‘All hands on deck’ to meet world’s energy needs

Don’t ever feel the need to apologize for what you do, Phillips 66 President and CEO Mark Lashier told the Texas Oil & Gas Association’s Lone Star Energy Forum in a speech Wednesday.

“We believe providing energy improves lives,” said Lashier. “We power human progress. Full stop. That’s what we do. And it’s what we’re going to do now and in the future.”

Among others to speak at the forum, which was held in The Woodlands, Texas, about 35 miles north of Houston: Jeff Miller, President and CEO of Halliburton and Steve Kean, Kinder Morgan CEO.

Lashier described the challenge facing the oil and gas industry as multifaceted: How do we provide the world the affordable, reliable energy that it needs while meeting the challenges of energy security and climate change?

“That’s what we’re asking ourselves every day,” said Lashier. “We’re rising to the challenge because we’re problem solvers. We all know that ultimately the solutions the world needs are more likely than not to come from this industry and the people who drive it.”

Lashier said the answer to the problems facing the world today isn’t a choice between fossil fuels and alternatives but rather a mix of oil and gas, alternative energy and technologies, such as carbon capture and storage. “It’s all hands on deck,” he said. “It’s all of the above. It’s all energy and it’s all important.”

While the oil and gas industry is focused on the right things, said Lashier, “the world doesn’t always recognize that.”

“We are in good faith working hard to make sure the world has what it needs,” he said. “And that’s why I tell people, if you want to help the planet, if you want to improve people’s lives, if you want a real purpose in your career, work in the energy industry.”

Added Lashier, “Better yet, come work for us.”