Read the full episode transcript
00:00:01 Jordan
Hey everybody. Welcome back to episode two of The Energy Pipeline. Today is going to be super exciting because we are introducing our other two co- hosts, Bill and Adriana. Would you guys say hello to everybody?
00:00:17 Bill
Good morning out there, Energy Pipeline.
00:00:19 Adriana
Hi everyone, this is Adriana. It's great to be here.
00:00:22 Jordan
Guys. I'm really excited because in my opinion, the first two hosts or co- hosts were super cool and it was fun getting to know them. So I'm excited for you guys to get to know the next two co-hosts and I think you'll like them. So I'm just going to kick it off and start asking you guys questions and really get into who you are, why you wanted to be a part of the podcast, what you bring to the table, just so the audience can get a better understanding in the future as we talk with experts about different topics. So let's get started with Bill. Bill, are you ready to answer some questions?
00:00:58 Bill
Yes, I am looking forward to it.
00:01:00 Jordan
Awesome. They're going to be super- duper hard, okay? First and foremost, could you share a bit about your background and experience in the energy industry? What sparked your involvement in this field?
00:01:13 Bill
Well, early on, I liked doing mechanical things, taking apart things, putting them back together. That was in my blood. In turn, degrees, automotive, technology, engineering. I joined a service company in 1976 and spent 20 years with the Western Company of North America, a variety of different roles that have groomed me and brought me to this point here today. 47 years in total in the industry. A long time. I’ve seen a lot and enjoyed it. And with that, what I hope to be able to do with The Energy Pipeline is to share some of those experiences, let people see what was in the background, what brought us to today with all the amazing changes and excitement that we've seen in the industry with growth, different things going on, and being able to give some of those basics back and share some of that old school knowledge.
00:02:15 Jordan
Yeah, I'm so excited to have you because I am a lot new in the industry and have a lot less experience. So it's so cool to have somebody on the team who can speak to what really happened and more than just have read it in a history book, but lived it. So I'm really excited that you bring that expertise to the table, and I think that the listeners are really going to relate to it, and if they're as inexperienced as me, they'll appreciate the wisdom. But if they are as experienced as you, they're going to be like, yeah, this guy knows what's up. So we're super excited. Okay. Well Adriana, good luck topping that, but I guess I'm going to ask you what unique perspectives or expertise do you think that you bring to the podcast and what's your background that's led you up to this point?
00:03:06 Adriana
So, hey Jordan. So my background in oil and gas is with a focus on operational excellence and process improvements. I've played a role on digital lean initiatives, and these are focused to drive efficiency and organizational growth. So, this is the type of viewpoint that I want to bring to the discussion as a co- host. As you know, the oil and gas industry faces a lot of challenges, whether it's spikes in demand, labor shortages, supply chain constraints, so on and so forth, and being able to just adjust or quickly respond to these types of changes is where a lot of the continuous improvement plays such a big role. I'm very interested in bringing this type of viewpoint to the conversations that we have.
00:03:53 Jordan
Yeah, that'll be good. I actually had a friend asking me this weekend, and she's like, when things change in the oil and gas industry, is it because people who hate oil and gas are making it happen or is it because oil and gas wants to change? And I'm like, oh, honey, this is going to be a long conversation. But it is fun because we are constantly having to adapt in this industry, and a lot of change comes from the inside, and it's nice to have people who are part of the industry speaking to it and addressing these changes. So I'm excited that you're here and you're going to be bringing that to the table too. Bill, back to you. Now, this is something that I have a million answers to and I'm excited to see what yours is. What specific topics or issues within the energy industry are you excited to delve into and explore with our guests?
00:04:46 Bill
I am looking forward to seeing several different things with the changes that we've seen. As it's been mentioned by both you and Adriana, rapid changes. The biggest thing is the electrification of the oil field, starting with fracturing, carrying it all the way through to when wells go online, and how everything has been put together, utilizing energy that we're creating to further generate more energy for everyone to use. And the amazing thing is how many people out there don't understand what all comes from oil and gas.
00:05:25 Jordan
Yes.
00:05:27 Bill
And it's a diverse and wide group of products and items that are used that people just blow by and don't realize. The lady in the Sunday school class that talks about her Prius and how she gets electricity, and I said, where do you get that? Well, I plug it into the wall. Well, where do you think that comes from? The wall. And you smile and carry it on. Much like that though, it's a long conversation, and away we go. I look forward to that, and the time that I've been in the industry, I've seen many changes and there will be more. The changes that we've seen in the past will be outstripped by what'll happen in the next five years and it'll just continue to change and get better and better and better.
00:06:20 Jordan
Yeah, I love that outlook, and I think whatever magical wall she has, I'm glad they exist because I love electricity. I think that's something that I love so much about this industry is whether or not it's obvious, it is all around us in every way, shape, and form that we don't always realize exists until you specifically go and research it. So I love that this podcast has the educational aspect, and that we will be telling people like, hey, when you plug it into that wall, this is how it got to the wall. We're going to teach them that. And I'm so, so, so excited because I'm overly passionate about that. I don't know why, but I think it's so cool because to me, growing up electricity just seemed like magic. And then I became an engineer and I was like, okay, there's actually a method behind it, so that will be fun. Adriana, how do you envision the Energy Pipeline podcast contributing to the overall knowledge sharing and dialogue within the energy industry?
00:07:23 Adriana
So I see this podcast as being a place to more or less discuss a lot of educational information - information specifically that's important to the energy industry. Content is centered around areas that we can all relate to if you're in oil and gas, such as pain points problems, and I'm hoping that we can also discuss solutions that others are doing to look over these problems. Having subject matter experts come into this podcast with us and discuss how they are modernizing their own projects, I think will bring forth conversation to a larger audience. It's a topic that we can all discuss, and we can all talk about. Being able to share information about the oil and gas industry in an easy to digest way, in a simplified way, will let the audience maybe talk more about these subjects and discuss it with one another.
00:08:20 Jordan
Yeah, absolutely. I love how you emphasized the aspect of solutions, not just us getting on here and be like, here's all the issues. We're all so upset, but actually bringing in these experts that will have real life insight into the problems that we deal with and what they're doing to work on them. I think that's going to be fun. I've looked at our list of experts coming on, and I'm so, so excited. To me, you guys as my co- hosts are already experts in the field and that is exciting, but we're adding another layer on top of that. It's just going to be great. It's going to be so great.
00:08:53 Bill
I'd like to add to that, that the growth of this to bring on these experts in that yesterday I spent a whole day with a group of approximately 20 interns that we have here at the company, and to see the level of our future engineers, the people that'll take the oil and gas into the next generation and generations beyond that, there's hope.
00:09:20 Jordan
I love hope.
00:09:21 Bill
That's a great way to put it. And I'm looking forward to seeing the achievements, the improvements that they'll bring to it and allow the industry to see with the work that they and others like them in their class are doing. And I'm looking forward to that.
00:09:38 Jordan
Yeah, that'll be great. Gosh, I hope I didn't blow past this, but you guys both work at Caterpillar's subsidiary, SPM, and I think I said that, but guys, if not, I told you in the last episode that my co- hosts are all a part of Caterpillar, but that specifically, Bill and Adriana, you guys work at SPM. Can either one of you give us a brief overview of what that is?
00:10:03 Bill
SPM. SPM started out approximately 50 years ago, Special Projects Manufacturing, a small industries job shop, if you will, in a Quonset hut in the west side of Fort Worth. It's now moved further west into White Settlement, and we have approximately 25 acres, 17 buildings, approximately 850 to a thousand employees working multiple shifts around the clock providing oil and gas components in flow iron and our frack pumps from a variety of sizes from 600 to 5,000 hydraulic horsepower units. We've been doing that for years. Adriana has been with the company for a good while. I've just celebrated 13 years.
00:10:50 Jordan
Wow. Congratulations, Bill.
00:10:53 Bill
Yes. Lucky 13. With that, I’ve seen a lot of changes. When I said that I was with a service company for 20 years. The Western Company was across the street from SPM here, and I got to watch SPM grow from two small buildings to larger and larger and larger. And now we have a 25-acre campus, 17 buildings and it's impressive to see how it has grown and what all we're able to do here to take care of the customer.
00:11:24 Jordan
That's crazy it's right there. I went to high school in the Saginaw Lake Worth area, so I was just right down the street from you guys and didn't even realize it. That's amazing. Makes the world feel so small. We're just all coexisting and all these amazing things are happening at once. Adriana I’ve got another question for you. As a co- host, what do you hope the listeners are going to take away from the discussions? Obviously, we're here to educate them and learn, but what do you want them to feel that you're bringing to the table and that they can take away after they listen to us?
00:12:00 Adriana
I really hope listeners can get a different perspective to maybe misconceptions they might have about the industry. I know Bill brought a point about someone just saying, well, this electricity just comes from the wall. There's so many layers to the oil and gas industry, and I also want people to be able to learn something new every time they dial in or however you want to call it, come into the podcast. We really want to expose listeners to topics and be able to experience conversations with people they might not otherwise. And I think this might spark ideas on acting on something they might have not thought about before. And just overall, if you're not in the oil and gas industry either, at least to get some knowledge and understanding about all the different fun topics that we'll be going through.
00:12:47 Jordan
Yeah, absolutely. I really do hope that this is something that anyone could find interesting enough, that it's going to be educational to where if my mom listened to the ‘what is fracking episode’, that she would be like, yeah, I think I get it now. But also people in the industry or adjacent industries can listen in and think like, okay, yeah, they said something kind of new. They said something that they really broke down a technical concept and made it understandable and like you said, digestible to where we can reach more audiences and then even more so educate within our niche within our industry and just be that icing on the cake for them. So yeah, I like that. Bill, how do you plan to bring your voice and your personality to the podcast to make it engaging and relatable for the audience? What is the Bill flair?
00:13:39 Bill
The Bill flair is, well, I've seen a lot and I've been able to do a lot. It's been touched on here that we've seen this industry grow and change. A lot of that is a global industry, and as big as this business is globally, billions and billions of dollars, in turn, it's small. It's a tight-knit group of people. The joke is that you just change the color of your coveralls and the color of the paint on the unit. But there's a core group of people that have been around for a while. There are young bucks and buckettes that are going to join this industry. They're going to be a participant in it and allowing them to get a feel and a flavor for the past will help cement that, give them a basis to start from and see where it has come from to where it's going. Allowing the podcast teammates and our guests to just get a feel and a flavor to help peel back the layers to get to the core of what's going on, to allow people, as you mentioned, to make it more understandable, to try to make sure it's boiled down so that it's easily understandable for folks, whether they're in the industry, associated with the industry, or outsiders just looking in so that they can get that feel and flavor and the excitement that's there that has been around and will be.
00:15:12 Jordan
Yeah, no, absolutely because I think once you get it, it's very exciting, and I sometimes feel like we're kind of siloed off, the energy industry's kind of like we'll do our own thing and they see that there's just a separation like, oh, it's either electric vehicles or it's oil and gas; it's all against each other. But like you said, there's been so much electrification in oil and gas and so much cross- industry stuff happening that when people realize how much we're actually all working together and how related these industries are, I think they're going to get kind of excited and be like, okay, it's not good guys, bad guys, we're all here just trying to power the world and what is more exciting than powering the world? This is a privilege to have energy and have these resources available and I think that we're really going to do a good job with somebody like you on here peeling back that layer to see what is behind that curtain, what is going on and I think you'll do a great job teaching them that. Let's see. Oh, I like this question for Adriana. You've kind of talked about what you want them to take away from it, but as this podcast starts evolving over time, what do you see it becoming? Where do you see it going beyond just educational? Do you hope if somebody wants to learn ‘what is fracking’, they're like, I think I should go listen to the Energy Pipeline episode three. Where do you see this evolving into?
00:16:41 Adriana
That's an interesting question. I think we'll grow with the audience and see how we both mold together. The fact that we want to be a little bit instructional at the beginning and be able to share maybe some key topics and key areas. But I think we'll evolve also with how the industry is modernizing. What are the new things that are happening out there and how is this affecting companies? I feel like we'll be doing maybe a little bit of both. Some of the parts where it's just about how is oil and gas and how does this work together and the other side of where are we all going and what's next? So I'm excited to see where it goes, and I feel like the audience will also help us have an idea about where we want to trend to in the future.
00:17:24 Jordan
Yeah, absolutely. I'm excited to hear feedback from the audience and start getting questions from them and they say, hey, there's this thing happening in a government regulation right now with oil and gas. What's going to happen? What's the deal with that? And being able to be a resource to them as these changes happen in real time will be super cool and I feel like it's a big responsibility for us to deliver it well, so I hope you guys ask the hard questions because that is what will keep us going. Obviously, we're going to think of topics and put things together for you all, but it's going to be cool to hear your feedback and what you guys think of it and what you want to learn more about next because we're open to that. Let's see. I think I'm almost the end of my questions for you guys. It's kind of just been a little bit of what I structurally wanted to ask and then our tangents off that. But I guess Adriana, I know you've gotten a sneak peek at the upcoming episodes. Is there any topic you're really excited for, either that you are the co- host on, or you know somebody else is that you're just like, this episode is going to be great?
00:18:37 Adriana
I'm very interested overall in the holistic approach that the industry is taking to continuous improvement, whether it's through breakthrough technology, data analytics, asset management. And there's an episode that's really focused on how we're using our technology to assess and using our data as well to assess how our equipment is performing or not performing. I'm very excited to listen in a little bit about that and also listening to other podcasts that are along the same line. I'm very into processes and just how the industry is a little bit more volatile than other commodities. I think that this challenge is a challenge that we all want to get to. How can we do more with the same resources? So I'm very excited about that upcoming episode and we'll talk about it soon enough, but we've got a really, really good candidate to shed some light on that.
00:19:34 Jordan
Yeah, it's killing me right now because as much as I know it's important for the audience to spend some episodes getting to know us, I just want to dive in. I want to be like, this is fracking, this is that. I want so badly to get into the episodes because I'm so excited for them and they're going to be so good. So guys, I hope you're enjoying getting to know us now, but let me tell you, it's only going to get better from here. Bill, one more question for you before I pass it around and turn the tables and have you guys ask me some questions. Bill, if I'm a person who likes to listen to podcasts on my drive to work or in the morning or whatever, and I have my go- tos, but I'm ready to add something new into the rotation, and you say it should be The Energy Pipeline, why should it be The Energy Pipeline? Why should I be listening to this podcast? What is your reason? Why should I be excited? Why should I add that to my queue?
00:20:29 Bill
Well, thank you for that. Joining us will, as Adriana touched on it, share a new insight to give us a different feel and a flavor for something that has been around for a while. We have a new group of folks here. I get the privilege and pleasure to work with a great group of folks here at SPM, a young group. People that are still learning, have a great diverse group of backgrounds that will help us to allow people that have been in the industry for a while, brand new people in the industry will allow insights and features and benefits that can, I didn't think of that or that's exactly what I was thinking about. And here they are talking about it. And with that, we'll be able to provide that insight, the background, the hard questions, as you said, to look at the current events, the future, and what we've seen in the past to allow it to tie all together and do that in a concise, cohesive method that will take that drive to work and make it seem like nothing.
00:21:39 Jordan
Wow. All right, well now I'm going to listen to it. I'm going to record it and I'm going to go back and listen again. Sounds interesting. Okay. Well guys, now it is time for you all... I guess you got to know me a little bit in the last episode, but in case you don't feel like you know me well enough yet, Bill and Adriana are going to ask me some questions. So you guys get going. Adriana, do you want to start?
00:22:05 Adriana
I'll start it out, Jordan. So Jordan, is there a specific vision or a direction that you have in mind for the podcast? How are you planning on differentiating it from any other industry related podcasts?
00:22:21 Jordan
Yeah, so for one, I guess the one obvious thing, or maybe it's not obvious, I say obvious too much. The one thing to me is you guys are not on any other podcast. Your experience is not out there in the world, and this is the one place that somebody will get to listen to all different four of the co-hosts and their background, their expertise, and the world would not be getting this otherwise. Your experience would be based just to the people you know, the people you talk to. But now an entire platform of people gets to learn from you guys. That is crazy to me how exciting that is. And sure, some of our other guests coming on have been on some other podcasts, but these are people that the world needs to hear and their stories and what they've learned and the fact that we get to help deliver that is so, so cool. I just really want this to be a way that we're taking down that veil between the oil and gas people and what they do and then there's everybody else. I just want people to see that we are so ingrained in society from the job market, the end products we make, and every little piece of it and how it's so just weaved into society. I think it's going to be cool when we realize it's not a them and us, it's all of us. So that's what I'm excited for and I just selfishly really have always wanted to meet a lot of the people that are going to be on the podcast because we have some heavy hitters and it's people that I might not have ever met 30 years into my career. So I think it's so exciting that I get to meet them so young and get to be around their experience now.
00:23:59 Adriana
I'm going to say I'm excited about the same things. Some of the people that we have, you don't get to meet them on a day to day. And through this podcast, we'll be able to just talk it through, ask the questions, things that we're actually wondering and listening directly from the practitioners or subject matter experts is way different than reading it in a magazine or an article. So, I'm with you on that one.
00:24:21 Jordan
Exactly. It hasn't gone through a ghost writer that's taken some bullet points and fluffed it up. These are straight from the source. It's going to be good.
00:24:31 Bill
And straight from the source will allow us to ask even, as you touched on it earlier, those hard questions and get specific laser type reactions and responses to see what the subject matter experts, the industry leaders that we know and have asked to join us that have accepted, to get their true feelings. And it might be very, very interesting.
00:24:56 Jordan
Yeah, because you could pick up a lot in somebody's tone. So it's nice to have that versus Adriana said in a magazine or something, you can actually really get a feel for them as people and how they feel about the topics we're speaking on. So that'll be cool.
00:25:11 Bill
That's absolutely true, the tone and inflection, but also you might get them to go off on a rabbit trail or a tangent or a different compass point that you weren't even thinking about that might be very, very entertaining for our compadres that'll be listening to this and in turn future episodes.
00:25:33 Jordan
Yes. So Bill, you got any questions for me?
00:25:39 Bill
Looking forward to this as we build upon this, and I'm looking for you for a little bit of additional work to add structure to see where it takes us. And you said you've been doing this for a while and tell us how long you've been doing this, Jordan.
00:25:57 Jordan
So podcasting in particular, I've been doing since, gosh, it's been seven or eight months or so. I have my own podcast separate. So I'm used to that style of being the interviewer and asking the questions and kind of keeping conversations moving along, but without feeling like there's just a checklist of things to be answered. Because for me, I don't want to feel like my agenda's being pushed of what I'm trying to get out. I do want to feel like there is the organic aspect. So as a host and my experience of doing that on my own podcast, I think I'll be able to keep us on the right track, but allow the organic responses. As for my industry experience, I've been in this a few years. So I did mechanical engineering in undergrad and worked for an oil and gas service company for a while. And then I worked for an upstream oil and gas company doing reservoir engineering and then pivoted from that after graduation in 2020 when, if you guys don't remember, there were not a lot of oil and gas jobs. So I pivoted to manufacturing. So I am now still in manufacturing today a couple years later. And it's super nice because I get to now have a foot in both worlds. And I think that has a fun overlap with Caterpillar because you guys kind of do as well. You have your manufacturing side, you have your oil and gas sectors and you're involved there. And so I think I'll understand both worlds well enough to be able to engage with our experts and with you guys on a level of where we understand each other.
00:27:35 Bill
Great. Thank you for that. That looks wonderful. The scope, the structure, and how we'll move forward. I'm excited and I'm looking forward to it.
00:27:46 Jordan
Me too, if you can't tell. My microphone, guys, I'm sure you can tell in the car as every time I get excited just becomes very, very loud. So I see that on my end as I'm recording, I go from being in the green to the red every time I get excited about answering a question. So, super sorry if you guys have to drive with lower volume right now. Any other questions for me you guys? I do see a list in front of me there. There's five questions, you could pick one more if you want and then we could wrap it up. I don't know if the audience wants to get to know me anymore, if they've heard enough.
00:28:24 Adriana
I think they do. I think we've got time for one more.
00:28:26 Jordan
Okay. One more, then we'll wrap it up.
00:28:29 Adriana
I'll do one more. So how do you plan to engage and connect with our listeners, those that are driving in the car you're mentioning, with making the podcast informative and enjoyable?
00:28:42 Jordan
I think the fact that I just genuinely am enthusiastic and excited about what we're talking to and what we're talking about, I think it'll translate. I think they'll pick up on it. And I think there's nothing better than listening to somebody who actually is interested in what they're talking about and not just trying to make an episode to make an episode. I have wanted to have a voice in this industry and get light on these topics for so long. It's something I have literally put so much thought into even when I was an undergrad of how can I have a voice where we can educate the community? And so I think that the audience is going to have fun listening to me be excited about it. I also think there's sometimes going to be like, how are you excited about this? That's kind of weird. And they may distrust it a little bit sometimes because I've literally had people at trade shows be like, why are you so excited about this machining thing? Who are you trying to fool? And I'm like, what do you mean? Do you see this CNC machine? Look how smooth it is. Look how good it works. I don't understand how this isn't exciting. So I'm going to full on nerd out and I hope you guys are here to nerd out with me.
00:29:53 Adriana
I feel your enthusiasm. I'm enthusiastic myself as well, but it's definitely rubbing off and they are exciting topics. So I'm with you on the being excited about the podcast.
00:30:03 Jordan
Good. Well, I'm glad we're all excited. And we're just about at 30 minutes. So guys, I am so excited that we're about to sign off and that the next time you listen to us, it will be on a real subject, with a real subject matter expert, and one of our co- hosts who I'm not going to say yes, but it will be one of the four. So stay tuned. And Bill and Adriana, do you have any remaining thoughts before we sign off?
00:30:31 Bill
I believe I'm good. Thank you. I'm looking forward to it.
00:30:34 Adriana
Me too. We'll talk soon, everyone.
00:30:36 Jordan
All right guys. Yes. We will see you next time on the Energy Pipeline. I still have not figured out my sign- off phrase yet, but I promise by episode five to 10 I will get you one. So in the meantime, I'll see you guys in the next episode. Bye- bye.
00:30:52 Bill
To the future. Bye for now.
00:30:54 Adriana
See you.
