Clear vision for an uncertain future
In just over a year’s time, thousands of energy industry bigwigs will descend on Houston for the triennial World Petroleum Congress, an international gathering last held in the U.S. — in Houston — in 1987.
That the event will be held here is a testament to the resurgent strength of the industry in the U.S. as well as the determined efforts of the local organizing community, led by former Chevron President Jeff Shellebarger.
To be sure, it would be a travesty if the WPC were to be held anywhere else in the States. The region, according to the Greater Houston Partnership, accounts for nearly 30 percent of U.S. crude oil production, employs more than 235,000 people and is home to a third of all publicly traded energy companies in the country.
And as Shellebarger points out in his interview this week with our Jordan Blum, even as the industry powers ahead with innovative means of extraction and production, it is done with an eye toward the future.
“Oil and gas production is going to be a significant source of energy for the foreseeable future,” Shellebarger says. “Oil and gas is going to be a big part of that for some time. With technology and innovation, it gets cleaner and with smaller carbon footprints. … But if you arbitrarily just say oil and gas has to be off the table in 10 years, then there’s no substitute you can replace it with. So you work on efficiency and substitution where it makes sense and continue to move along this progressive path.”
It’s a note that columnist Chris Tomlinson strikes as well, as he points out that corporate interests — driven by a focus on the bottom line — do not necessarily always run counter to social goals.
“A corporation’s mission is to make a profit, and a lot of companies will make a lot of money reducing greenhouse gases,” he observes. “Activists and policymakers must accept that energy companies are part of the solution, even if they contribute to climate change in the time being.”
Looking ahead to where markets were heading was what drove the success of real estate developer David Wolff.
Contributor Danny King tells us how Wolff determined that residential and commercial populations would start to move west back in the 1970s and began to snap up property along the Katy Freeway.
The bet, King writes, would pay off, as companies such as ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Arco and Amoco (now BP) would subsequently make their homes in the area, which became known as the Energy Corridor.
“If you focus on one market, you’re going to know more than other people do. You don’t earn any money at the Hertz counter,” Wolff says.
That vision was lauded by Mark Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital, which has been the beneficiary both of Wolff ’s largesse and political acumen.
“All great leaders have that ability not just to look down the street, but to see around the corners and see possibilities,” Wallace says. “David has that characteristic.”
We expect those gathering here next year for the WPC will share some of that vision and set the table for the profitable and cleaner energy future Tomlinson foresees.
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