Flipping the Barrel is a podcast created to shine a light on women and men in energy by sharing the stories of successful individuals in this industry. Because everyone has a story that we can all learn from.
“How My Own Unconscious Bias Held Me Back“ with Sofia Barrios, VP Measurement Products at TechnipFMC.
Nov 23, 2020
Show notes
Sofia grew up in Venezuela during a time when the country was flourishing. There were many opportunities with a rich democracy run government and an abundance of natural resources where Oil and Gas were the primary income source. Sofia expresses her love for Venezuela during these years and how growing up, she dreamed of working in Oil and Gas.
Sofia talks about the effects one leader can have on the wellbeing of the people. Venezuela went from the 4th wealthiest nation per capita to the poorest country in South America. In 1997 when she was close to graduating as an engineer, she realized her potential in Venezuela was limited. She needed to find an international company to work for to leave. She eventually found ways to connect internationally and permanently leave the country in 2004 for a better future for herself. Sofia's first job was in the field, selling wellheads in Venezuela. At this time, Venezuela was open-minded about women working in the field; it wasn't out of the ordinary to see a woman on a rig.
She talks about how she was successful in her approach to leave the country, move to the USA to do her masters, and then landed a job working for Tefchnipfmc in Singapore. She worked in Singapore, Australia, and Asia over the 10 years before moving to the US.
Working in Asia, she was categorized as "Westerner". Being a Westerner brought some social benefits since you were immediately respected. When her job sent her back to the US, she began to doubt herself and built an unconscious bias in her mind of what people would think of her as Hispanic. This bias affected Sofia in many ways.
She talks about the struggles she had adapting to the American culture when, in reality, it was her thoughts holding her back. She provided sound advice on her approach to overcome the unconscious bias that we all fall victim too.
Sofia is a mom of two; she talks about balancing work/life and the adjustments she had to make moving back to the US.
Promotions, we all want one. Sofia advises on how to be recognized within a large company. She is now the VP of Measurements Products at TechnipFMC.
When she lost some sponsors at the company due to the downturn, she changed her approach and went from relying on someone to promote her to become her own advocate.
Sofia believes in the power of writing; to this day, she still has the goals she wrote for herself as a young girl. She had her life planned out on paper. She knew who she wanted to become. She explains how she was able to achieve these goals. Her #1 advice is to start with the end goal in your mind written down on paper.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
“What No One Tells You About the Oilfield” with your Hosts Jamie Elrod & Massiel Diez
Nov 09, 2020
Show notes
“ What no one tells you about the oilfield”
Jamie and Massiel provide industry insight on this special episode, from their session at the Women’s Global Leadership Conference, held on Nov 3-6th.. They were asked to speak during the Stem Workshop, to help educate the younger generation on the oil industry. WGLC had a record turnout this year, with 6,500 attendees and 75 speakers from all over the world.
The oil and gas industry is one of the largest sectors in the world in terms of dollar value, generating an estimated $3.3 trillion in revenue annually. Oil is crucial to the global economic framework, especially for its largest producers: the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada and China.
In this episode you will discover:
What is a barrel of oil?
The products made from one barrel of oil
Due to the wide variety of products made possible by oil and natural gas, the U.S. consumed approximately 7.3 billion barrels of petroleum in 2017.
How oil and gas helps saves lives
Total household and North America Energy usage and sources
How oil and gas companies support schools and education
Free Education at UT
44 Billion Dollar Fund
ExxonMobil Stem Education
Data shows that not enough students are pursuing STEM careers to meet the oil and natural gas industry’s workforce needs. The industry will need to hire nearly 1.9 million oil and natural gas workers between 2015 and 2035. Expanding STEM education opportunities will be critical to keep the US competitive in an ever-changing world.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
“The Face behind the Voice” @ NOV with Michael Gaines.
Nov 02, 2020
Show notes
In today’s episode Jamie and Massiel sit down with another known podcaster in the oil and gas space, Michael Gaines, aka “ The Voice”, on NOV Today Podcast. Many people know Michael
as an expert communicator and dynamic public speaker, with 11 years of experience in Marketing, Product Development and Branding at NOV. What many people don’t know is the leap of faith Michael took when offered his first position at NOV.
Michael was a A student in College, student body President and checked all the boxes after graduating to land a great job. Reality set in after his first role in outside sales selling shipping services. He was cold calling, knocking on doors and felt like he was annoying people more than selling to them. He ended up leaving the shipping service company and going to work for a temp agency. Where he was stacking floor samples, he thought to himself, “ This must be what it’s like to be a classically trained chef and be asked to make french fries”. During this time Michael learned many life lessons that he shares on the podcast.
After a few years of not being able to find a stable job, Michael received a call from a woman at NOV that he knew from years ago. She remembered Michael from college and thought he was the perfect candidate for a role they were looking to fill, Product Line Champion - Drill Bits. Michael said, YES with no hesitation but he knew nothing about drill bits. This is when his story gets interesting. Let’s just say Wikipedia and Google is your friend. Michael walks you through what he did to prepare for the interview and how he ended up becoming the Product Line Champion with no experience, knowledge or even understanding of what a Drill Bit was, outside of his internet search, at the time.
Michael grew into his role at NOV becoming a trusted resource and Manager. He did not pretend to know everything and was never scared to ask questions. He moved on to take on a role as a Global Product Line Champion, after many months of asking for this position. At the time the role did not exist but Michael saw a pain point within the company that lacked communication between two regions. He talks about how he approached management diplomatically in order to eventually convince them to let him oversee the operation.
He is a great example of paving your own path. Even though he works for a large company he was able to still be an entrepreneur within NOV. Many of his roles were created for him or he created for himself. When he found a pain point instead of complaining about it, he asked to be put into a role to take it head on. Listen in to find out how he ended up becoming “ The Voice” for NOV since 2017.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
“The New GenZ Oilfield” with Sara Al-Hinai, Halliburton Field Engineer.
Oct 19, 2020
Show notes
Today is a special episode, we interviewed a Social Media Influencer, who is working hard to inspire Women in our industry.
Sara Al-Hinai was born and raised in the Middle East, she brings a different perspective to the podcast, as many of us have our own assumptions of what it’s like for Women growing up in Oman and what their oilfield experiences are.
Sara is our first GenZ guest and youngest female Drilling Fluids Engineer for Halliburton, working for an operator in Oman. She is only 23 years old, she graduated Chemical Engineering at the end of 2018, in the UK. Sara received a full ride scholarship to the University of Huddersfield from the Omani Government. She talks about the process of receiving the scholarship, it’s much different than the United States. During her time in University she found herself immersed in fitness. She even started her own online fitness company. We touch on the correlation between fitness and confidence, which we find to be a foundational attribute when working in our industry.
After graduating she then moved back home to the Middle East and joined the O&G industry in 2018. She has been working as a Drilling Fluids Engineer in the field for almost 2 years now.
We talk about what makes Gen Z tick, how they operate, and the future of selling to a generation who is connected to their devices.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
Boys will be Boys… with Karen Olson, the Frac Queen.
Oct 12, 2020
Show notes
Thank you to PESA (Petroleum Equipment & Services Association) for being a proud sponsor of this episode.
Karen started in oil and gas back in the 80’s where women were few and far between. Throughout her 36-year career she has been faced with many trials and tribulations. When she decided to pursue Petroleum Engineering at LSU, she was approached by her professor with concern, he told her: “Women do not belong in the oilfield”. Karen did not realize at the time that the professor was setting her up for what would become a common thought from many men she would soon be working with.
Her first job out of college was as a field engineer in training with Western Company of North America, a completion services company. She was the first two female engineers they had hired. What is interesting about her time at Western is the stories she tells of the constant harassment that went on for over 2 years. She realized this was not what she signed up for and approached her boss, what you learn next during the episode will really surprise you.
Karen’s career changed when she decided to pursue a Graduate degree at A&M. During her time pursuing her degree, she received a Masters on Completions optimization in the Marcellus shale. This was the turning point in her career. She wrote her thesis over a DOE study on completions in the Devonian Shale. Karen wrote a proposal on how to optimize the completions in the basin. Through her research and recommendations, she received a 5M$ research grant and a job offer from Mobil.
While at Mobil she started working in the field as a Frac Engineer over the pad. During this time, she just gave birth to a little girl. With only 8 weeks off before she had to head back to work, there were a lot of changes in her life she was having to adjust to. Karen talks about how she managed being a first-time mother, while working out on location away from her family. Not to mention, she went into labor on location.
Karen spent time working overseas in Norway for Exxon Mobil. She faced another bump in the road, when the new regime in Norway, believed Karen’s job could be replaced by her writing out a step- by-step procedure. Karen called her bluff, and decided she needed to leave. Soon after she received a job offer from BP in Norway, for her experience fracing in Midland. Karen did not realize her experience working in Midland would become extremely crucial, as the industry started to progress with unconventional plays.
Karen went on to become the Director of Technologies for Southwestern Energy due to her Completions and Reservoir experience. After leaving SWN she started devoting her time to supporting Women and young girls to pursue a degree in Engineering. She has been invited to talk at A&M multiple times and is very active with SPE. Karen has been a part of SPE for more than 36 years. She was awarded SPE International Sustainability Award in 2019. For the past three years she has been the SPE Chair for the Hydraulic Fracturing Conference. She is also one of the pioneers for Women in Hydraulic Fracturing Organization, where she heads up live events on LinkedIn every week.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
“Forbes 30 under 30” with Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes, Co-Founder & President of Black Mountain Intl.
Sep 28, 2020
Show notes
Thank you to PESA (Petroleum Equipment & Services Association) for being a proud sponsor of this episode.
President and COO of Black Mountain Metals, nicknamed the Nickel Queen, listed in Forbes 30 under 30 and now pioneering frac in Western Australia, there isn’t much Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes has not accomplished. Did we mention she just turned 30?
In this Episode Ashely talks with Jamie and Massiel on how she made her way to becoming one of the leading females in the mining & O&G industry at age 28. She then went on and co-founded a second company- Black Mountain Exploration, based in Dallas but operating in Australia.
Growing up in a hard working family in Oklahoma, Ashley learned that if she wanted something she would have to put in the work to get it. She was one of the first to attend University in her Family. Ashley knew she wanted to leave her hometown and travel. This is what drove her to go to OU to become a petroleum engineer. During Ashley’s first internship with Exxon she developed a close relationship with a few key people on her team. These individuals ended up as her mentors and she was one of the only 2 engineers that year, that got selected for a full time job on the Exploration team. Although she was a rising star at Exxon, she began to feel like something was missing. She knew she didn’t want to continue to work for a large corporation. She always wanted to be entrepreneurial and decided to go get her MBA at Harvard.
Ashley took a bet on herself, left a high paying job to go to Harvard on her own dime. She took full advantage of the Harvard network and met some folks that changed the course of her life. Through the network and posting her resume, she met Rhett the CEO of Black Mountain. After 4 months working for Rhett Bennett, she Co-Founded Black Mountain Metals, then in 2019 she acquired 1.7 million acres in Australia Co-founding Black Mountain Exploration. Ashley describes her journey and how she Co-Founded companies without having any knowledge, at the time on mining and electrification. Nickel is widely used in batteries, with the increased need for batteries in electric cars Ashley knew this would be a great opportunity for a business. Ashley walks us through her process in creating the team that helped found Black Mountain Metals for battery metals.
Black Widow is Ashley’s nickname in Western Australia, due to the purchase of Mitsubishi land assets in Australia, to start one of the first frac projects in over 5 years in the Canning Basin. With the lack of information in the area and fear mongering on fracking has led to public concerns. Ashley provides advice on how she deals with backlash from the community and her reasoning for wanting to frac the gas play.
Ashley talks about work life balance, she follows the “seasons theory”. Meaning that every season has a beginning and an end. Ashley is the President for a company based in Forth Worth with operations in Australia, she has first hand experience with balancing different time zones and her relationship.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
“Hard Work Does Pay Off” with Bill Langin, VP Exploration North America & Brazil at Shell.
Sep 21, 2020
Show notes
PESA- Petroleum Equipment Service & Association is a proud sponsor of this episode.
PESA- Petroleum Equipment Service & Association is a proud sponsor of this episode.
Bill Langin, the VP of Exploration - North America & Brazil at Shell, shared his amazing oilfield story with us, and we hope you are as inspired as we were.
Raised by a single mother, Bill and his two siblings grew up in a depressed area in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He was particularly close to his maternal grandfather who taught him from an early age that hard work, dedication, and perseverance were the keys to success. Bill was also deeply impacted by the humbling stories his grandfather shared about growing up during the Great Depression, including taking his wagon to the government food bank to get food and supplies so that the family had enough to eat. Times were so tough that his grandfather was forced to turn down a full scholarship to Penn State so that he could serve in the army to support his family. These poignant stories of resiliency instilled in Bill an unwavering resolve to succeed, no matter what the odds. He was inspired and propelled to excel in both academics and sports. Eventually, that hard work was rewarded with an acceptance letter to one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the US: Princeton University! Bill’s story goes to show that you can develop yourself and work your way from humble beginnings to an executive role at a major company!
Despite his grit and determination, Bill’s oilfield journey was not without its challenges. While Princeton was a dream come true, the academic rigor of the Ivy League college was a struggle at first. But he soon found a passion for geology and landed an internship as a field engineer with Schlumberger. It was another success, but it also was the summer of 1998, when the industry was knee-deep in a downturn. The price of oil was a mere $9.00 per barrel. It was a sobering experience to see so many colleagues lose their jobs and to witness firsthand how volatile the oil field service sector can be.
At the end of this internship, he decided that furthering his education would give him the strongest chance of securing the best possible job. When he looked into his options, it appeared that a PhD program (as opposed to a Masters or MBA) was actually the most cost-effective way to obtain the degree he would need. Instead of paying, he would be paid as a teaching and research assistant while working towards a degree. So that’s what he did, completing a PhD at Cornell University in just under four years.
In August of 2003, Bill started his first full-time job in the energy industry with Shell. He came into Shell with an open mind and started to not just apply the standard workflows, but also to try to improve the tools and processes for everyone so that the company could benefit. In one particular module in the seismic software, he noticed that something looked off. Despite a high-end computer workstation sitting under his desk, he told his boss “I don't think this is correct and I need a protractor”. He went back to the “old school” way of figuring out problems, with paper, pencil, and handwritten math. Ultimately, on this occasion, he was right! Through this story, Bill describes his approach to how he addresses Shell with his thoughts and ideas on improving processes. This is great advice for anyone looking to approach their employer with a solution, without coming across in a negative way.
In the podcast, Bill talks about his progression over the years with his leadership style and how he had to adapt as his team grew. In Houston he managed a group of 80, then in Oman a group of 200, and after that in Australia he found himself responsible for a group of nearly 2,000. He describes how, in his experience, you need to stay connected with your employees. He reflects on a pivotal career moment in Australia that shaped his leadership approach to safety and taught him that empowerment, combined with genuine, heartfelt care, could positively impact an entire organization.
Bill also touches on diversity and inclusion. He talks in depth about some of the factors that drive his focus on inclusion and making sure everyone feels that they can bring all of their effort, talent, and creativity into their job. Bill believes that focusing on an inclusive culture is one of the keys to getting the best out of employees.
Bill also touches on Shell’s views on reducing emissions and its carbon footprint. He describes the breakdown of the emissions impacts in different aspects of the oil and gas value chain. Listen in to find out how Shell is striving to reduce their overall net footprint to deliver a net zero emissions business.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
Our One Year Anniversary Special Edition Episode with your host Massiel & Jamie.
Sep 15, 2020
Show notes
It’s Flipping The Barrel One Year Anniversary! Jamie and Massiel have a one on one conversation, explaining the lessons learned and obstacles they overcame to get to where they are today. “Failure is not a permanent experience, you must rise above it and choose to be better than you were a moment ago. Changing and growing is what makes you win”.
“Overcoming Rejection” with Lindsy Sallee VP Sales Rig Tech at NOV.
Sep 07, 2020
Show notes
Thank you to NOV-National Oilwell Varco for sponsoring this episode. To find out more about NOV please visit their: Website and make sure to follow them on Linkedin.
Lindsy Sallee grew up in a household that strongly believed quitting wasn’t an option. Her family had the belief,if you try something you have to stick to it for a year before you make any decisions. Little did Lindsy know, at the time,this would be her mantra throughout her entire career and life.
Lindsy went to a non-traditional oil and gas school in St. Louis, Washington University. Wash U is a liberal arts focus school. Lindsy was on a political science path until her Junior year when she realized, Business School was more of a fit than the political scene. Interestingly enough, NOV was making a push for Western state schools at the time, due to familiarity with “smart kids” coming from these universities. With no idea about the oil and gas industry she fell in love with the personality of the NOV recruiters and their overall demeanor... “They seemed so cool”. She then decided this is the place she wanted to work after graduating.
Although Lindsy was set on working for NOV she received a rejection letter after her interview process. She was devastated. A few weeks later she received a call from NOV for a different position, an inside sales role. She jumped on the opportunity and her path at NOV started.
With little technical knowledge, Lindsy had to overcome the fact that others around her knew more than she did. She didn't allow this to set her back, she took it upon herself to learn each role and make time to go to the field and understand the products she was selling.
Lindsy is a mom of two and gives advice on her perspective of work life balance. With her first kid, 7 years ago, she was concerned that having kids was going to set her back in her career. She had a mentor at the time that said, “ Just do it, everything will fall into place”. She described the anxiety she had telling her first boss about her pregnancy… needless to say his response was surprising.
Lindsy provides insight into the changes she has seen over the last 16 years with diversity and inclusion. She expresses the need to continue placing nontraditional people into roles that might not seem like a good fit, in return diversity in all aspects will grow. Having people succeed in roles that were perceived in the past to only have “ XYZ” traits begins to change people’s thoughts on who should fit that role. Lindsy describes the time they hired a History Major into a Commissioning role, at the time it didn't seem like the right fit, based on the perception of who would excel in that role. He ended up exceeding expectations, their thoughts on the former educational requirements were forever changed.
Thank you NOV and PESA for sponsoring this episode.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
“Being Underestimated is Your Competitive Edge” with Richa Bansal CEO PinkCareers
Aug 31, 2020
Show notes
PESA- Petroleum Equipment Service & Association is a proud sponsor of this episode.
At a young age Richa's parents pushed her to strive in school, with aspirations that Richa would become an engineer, a lawyer or a doctor. This seemed to be the norm for many children who grew up in India. She originally wanted to go into Aerospace engineering but her parents persuaded her to pick Mechanical Engineering, due to a broader opportunity outside college. Her advisors told her “Girls do not do Mechanical Engineering”, she went against their recommendation and decided to do it anyways. She was the only girl in her class.
She loved the lifestyle Schlumberger provided to young engineers. She applied for Schlumberger and was turned down twice. During one of her interviews SLB asked, “ What would you do if your car broke down on the side of the road”, she wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t get the job. Richa was discouraged but wasn’t going to give up. She ended up deciding to invest in herself since SLB wasn’t in the cards just yet. She was later accepted to Purdue University, where she pursued her MBA. During her time working on her MBA, she tried once again to work for SLB. She ended up fulfilling her dream and was offered her dream job.
While pregnant working on her MBA and working full time can be stressful, having to tell your boss can be scary. Richa explains, how she approached her boss and their response to her news. She goes into detail on how she was able to manage her time and still be successful at work. There comes a time where you have to prioritize and say “No” when it's not the right time to take on more.
Richa started Pink Careers to help women in the industry and provide a resource for those who might not have a mentor. The valuable knowledge she gained from the mentors was substantial, she wanted to give back to others,to help them in their career. As Pink Careers expanded she added more resources including - resume tips, interview tips, qualities of a leader and mentor programs all for free. She started a program called “ Emerging Leaders Academy”. During the program she did a questionnaire on, “ Your Biggest Challenge at work”. The biggest one was Confidence. We go into detail on how to overcome this challenge.
Richa and her husband lost their job due to Covid, they both were working for Schlumberger at the time. She took this as an opportunity to upgrade their resumes and look outward for a new role. She talks about how to find a job and streamline your efforts to land the job you really want. She was able to start a new career within a few weeks and even moved her family to Canada from Houston. Listen in to hear her top 5 tips to up-sell yourself and customize your resume.
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