OUR GREAT MINDS

Neil Matthew, Drilling Engineer, Sierra Engineering

Neil Matthews

Drilling Engineer, Sierra Engineering

Neil Matthews was born and raised in Lafayette, LA, but spent his last two high school years in Kingwood, TX. His oilfield roots run deep as his father is a 35-year engineer at Hess. He attended LSU, but ultimately received his petroleum engineering degree from Texas A&M. After a few internships in Houston, he quickly realized that this is where his future lay, and transferring to A&M made the most sense.

Upon graduation, he took his first position as an offshore drilling engineer with Apache Corporation. He ended up spending six amazing years at Apache, rotating through reservoir and production engineering positions from offshore to inland water and onto land in Texas and Oklahoma. Apache proved to be a wonderful place to work, and he received great experience from talented individuals. He, eventually, flew the nest and landed at Energy XXI, where he spent three years as a drilling and completion engineer. Finally, he landed as an engineering consultant where he has worked in that capacity for three years.

He has worked for Castex, Wagner O&G, and EnVen Energy Ventures mostly on the Gulf Coast or GOM.

We asked Neil:

The OGM: What does sustainability mean to you?

Neil: It means adjusting and improvising to keep moving ahead and progressing.

The OGM: Have you had a mentor?

Neil: Yes, I’ve had a few.

The OGM: What does success mean to you?

Neil: It means being happy first off. Also, it means being in a position where you are confident with what you are doing and that people respect you in your capacity.

The OGM: If you were to describe your career in three words what would they be?

Neil: 24/7, rewarding, challenging.

The OGM: What advice would you give to someone looking for a career in the energy industry?

Neil: Do it! We need you. Gain as much experience as possible in your first few years.

The OGM: Describe a milestone in your career?

Neil: Leaving Apache.

The OGM: Describe a challenge you faced in your career?

Neil: Every day is a challenge.

The OGM: What impact does technology have on your career?

Neil: It’s fairly impactual, but I haven’t really seen anything in the last few years that has really changed what I do though.

The OGM: What do the next five years look like in your career?

Neil: I see a small-company management role or continuing to consult. Both would be great situations.

The OGM: Were you always interested in a career in Energy?

Neil: Yes, as long as I can remember.

The OGM: What interests you to sustain a career in the Energy Industry?

Neil: It’s all I know, and I like it.

The OGM: Do you have a role model you look up to?

Neil: Yes, I have many, but my father would be #1.

The OGM: What does Energy mean to you?

Neil: It means opportunity.

The OGM: What is your favorite APP on your phone?

Neil: Google maps.

The OGM: What impact will the Millennial Generation have on the Energy Industry?

Neil: It will bring an infusion of new talent and perspectives.

The OGM: What’s your take on Social Media and our ever changing digital world?

Neil: I’m not much of a social-media guy, but relationships count in this business—anything that facilitates that is helpful.

The OGM: What Social Medium do you use on a daily basis?

Neil: None.

The OGM: Do you use Social Media for work?

Neil: No.

The OGM: What do you think of Social Recruiting?

Neil: Because I am in a specialized field, recruitment typically is based on established reputations.

The OGM: Why do you love what you do?

Neil: There is a new challenge every morning.

Tina Olivero

30 years ago, Tina Olivero looked into the future and saw an opportunity to make a difference for her province and people. That difference came in the form of the oil and gas sector. Six years before there was even a drop of oil brought to the shores of Newfoundland, she founded The Oil and Gas Magazine (THE OGM) from a back room in her home on Signal Hill Road, in St. John’s, Newfoundland. A single mother, no financing, no previous journalism or oil and gas experience, she forged ahead, with a creative vision and one heck of a heaping dose of sheer determination. With her pioneering spirit, Ms. Olivero developed a magazine that would educate, inspire, motivate and entertain oil and gas readers around the world — She prides herself in marketing and promoting our province and resources in unprecedented ways. The OGM is a magazine that focuses on our projects, our people, our opportunities and ultimately becomes the bridge to new energy outcomes and a sustainable new energy world. Now diversifying into the communications realms, a natural progression from the Magazine, The OGM now offers an entirely new division - Oil & Gas Media. Today, The Oil and Gas Magazine is a global phenomenon that operates not only in Newfoundland, but also in Calgary and is read by oil and gas enthusiasts in Norway, Aberdeen, across the US and as far reaching as Abu Dhabi, in the Middle East. Believing that Energy is everyone’s business, Ms. Olivero has combined energy + culture to embrace the worlds commitment to a balance of work and home life as well as fostering a foundation for health and well being. In this era of growth and development business and lifestyle are an eloquent mix, there is no beginning or end. Partnering with over 90 oil and gas exhibitions and conferences around the world, Ms. Olivero's role as a Global Visionary is to embrace communication in a way that fosters oil and gas business and industry growth in new and creative ways.

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