CEO says Oklahoma roots strong – Pawhuska Journal Capital

By Nathan Thompson | Journal-Capital

Bartlesville continues to play an integral part in Phillips 66 culture and future, the companys chairman and CEO said Wednesday.

Greg Garland was the featured speaker at a Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce forum held Aug. 16 at City Church in Bartlesville..

Garland has led the Houston-based company for its five years of existence, building on the legacy of Phillips Petroleum Co., founded 100 years ago in Bartlesville.

We want to be a viable, vibrant part of the communities that we live and work, and we encourage employees to give back, Garland said in an interview with the EE following the forum. We dont just want to but money into the community, but we also want to but sweat equity in.

Garland said the 2,100 Phillips 66 employees in Bartlesville are invested in helping kids read and advancing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills because the company is strong believers is those endeavours.

One major contribution that Phillips 66 placed in the Bartlesville community is a 2015 $1.7 million donation to establish STEM education and innovation labs in Bartlesville Public Schools.

One of the things we do is we have corporate initiatives that we support and if you are an employee that wants to help in that initiative, we fully support that, Garland said. We even give paid time throughout the year for our employees to take time away from the office to support these initiatives. Its just incredible how our employees and retirees continue to invest themselves in the community.

Garland said that commitment underscores Phillips 66s value to give back to the community.

Merl Lindstrom, Phillips 66 vice president of technology, joined Garland in showing the support the company has to Bartlesvilles operations. Lindstrom is based at the Phillips 66 Research Center in west Bartlesville.

The company and its partner, Chevron Phillips Chemical, have made millions of dollars in infrastructure and research investments to make sure both CPChem and Phillips 66 are ready for the future.

Our mantra says we will provide energy and improve lives, and that allows us at the Research Center to do a lot of things we havent done in the past, Lindstrom said. We are looking at solar energy, fuel cells and improving lives to allow us to do research on water. Water is one of our biggest research areas. Our work continues in hydrocarbons as well, but we are diversifying to make sure we are looking at things holistically instead of just a very narrow region.

Aug. 1, Phillips 66 reported consolidated second-quarter earnings of $550 million or $1.06 per share, compared to $535 million in the first quarter this year and $496 million in the second quarter of 2016.

Adjusted earnings were $569 million or $1.09 per share this year, compared to $499 million or 94 cents per share in 2016.

Second quarter earnings increased 11 percent year over year, beating analysts expectations.

Even with the financial success of Phillips 66 in refining, transportation and marketing, the company is dealing with energy downturns on the exploration and production side of oil business.

These are margin businesses and it is continually volatile, Garland said. Were not completely immune to the downturn on the exploration and production side of the business. These are great times for us as a midstream and downstream company to think about how we do our work, how we meet the needs of our customers in a more efficient way. We are doing that by using technology and exploring options on how we work. At the end of the day, we are competing in a global marketplace, and Phillips 66 is well-positioned to continue competing in this industry.

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CEO says Oklahoma roots strong - Pawhuska Journal Capital