Spring 2008: Energy

Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that the world’s primary energy needs will grow by 55 percent by the year 2030.

The energy industry can be defined as one of the most volatile industries in the world right now. Countries are examining trends of demand and consumption hoping to devise a strategy to curtail the economic aftermath of a possible depletion of resources. Companies and organizations are striving each day to slow a downturn in the industry by creating alternative energy resources.

Few headlines have consistently dominated the news more than the rising oil prices of the last several years. “Can Oil Return to a ‘Sensible’ Level?,” asks the Financial Times. “U.S. Energy Chief Pleads for More Saudi, OPEC Oil,” reports the New York Times. “Oil’s Surge Reshapes the World,” says the Wall Street Journal.

Exploration, acquisitions, drilling and production. The oil and gas industry is in full swing with Baylor alumni serving as an integral part of satisfying consumer demands by providing dependable resources.

Go ahead and mark your calendar for the arrival of Peak Oil. But what date will this event take place when the world reaches the maximum point of oil production and takes the downward slope of decline? Conflicting opinions of sooner versus later were conceptualized during the 1950s with the introduction of geoscientist Dr. M. King Hubbert’s theory of peak oil production.

Students in the BEST program at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business applied analytical and upper-level thinking skills to leave lasting impressions both domestically and internationally this past year. From sugar cane to methane, students explored opportunities for alternative energy resources and discovered potential positive economic results of their efforts.

Baylor Business alumni Paul Foster and Bob Simpson share their thoughts on leadership. Foster is president, CEO and chairman of El Paso’s Western Refining Co., a supplier of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to markets in Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque and El Paso. Simpson is a co-founder, chairman of the board and CEO of the Fort Worth-based XTO Energy Inc., one of the top 10 natural gas producers in the United States.

Picture Earl C. Hankamer, benefactor of Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, with the soft smile and neatly combed hair that many people know from photographs. Now imagine this dignified man chuckling with a grandchild who is combing grandpa’s hair “every which-way.” The second image is just as accurate as the first, said grandchildren Earl C. Hankamer III and Katherine Norris. The two Houston residents remember their grandfather not only as a successful merchant and oilman, but as a family man who always had time for his 11 grandchildren, even while at work in his downtown Houston office.

When Ken and Zach Carlile run into each other in the hallways at work at Camterra Resources, it’s really nothing new. The father and son used to run into each other on their way to classes at Baylor all the time. Zach was a junior, pursuing a degree in Business Administration, when his father, Ken, returned to Baylor to work on his Ph.D. in Geology.

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Bob Moore, BBA, was one of five individuals inducted into the Convention Industry Council’s Hall of Leaders. Moore serves as the executive vice president of corporate sales for Freeman, a company that produces face-to-face marketing events for clients by providing resources for expositions, corporate events, conventions and exhibit programs around the globe.

Entrepreneurship Program Ranked in Top 25

Earning the 23rd slot in rankings conducted by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review, Baylor University’s undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program continues to maintain its elite national reputation. Only two Texas universities were ranked in the top 25, including Baylor. The rankings were based on a 900-school survey in which programs were evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom support and experiences.

Reputation is everything. And ConocoPhillips is a company that takes its reputation very seriously, mandating that honesty and ethical business practices are always at the core of every business decision, at every level of the company. The energy giant summarizes this position in its corporate ethics statement: Our mission is to do more than deliver energy. We have a longstanding commitment to maintain the highest ethical standards and foster a culture that values honesty, integrity and responsibility in everything we do.

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With more than 50,000 employees in approximately 70 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the life cycle of the reservoir – from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production through the life of the field.