This is the latest installment in our Energy Executive Insight Series that gives executives at major energy companies an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences about the energy industry, their careers and their organizations.
What has been the biggest positive energy industry change since the start of your career?
The energy industry has done a great job of using key technologies, directional drilling and fracking to extract gas and oil from shale in large quantities. This gives us the ability to reduce the environmental impact of our energy use by through conversion to clean-burning natural gas. Finally, the reduction in dependence on foreign oil has many other benefits.
What is the greatest satisfaction of working in an energy-related field?
I enjoy going to a well site and watching crews work together, knowing their efforts are to ensure people get the energy needed to live comfortable lives. Knowing that we can help energy companies be more efficient and effective in other areas is a great feeling.
What is your firm’s greatest strength?
Our People. Our people are what make our company great! Trenegy employees are creative, hardworking, and know how to help energy companies deal with growth and change. Their skills are critical in today’s market.
What do you think the future holds for energy technology?
The American Oilman is inventive and industrious. Back him into a corner and he’ll figure out a new and more creative way to get oil out of the ground. Remember “peak oil”? The American Oilman proved the theory wrong. Looking forward, I don’t see anything different. The energy industry will figure out how to make fracking more efficient and cost effective. I’m not sure how, but I would put money on it!
What is your favorite energy-themed film or television show?
My favorite energy-themed film is an old one—Hellfighters with John Wayne. While the movie shows the dangers associated with drilling, the backstory is about how to use tools in new ways to address critical problems. The creativity shown at the wellhead leads to the use of bulldozers, roofing tin and dynamite to put out well fires. Who would have thought?
What is your favorite energy-themed book (fiction or non-fiction)?
The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman is a great book that could easily be titled “Necessity is the Mother of all Invention.” The book describes how Mitchell and others experimented with new technologies to generate production out of seemingly impossible plays, all because their backs were to the wall. The book does a great job of demonstrating how creativity and intestinal fortitude pays off in the energy industry.
What would you have been if you didn’t work in energy? This is a tough question because I can’t imagine working anywhere else. At least four generations of my family have worked in the energy industry, back to when rigs were built from wooden beams and planks. Energy is in my blood.
Peter Purcell has over 27 years of business and consulting experience focused on helping high growth and middle market companies better understand, adopt and utilize technology. Peter has held a variety of positions within the oil and gas industry, including IT professional at Shell Oil, Chief Operating Officer of a small business, and interim CIO at three energy companies.
