every community and better mirror America’s makeup.

API Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Amanda Eversole:

“It starts with intentionality and people really believing that the welcome mat is out. ... The great news is that we have this moment in our country and awareness that diversity, equity and inclusion are critical business drivers. It’s about making sure we are retaining and advancing and developing new talent … and how does that support the communities in which we work?”

The priority is on training the next generation of industry talent and equipping candidates with industry-related STEM knowledge and skill. At API, we are partnering with Discovery Education and others on the STEM Careers Coalition, and we are making available for free the full battery of API standards to historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions (MSI). The goal is to recruit and retain superior talent from across the nation by leveraging new partnerships as an industry.

Leaders from several API member companies and others invoked humility in creating the right culture.

bp CEO Bernard Looney:

“Number one, people want to work somewhere where they feel like they're really making a difference. The second thing is about leadership [style]. … I think people want to work for real people. I think people don't want to work for heroes. … I think there's something about the authenticity of being a real person and not somehow being this heroic person that knows everything.  … That's a leadership style we're trying to embrace inside the company.”

Perhaps not something attendees expected to hear from the leader of one of the world’s largest energy companies, but a refreshing take for sure. Looney’s point feeds into a broader sense among executives that many of the innovations we’ll need to help solve energy and climate challenges haven’t been invented yet. Unknowns aren’t necessarily a bad thing and instead should be seen as the next issue to tackle together.

On Looney’s leadership team is Giulia Chierchia, bp executive vice president of strategy & sustainability:

“Our employees come to work with an ambition to have impact. This is what we’ve achieved through our new focus, new ambition. And it’s been both as a response to our strategy as well as to our sustainability focus. … We spend a lot of time explaining the strategy to the organization.”

On the same panel, here’s Bruce Niemeyer, vice president, strategy and sustainability at Chevron:

“I’m very encouraged and very optimistic about our sector being able to work together and find solutions to very tough problems across a range of energy demands – and deliver solutions that may seem a little out of reach today, but maybe are not out of sight.”

The theme of this conference is “the pace of change.” Much of the discussion has been devoted to how companies are approaching what some say is the “energy transition,” others call “energy addition” and Dr. Scott Tinker, a University of Texas at Austin professor, even describes as “an emissions transition.”

Whatever one names it, Dr. Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative, cited Nike’s branding as she pushed companies to emphasize a climate-and-energy balance in their work:

“Just do it.”

As we say at API, our nearly 600 member companies are “on it” with the help of recent college graduates, millennials and more experienced hands. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth drove home the point at CERAWeek:

“Uber didn’t invent cars, drivers or cell phones. They could connect and solve a problem by integrating technologies in ways they hadn’t been integrated before. Those are some of the greatest sources of innovation. … I think the opportunities for smart people to make a difference and to help us deal with these big challenges have never been greater.”