EDITOR INTERVIEW
In conversation with... Tracey Gardiner, Vice President, Base Oils, Chevron Corporation
You have an impressive 20-year history working with Chevron; what first attracted you to the company, and 20 years later, what still appeals? My first job with Chevron was in New Zealand, where I was born. As the Caltex Commercial Development Manager I had a fantastic job engaging with many key industries: fishing, agriculture, forestry and road transport. I thought I would be with Chevron for a couple of years but more than 20 years later there is still much to learn.
I enjoy the variety of businesses that we serve and the human and economic connection; I like that our products help ensure energy efficiency and protect the working life of equipment. Plus, the scale of what we do really appeals - our work has a huge impact, and our manufacturing capability is incredible. Just standing next to a tank in a plant gives you an appreciation of the industrial scale required to do our work, filling tanks, ships, rail cars. The amount of product and movement to get it to market is an amazing orchestration. I am fortunate to be leading the base oil organization in a dynamic and changing time. Increasing technical demands and specifications, more stringent regulations like IMO 2020, and the need for ever cleaner energy and more sustainable practices, are all creating the need for change in our business. And that’s why I’m still here at Chevron 20 years later - I like that our company invests in the human and technological resources to solve our evolving energy challenges.
What are the most significant challenges you’ve seen and what has been their impact? The energy narrative has changed over the last 20 years; we’ve gone from talking about peak oil to talking of peak demand, but the underlying challenge has long been the same, providing the energy the world needs to advance standards of living and doing it in ever cleaner and more sustainable ways. We all deserve the comforts that reliable energy brings to our lives. Energy means children can read at night and advance their education, clothes can be washed by machine and not hand, and automation can take the place of human labour. Every piece of moving machinery needs effective lubrication to operate at its best for its longest possible life.
The need to reduce emissions is a global concern. How is Chevron working to achieve this?
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Chevron is working hard to identify solutions to improve access and deliver energy with less environmental impact. We have committed to reducing methane emissions intensity by 20-25% and flaring intensity by 25-30% from 2016 – 2023, aligned with the Paris Agreement milestones. Chevron has developed the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world at our Gorgon facility in Australia. We continue to invest in new breakthrough technologies through our Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) initiative which champions the innovation, commercialization and integration of emerging technologies.
How ready is Chevron for the technological revolution that is coming?
I believe the way we adopt and use technology is more important than the technology itself. I have been working on digitizing business processes for more than 7 years. Our US base in San Ramon is next door to Silicon Valley, a great location to access talent and ideas. In my experience all digitization projects are about people and change management more than they are about technology. Business will do well when we adopt agile and iterative processes and measure results, doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t. Our industry will evolve our business into a different technology landscape that is powered by the cloud, AI, and maybe block chain; the evolution of our business process rather than revolution to fit a technology.
What benefits will digitization bring to Chevron? The scale of our business means that small improvements in efficiency can have massive pay outs - In Chevron base oils we are using digital technologies to allow us more time with our customers and less time on paperwork, making it easier for our customers to find key information. The smart use of proven technologies is being applied to great results, whether it’s the use of augmented reality to help field operators, cloud computing to scale business processes or machine learning to predict events. We are adopting new technology where we can see benefit for our business and our customers. This time next year we should have completed our first wave of digital initiatives, and we are already seeing improved results with our customers.
LINK
www.chevron.com
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