Oil and gas company credits its employees’ resilience for rebound from the pandemic
Throughout the pandemic, when oil prices plunged to historic lows, EOG Resources said it worked hard to retain its workforce and maintain its conservative financial strategy — and it appears to have worked.
The Houston oil and gas company said those efforts positioned it to take advantage of global economic recovery and soaring oil prices that top $100 per barrel.
EOG ranked No.2 on the Chronicle 100’s list of top performing public companies. Its revenues jumped nearly 70 percent to $18.6 billion in 2021, up from $11 billion in 2020. Profits jumped to $4.7 billion, swinging from a loss of $605 million in 2020.
EOG said it was able to weather the pandemic downturn and make a strong rebound in 2021 because of its workforce. The company employed about 2,800 employees at the end of last year.
“We have proven to ourselves over the last several years that our business is resilient through the cycle, including unprecedented shocks to the industry,” CEO Ezra Yacob told investors during an earnings call in May. “Credit for EOG’s resilience, for the steady improvement in our ability to generate free cash flow in any environment, and the ability to make this free cash flow commitment to our shareholders, goes to our employees.”
The company started in 1999 when the Houston energy company Enron spun off its oil and gas division — two years before Enron’s high-profile collapse. Today, EOG holds assets in some of the top producing oil and gas fields in the country, including the nation’s most prolific, the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. Overall, it operates in 10 onshore basins and has shallow water operations offshore in Trinidad.
“EOG’s competitive advantage includes a diverse portfolio of plays across multiple basins, powered by our highperforming people and unique culture,” Yacob said in a statement. “Our pristine balance sheet and commitment to low-cost exploration continue to serve us well. We are well positioned to be among the lowest cost, highest return, lowest emissions producers, playing a significant role in the longterm future of energy.”