Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise, OK
06-16-07
Company doing well, says Batchelder
By Susan Albert E-E Business Editor
Times are good, said Gene Batchelder, senior vice president, services, and chief
information officer of ConocoPhillips, during a guest spot at Arvest’s Friday
Financial Forum in Bartlesville.
After summarizing the company’s positive bottom line, Batchelder reiterated
recent ConocoPhillips news such as their commitment to renewable energy and
their investment in biofuels research. He then brought his comments home with
ConocoPhillips’ growth related to Bartlesville.
Stockwise, ConocoPhillips just hit a 52-week high, $80.08 per share, he said.
“We’ve done really well the first part of this year. No significant refinery
interruptions … or serious weather has impacted the operations in the lower 48.”
Batchelder said they’ve completed their 20 percent acquisition in LUKOIL, and it
continues to perform well.
He said the commercial organization is doing well, as is midstream.
“It’s a good place to be right now,” he said.
ConocoPhillips recently announced its partnership with Tyson Foods, Inc., to
produce a renewable diesel fuel made from animal fat.
“We hope eventually that will get up to 175 million gallons per year of renewable
diesel, and it’s not all that significant in the grand scheme of things with the
corporation but it’s going to take everything like that — it’s going to take
switchgrass, its going to take some ethanol, it’s going to take all forms of
renewables, it’s going to take conservation and it’s going to take some new
investment … to try to keep things in balance.”
He said one of the nice things about renewable diesel is that it can run through
their refinery and the whole distribution system and “that is not the case with
some of the other products…”
In addition, the company committed $22.5 million to a biofuels research program
at Iowa State University.
According to a ConocoPhillips press release, biorenewable fuels produced from
organic materials reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and, at the
same time, diversify the energy supply.
Batchelder said they are in the process of signing into a similar activity.
“It will be called the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels. It’s a joint
venture involving not just us but several corporations and several academic
institutions.”
The Center plans to lead the way in research, education and development of
renewable energy sources and their integration into the chemical and fuels
industry, according to a report from the University of Colorado.
“We’ve become more vocal in taking a leadership position in the whole area of
renewables, conservation and environmental protection,” Batchelder said.
Global Systems and Services in Bartlesville provides services for the corporation
globally and as the company grows, there will be more work to do in Bartlesville,
Batchelder said.
Last fall they announced a service consolidation that would bring 155 jobs to
Bartlesville. He said about 55 of those jobs are in Bartlesville today.
Not all are new faces in Bartlesville, he cautioned, some people transferred from
other parts of the organization and other positions were filled from outside.
He said 85 are scheduled to come over during the summer, and the balance will
move within the third and fourth quarter.
“We have over 2,800 employees in Bartlesville and we’re up 100 on our
contractor count,” he said.
ConocoPhillips is operating at capacity right now, he said, and as the company
grows, it will have to add to its workforce.
Batchelder projected that the company will hire an additional 200 employees next
year.
Several local ConocoPhillips interns attended Friday’s Forum, all representing
various universities and academic fields including management information
systems, accounting and communications.
Batchelder said the company hopes the interns will return to Bartlesville and
ConocoPhillips when they complete their degrees.
He said there’s been great progress in the retail and housing front but the
community needed to continue lobbying for better recreation to attract those
young employees.
“This generation is looking for places to live, great recreation and great retail.
We’ve made great progress but we’re not where we need to be.”
In response to an audience question, Batchelder reported that traditionally about
30 percent of Bartlesville’s CP employees live outside the city in places like
Owasso, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Tulsa or rural areas, and that number has not
changed significantly.