05.21.2019
By Sandra H. Shichtman
Woman Engineer Spring 2019, 40th anniversary edition, and Equal Opportunity Publications, Inc.
When asked what drew her to Hess as an employer, Kehinde Ekweribe responds: “I looked for four major qualities while evaluating potential employers: career growth opportunities, domestic and international footprint, social responsibility and
a diverse and inclusive work environment.”
With an energy internship under her belt, plus a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, a master’s degree in petroleum engineering, and multiple job offers, Ekweribe chose Hess because the company embodied all of the qualities she’d
been seeking.
Hess, a global energy company that has headquarters in New York, NY and Houston, TX, is engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas.
Ekweribe’s first position with Hess was as an entry-level foundation engineer, where she worked on projects spanning artificial lift evaluation and plant turn-around planning for assets in Hess’ Seminole, TX business development, portfolio
management in New York City, and major capital project maturation in Houston.
Subsequently, “I’ve been promoted into roles of increasing responsibility and scope, including reserves evaluation and onshore production system optimization projects in North Dakota, and offshore
well performance management for asset wells in the Gulf of Mexico,” she notes.
When she first joined the company, Ekweribe says, she went through Hess’ Foundation Development Program, a structured program combining instructor-led classes on various technical and business topics, and experiential learning via assignments
about diverse project teams in the company.
“This helped build my overall understanding of the oil and gas business, Hess’ business priorities, and how my work helps impact the company’s bottom line,” she says.
Today Ekweribe is a senior production engineer working in the Gulf of Mexico, where her key responsibilities include surveillance and data acquisition, production system constraints analysis, well optimization and operating envelope development, and operations
readiness program management.
While her immediate goal is to grow her technical depth and exposure to company operations, Ekweribe believes that all Hess employees, including female engineers, can climb the management career ladder at Hess. The company offers various leadership development
resources to help groom them to be effective leaders.
Ekweribe recently completed the Embedded Lean Leader certification program, which has given her the chance to work on process improvement projects to standardize and optimize workflows across functional and asset teams. It’s also given her exposure
to senior leadership.
She’s also served as secretary and committee chair on Hess’ Women Inspiring Success and Excellence (WISE) group. The group’s goal is to help promote and cultivate leadership skills, business practices, career opportunities and personal
contacts for women. And she served multiple years on the board of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Young Professionals (Gulf Coast Chapter), and participated in women’s leadership conferences to network with inspiring women leaders in the
industry.
“I’m passionate about opportunities for women to reach the highest levels based on their career aspirations. In order to do this, networking with other women (and men) is critical as that encourages
relationship-building across functions and assets. Networking also provides exposure and an avenue to provide potential solutions to challenges that are faced in a diversity of roles across the company,” she shares.
She further indicates that the company recruits at select engineering and geosciences schools to fill technical roles each fall and spring.