Plenary Session: Executive Perspectives

URTeC Plenary Session

Monday, 20 June 2022, 10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.  |  Houston, Texas

Course Content

Unconventional oil and natural gas plays are essential to meet global energy needs in the coming decades.  The United States contains vast untapped commercial resources that provide energy independence and protect national security.  Technological advances in development, production and distribution can provide these resources in an environmentally clean and efficient manner.  Emerging technologies from fossil energy companies promise a wide diversity of solutions to these challenges.

Additionally, the U.S. shale industry is rebounding and delivering record cash flows.   These companies have reduced debt and reined in production growth in pursuit of shareholder demands for more favorable financial models which is winning back investors.  Now with crude headed toward $100 a barrel, production growth and capital spending are climbing again, led by the supermajors and private operators.   The sweet spot of returning free cash flow and production growth is poised to advance our industry.

We have asked our Executive Plenary Panel to share their perspectives on the current state of the industry as well as evolution to cleaner energy from unconventional plays in the U.S. and the globe in partnership with renewable energy systems while simultaneously returning cash flow and production growth.

Room Assignment:

George R. Brown Convention Center, General Assembly

Fee:

Included with Registration

Moderator:

Luis Baez

Panelists:

Richard Lynch, Senior Vice President, Technology and Services, Hess

Kirk Johnson, Senior Vice President, Lower 48 Assets and Operations, ConocoPhillips

Mark Berg, Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations, Pioneer Natural Resources

T. Ryder Booth, Vice President, North America Exploration & Production, Mid-Continent Business Unit, Chevron

Venue

George R. Brown Convention Center

1001 Avenida De Las Americas

Houston, Texas 77010

United States

(713) 853-8000

Website Map

Instructors

Mark Berg Pioneer Natural Resources

Mark Berg oversees Business Development, Land, Water Management, Government Affairs and Corporate Communications, Environmental and Sustainable Development and Facilities at Pioneer Natural Resources, where he serves on the Management Committee as an Executive Vice President. Prior to his current role, he oversaw the company’s vertically integrated operations. He joined the Company in 2005 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Berg began his career in 1983 with the Houston-based law firm of Vinson & Elkins, becoming a partner focused on mergers, acquisitions and international transactions. He then moved to American General Corporation, a Fortune 200 diversified financial services company, as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, and oversaw its $27 billion sale to Prudential in 2001. Following that, he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel of Hanover Compressor Company, a NYSE company specializing in natural gas compression and processing. Berg is active in public policy matters and was instrumental in leading the effort to lift the U.S. crude oil export ban in 2015. He is founding Vice Chairman of the Permian Strategic Partnership and a member of the board of the Texas Oil and Gas Association. He also serves on the boards of ProPetro and Dallas CASA, where he is a former chairman. Berg received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Tulane University.

T. Ryder Booth Vice President, North America Exploration and Production, Mid-Con Business Unit Chevron

Ryder Booth is vice president of Chevron North America Exploration & Production Company and oversees its Mid-Continent Business Unit, a position he has held since August 2, 2021. He is responsible for managing Chevron’s large resource base of oil and liquids-rich assets in the mid-continent United States, including Chevron's significant Permian assets in Texas and New Mexico. Ryder most recently served as vice president of Capital Projects responsible for Chevron’s global large capital project activities, and as the company’s Chief Procurement Officer. During his 30-year career with Chevron, Ryder has held numerous technical and management positions in Chevron global upstream business, including assignments in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and the United States. He has served as the Production Operations Manager in Kazakhstan for the company’s Tengizchevroil operation; as general manager of corporate strategy based in San Ramon, California. He joined Chevron in 1991 as a facility engineer in the Mid-Continent Business Unit after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University. Ryder resides in Midland, Texas, with his wife Gretchen. They have two adult sons. Ryder and Gretchen enjoy basketball, hiking, fishing and local community church activities.

Kirk Johnson Senior VP, Lower 48 Assets and Operations ConocoPhillips

Kirk Johnson is senior vice president, Lower 48 Assets and Operations for ConocoPhillips. In this capacity, he leads the teams responsible for asset development and land activities, drilling and operations, and sustainable development. Johnson has more than 20 years of oil and natural gas experience. Most recently, he served as vice president, Corporate Planning and Development, accountable for corporate planning, strategy development, and investment appraisal and assurance. Prior to that role, he served as president, Canada, overseeing the Surmont oil sands operation and the liquids-rich Montney unconventional play. He began his career with BP in 1997 and worked a variety of engineering, operations, and project positions supporting oil and gas operations in Alaska. Johnson joined ConocoPhillips in 2008 and held increasingly accountable roles in asset management and corporate planning. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering and petroleum refining from Colorado School of Mines in 1997. He has served as a member of the board of governors for the Business Council of British Columbia, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and Education Matters, Calgary’s trust for public education.

Richard Lynch Senior Vice President, Technology and Services Hess Corporation

Richard Lynch is Senior Vice President, Technology and Services for Hess Corporation, a leading global independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. He is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. In this role, Lynch is responsible for functional delivery of field development, major infrastructure, drilling and completions projects and driving functional excellence through standards, processes, technology and talent management. Prior to joining Hess in April 2014, Lynch spent 14 years with BP, most recently as Vice President, Global Wells Organization where he was responsible for the safe, compliant and reliable delivery of all upstream activities associated with drilling, completions, interventions and wellbore integrity. Under Lynch’s leadership, the organization built the Containment Response System to shut-in a well in the event of an uncontrollable leak, created the BP Global Wells Institute to develop the technical expertise of employees and contractors, and established new drilling and completion standards and policies following the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon incident. Lynch holds a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming.