HSE&S: Oil & Gas Environmental 101 Mini Symposium

LARRY W. NETTLES is a partner in the Houston office of Vinson & Elkins LLP. He has been practicing environmental law full-time since 1981 and has an exceptionally broad range of environmental law experience that makes him particularly well suited to advise clients with multi-faceted environmental problems, such as those frequently encountered in large business transactions. Larry currently serves as the Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group Leader, Co-Chair of Vinson & Elkins' Energy and Infrastructure practice group and Chair of the Shale and Hydraulic Fracturing Task Force. He is also a member of V&E’s Climate Change practice group. Larry has been recognized as the top environmental lawyer in the United States for the past ten years by United States Lawyer Rankings. He has also been recognized as one of the best environmental lawyers in the nation in the most recent edition of Best Lawyers in America®; one of the best environmental law attorneys in Texas on the "Texas Super Lawyers" list published in Texas Monthly, and by Chambers & Partners in its recent guidebook on America's Leading Lawyers for Business.

Topic: HSSE Issues from an Unconventional Perspective

Larry Nettles will provide an analysis of significant environmental and regulatory developments, market trends, and litigation risks affecting the unconventional oil and gas industry, with guidance on evolving best practices and risk mitigation and liability management strategies.

Kimber Hamilton joined Marathon in March of 2002 as a process engineer and environmental professional. She was responsible for environmental compliance from a process engineering perspective. In 2005 she moved to a corporate support role providing a multitude of services including estimating greenhouse gas emissions for the then owned downstream components and representing Marathon in the regulatory advocacy process through participation in a variety of trade associations and committees. At that time she also provided compliance assistance to operating organizations on a variety of air, water and waste regulations. She moved to Norway in 2009 to implement process safety management in that then owned asset. At that time she had the unique opportunity to be involved in a rapidly growing asset as Marathon took operatorship of Alvheim FPSO in less than a year. In 2010 she was in Houston providing support for safety, environmental compliance, process safety, organizational change management, and management system implementation to international operations and non-operating organizations. Finally in 2014 she took the Environmental Supervisor role for the Eagle Ford Asset where she remains in at this time.

Kimber has worked in the oil and gas industry for over twenty years, seventeen of those with Marathon. She graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Throughout her career Kimber has fulfilled many roles including Process Engineer, Process Safety Coordinator, Environmental Professional and Environmental Supervisor.

Kaitlyn Allen founded Global Affairs Associates (GAA), a niche sustainability consultancy that helps clients bridge business and sustainability, in 2013. We believe that business-centered approaches are crucial for creating long-lasting value. GAA often works at the executive level on strategy, but also dives deep into organizations to understand the realities of work in the field. Our clients are typically public, industrial companies, many of which are in the oil and gas sector. Kaitlyn previously worked at Marathon Oil as Corporate Social Responsibility advisor, where she helped integrate social risk into the HES (Health/Environment/Safety) management system, major projects development process, and non-technical risk assessment framework. Other examples of her work include:

• Developing sustainability reporting strategies for public companies to identify business-appropriate plans for ESG reporting


• Creating non-technical risk assessments (with social, security emphasis) for a global logistics company


• Sustainability strategy consulting and sustainability report production at a public water resources company


• Corporate training at a company that trains managers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

In 2019 Kaitlyn co-founded the Resilient Business Forum with the goal of bringing the business community into the conversations about global sustainability issues affecting the Houston region, including the transition to a low-carbon economy, in an inter-disciplinary and apolitical forum.

Kaitlyn has a Master’s in Conflict Resolution from the Government department at Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from Trinity University in San Antonio. She has worked in the private, public and non-profit sectors, and speaks several languages (bilingual English and Spanish; fluent French and Portuguese; basic Turkish).

Rowlan Greaves is a senior staff engineer with Southwestern Energy’s Government & Regulatory Affairs team. He manages the company’s Freshwater Neutral program, which seeks to restore equal volumes of freshwater used in operations back to the environment. Greaves’ expertise in water management has helped Southwestern attain top marks for transparency in its water and chemicals practices.

Prior to joining Southwestern Energy in 2010, Greaves held project management roles at Tyco Thermal Controls and URS Corporation with an emphasis on water resources and liquids management. He also currently serves as Secretary of the Energy Water Initiative (EWI), a collaborative effort among oil and gas operators to study and improve water use and management across the industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University.

Water Resources Management & Stewardship

Water is a precious resource. It is vital for healthy communities, environments and businesses. As such, expectations are high for oil and gas companies to operate in a responsible and transparent manner – particularly when it comes to the use of water resources shared by many. This presentation will discuss elements associated with water management in the unconventional oil and gas space, including the freshwater neutral program utilized by Southwestern Energy.

Responsible water management starts with safe operations that protect personnel, the community and the environment. This includes equipment, best practices and a culture that enables and encourages top-tier fluids control and management. A key component of water management for most oil and gas operators is the efficient reuse of produced water back into operations, to the degree feasible and economically viable. The percentage of reuse is variable depending upon a number of factors such as the geographic setting, water cut of the reservoir, salinity of the produced water, and suitability for treatment. If available, other non-potable water sources may be considered for use with operations, which provides an additional environmental benefit of reducing freshwater usage for downhole well stimulations.

While the availability of water is of critical importance for unconventional oil and gas development, there are ways in which freshwater can be beneficially returned to the environment. One way is through water treatment and discharge, if economics and regulatory pathways allow. Another is through collaborative support and investment in conservation projects to restore or enhance aquatic waterbodies and habitats.