PESA Members,
As 2020 draws to a close, we’re grateful for your continued membership in PESA. Through a price war, a pandemic that crushed demand, and a divisive election, the engagement, participation, and support of PESA’s Board of Directors, Advisory Board and membership have fueled our efforts to elevate and unify the oilfield sector.
The events of 2020 forced every business and household to adapt, and PESA was no different. Through the turbulence, we strived to be a constant and visible resource by providing the information and tools our members needed to navigate a shifting landscape.
At every turn, we were guided by our core principles of Train, Elevate, Network for the oilfield services and equipment sector. PESA brought the industry together, advocated for its interests, and positioned the OFS sector as a leader in the technological innovation that will fuel the next major energy transition.
When the pandemic made face-to-face meetings impossible, we adapted by hosting virtual education sessions, and found innovative formats that enhanced learning and delivered valuable experiences to participants. This year, we hosted more than 100 topical webinars, market outlooks and created multiple pandemic best practice sharing groups. These events equipped members with the information needed to meet the demands of the pandemic environment and provided forums for planning, exchanging ideas and information, and providing support.
A joint HSEQ/HR Task Force was formed to take on the challenging issues of protecting worker health and safety during the pandemic. This member-driven group examined real time government updates, collaborated on social distancing and personal protection equipment requirements to safely continue operations, and studied emerging workforce issues to find practical solutions. The best practice recommendations they made served as a template for HR and HSEQ departments throughout the industry.
PESA’s government advocacy helped ensure OFS companies were designated as critical infrastructure, increased flexibility of economic stabilization programs that helped businesses keep millions of workers on the payroll, and spearheaded the reauthorization of tariffs exclusions that saved our member companies tens of millions of dollars. Our Government Affairs team created opportunities to hear directly from legislators and candidates from both parties in the run-up to the November election.
Despite the tumult of 2020, we maintained focus on important long-term issues, including ESG and inclusion and diversity. We launched the ESG Center of Excellence, the sector’s first repository of information and best practices. Our Inclusion & Diversity Business Champion Program was already the first of its kind in the oil and gas industry, and the curriculum was expanded to include a Racial Equality Task Force, which is developing actionable recommendations to improve the OFS sector’s diversity.
With climate concerns and ESG investors reshaping the energy marketplace, we paid additional attention to energy transition by positioning our sector as a key driver of the technologies and innovations that will deliver a lower carbon energy future. We launched the Energy in Transition podcast, a platform to promote the role of OFS companies in providing the affordable, abundant, and cleaner energy needed to meet the world’s increasing demand.
New OFS sector research was conducted, providing insight into the concerns and attitudes of OFS sector workers and quantifying the number of jobs we provide. This research is establishing PESA as a credible source of information about the OFS sector, which has opened the door to increased coverage of our industry in major media outlets, including BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Houston Chronicle. Given the challenging times we’re facing, it’s important to position the industry as innovative and essential to the energy supply chain, and to affect public perception.
As we reach the end of 2020, I’m optimistic about our sector’s future. Our ethos of solving problems, innovating and constantly searching for new and better ways will put us at the forefront of the transition to a lower carbon future and cement our role as the innovation engine of the energy industry.
On behalf of the PESA team, I thank you for your membership, participation and support, and wish you a Happy Holiday season.
PESA President
