In celebration of Earth Day, we talked to two women on the frontlines of Chesapeake’s environmental work — Dana Drury, HSE specialist, and Trinity Fincher-Miller, Chemical Optimization advisor. They discuss their careers at the company, how Chesapeake continues to enhance its environmental stewardship and their theory as to why so many of their colleagues enjoy travel.
You both have complex jobs. How do you describe your responsibilities to your neighbor?
T: I usually start by saying that I’m a chemical optimization advisor for Chesapeake. Often this gets a blank stare, so I’ll add, “I support the field team and help them protect equipment and the well against corrosion and failures.”
Daily responsibilities for me center around communicating with the field team on the health of our chemical program. Chesapeake has invested in one of the most robust chemical analytical databases of our peer group. I use that information to choose products and technologies to best protect our assets against corrosion or failure.
D: For me, describing a typical day is always difficult — there’s no such thing! Big picture, I tell people that I’m responsible for helping Chesapeake comply with environmental regulations specific to waste, radiation, spill planning and chemical reporting. My number one goal is compliance, and I try to make that as easy and efficient as possible for our operational teams.
What was your career path to Chesapeake?
D: I actually started working for Chesapeake as a contractor before moving to a full-time employee. In 2008, I was involved in a fascinating project where we processed and analyzed a lot of frac chemical data. After that project, I was hired as a technician focused on baseline water testing. Ultimately, I made my way to waste, and I’ve been here for more than 10 years. I feel like it’s unusual at Chesapeake to stay in the same job for as long as I have, but my role continues to expand and challenge me.
T: In 2015, I started working for a small producer who thought they wanted to get into the chemical business, which brought me back home to Oklahoma from Colorado. After my move , I reconnected with a former Chesapeake employee who I had met years ago, and he offered me a position on his team. At the time, I thought I wanted to build something with the smaller producer, so I politely declined. Several months later, the Chesapeake employee and I met up for lunch again, and here I am.
I wasn’t expecting to work in oil and gas — I actually started in the bioremediation world. But I guess oil and gas runs in the family as my dad was an industry wireline operator for his whole career.
What is something about your job that would be surprising to others?
D: I think people don’t realize that the regulatory requirements of us are far more complex and often less clear than we want them to be, and compliance is basic to our “social license to operate.” It’s our job to understand the business and work through the situations and rules to provide guidance to the field in order to enable operations that are in compliance and to maximize and leverage the compliance processes we have, finding “value adds” or efficiencies.
I also think people would be surprised by how complicated and expensive disposing of waste can be. We’re at the mercy of regulators and landfills in terms of disposal timing and fees. It’s in the company’s best interest (both economically and environmentally) to reduce waste.
Earth Month is recognized in April. As someone who regularly evaluates Chesapeake’s environmental impact, how have we improved? How can we do better?
T: For years, Chesapeake has pursued lower environmental impact products for use in frac and production operations. Programs like Frac Focus and Chesapeake’s “Green Frac” initiative have inspired other companies to eliminate unnecessary hazardous or bioactive products from their operations. Now, almost all operators in our peer group have some type of chemical evaluation process within their companies.
As a chemical advisor, my number-one priority is the safety of our folks and protecting the environment when working with chemicals. I’ve seen firsthand how Chesapeake has grown in this area and reduced its overall environmental impact.
I think the industry needs to continue to educate the community about all our environmental protection efforts. We really do protect the environment at every stage, and we want to create strong partnerships with our local communities to reduce our footprint.
D: One of the reasons why I wanted to work for Chesapeake was to be part of the solution — to support a more responsible energy future. During my career here, I’ve seen a tremendous change in the attitude of our leadership and ops managers. They’re committed and genuinely want to do better.
With that being said, I’m excited about the ongoing efforts to reuse produced water in operations, which reduces waste and our freshwater usage. Continuing to explore this and other industrial uses for produced water could lead to a great improvement for the company.
Trinity — You’ve been involved in the Women’s Energy Network (WEN) for a couple of years. What motivated you to get involved? How has the organization helped you and women across the industry?
T: Being part of WEN Greater Oklahoma has been an awesome experience for me. I originally joined the organization after talking with a few Chesapeake WEN members after a meet and greet. Soon after joining, I volunteered to take over the STEM after-school program that works with middle school kids to foster STEM education and careers.
The WEN vision resonates with me. As a female in a very niche part of the industry, I wanted to mentor other females who were looking for technical roles but weren’t sure if oil and gas was right for them or who were too intimidated to know where to start. I have seen over the years that it could be a small hurdle that prevents a woman from pursuing a career in oil and gas, and WEN helps many women understand and overcome those hurdles.
What do you like to do in your free time?
D: Physical fitness is definitely a big interest of mine. I have a gym at my house, and I enjoy weightlifting. I also like to volunteer, travel and raise chickens in my backyard.
T: I used to raise chickens too! That was a pre-COVID hobby.
My husband and I are motorized outdoorsy people. We camp, boat, ATV, kayak and fish. We love to travel and each year we celebrate our anniversary in a new place. Last year we visited Belize and this year we are going to Peru. Travel seems to be a common interest across Chesapeake, I think because of our generous PTO time. It’s such a great perk of working here.
D: I think the Chesapeake motto is work hard, play harder, rest and repeat!
