Occidental has just handed Midland the shiniest new jewel in its industrial crown. PBOG was there for the grand opening of Oxy’s state-of-the-art pad: Oxy Permian Plaza.
Lana Cunningham
With huddle rooms, bright colors, interwoven technology, and yes, a game room with Wii and other television-connected sports games, energy companies are attracting a new generation of employees. In Midland, that translates into a new generation of office buildings pushing out of the flat plains at the city’s edge.
Occidental Petroleum opened the doors to Oxy Permian Plaza on Dec. 18, during a ceremony that featured the company’s top brass from Houston: Stephen Chazen, president and chief executive officer; Vicki Hollub, president and chief operating officer; and Jody Elliott, Oxy Oil and Gas domestic-president.
As is often the case in a petroleum-dominated culture, planning started when the price of oil had pumped up to the $90 to $100/barrel range and was completed when the price had sunk below $40/barrel. Despite these sagging prices, completion of the office complex, with outdoor amenities and a parking garage designed for 600 employees, emphasized the corporation’s commitment to the Permian Basin.
Looking out at the crowd of employees and other citizens bundled up on the crisp, sunny, 37-degree morning, Chazen noted the groundbreaking had taken place on a 100-plus degree day in August 2014.
“It’s exciting to see such a robust turnout to celebrate the opening of Oxy’s new home in the Permian, which represents our continued investment in Midland, the Permian Basin, and across Texas,” Chazen said. “It’s a testament to our ongoing commitment to the Basin, where Oxy has operated for more than 30 years. The Permian Basin is one of the largest and most active oil basins in the United States, accounting for 16 percent of total U.S. oil production. It’s home to our core domestic assets. Oxy is the largest operator and producer of oil and gas in the Permian, with about 13 percent of the oil produced here attributable to our wells.”
Ribbon cutting. Fifth from left, Stephen Chazen, Occidental Petroleum President and Chief Executive Officer; Vicki Hollub, sixth from left, President and Chief Operating Officer; Midland Mayor Jerry Morales.
With a reputation for high volume and less capital-intensive business, the company “is well positioned to meet the challenges of today’s lower price environment and to grow profitably,” Chazen continued. “While 2015 has been a challenging year in the industry [a comment that elicited chuckles throughout the crowd], Oxy has been defining efficiencies across our business units and improving well productivity and time-to-market operating costs. Features of this facility will help us build on the efficiencies we have already gained by providing our employees with new tools and an improved work environment.”
Owning this new building, instead of leasing, gives Oxy an advantage by lowering its overall cost over time, he noted.
Hollub, who was appointed president and COO earlier in December, focused on the new building’s advantages for employees.
“Oxy Permian Plaza was built on the success you have already achieved, to make us even better,” she said. “This facility offers the latest technology to provide all of you with the ability to collaborate effectively, to share knowledge efficiently, and to work together creatively to further improve our performance. This is going to be critically important in the times we’re in today. As a center for our operational activities in the region, Oxy Permian Plaza is equipped with the technology, tools, and automated systems that work in concert to bring our oil and gas from the reservoir to the wellhead through the pipelines to market, and to do them in a safe and efficient manner.”
Additionally, Oxy opened a new 20,000-square-foot training center in north Midland. “This center will train the next generation of surface operators, well technicians, and other key employees,” Hollub said.
“At Occidental, we strive to be the partner of choice both as an employer and as a member of the communities where we operate,” she added.
That philosophy is translated into the 213,000-square-foot, four-story structure that features two towers connected by a glass-fronted atrium. Its features were designed to fit the way younger employees–often called the millennial generation–work. Putting a computer on a desk in a small room may have satisfied employees in the last couple of generations, but the millennials grew up with smart phones, iPads, and Facebook, always connected to the rest of the world. Oxy Permian Plaza fulfills those expectations.
Located on the west edge of Midland, in a complex bordered by Highway 191 on the north and Grande Stadium on the east, Oxy is part of a growing office complex that soon will see Chevron opening its doors on the western edge. EOG Resources already opened its new office building in that area.
Anna Smith, senior facilities coordinator with Oxy for more than three years, explained the thinking that went into the interior designs and technology.
“The main idea behind a lot of the collaborative areas were that we are always working together as a team and we wanted more areas where employees could do that without it being so formal,” she said.
The second floor café connects the North and South Towers. Not only can employees take a short break with caffeine and co-workers, they can bring laptop computers, plug into television screens, and review plans and ideas together. The café also is designed for large catered events.
Various-sized conference rooms on the first floor can handle groups of four people or meetings of up to 12 people.
Top floor break room. No phone calls allowed.
The well control room operates 24-hours-a-day and within its confines employees might be found sitting before banks of computer and television screens where they monitor every well.
Individual offices are equipped with the latest stand-sit desks along with other office furniture. “Part of the ergonomic program through our Health, Environment, and Safety division makes sure that employees’ stations are set up so they are not hurting while working. The sit-stand desks are very popular and some studies say these desks are healthier,” Smith explained.
Huddle rooms and collaboration areas allow employees to bring laptops, plug in, and plan, all in soundproof rooms. Brightly colored furniture and overhead lighting add to the informal atmosphere.
“Some studies show that brighter colors improve thinking, imagination, and creative thoughts,” she said.
A large meeting area is designed for videoconferences and also can be used for town hall meetings.
The top floor, however, is the pièce de résistance for the millennials. Yes, there are treadmills that satisfy many generations’ desire for exercise. But the area also features pool tables, lounging chairs (for a 15-minute power nap, possibly), and all equipment needed for Wii, Xbox, and PlayStation sports games. “This is an area for employees to take a break and they are not to take phone calls here,” Smith said.
Outdoor amenities also place Oxy Permian Plaza in a separate class. A basketball court, a tennis court, a horseshoe pit, an outdoor kitchen, a large area for meetings or yoga classes, and a putting green fill the space between the parking garage and office building.
“A lot of these outdoor amenities were based on a survey that went out to employees from the human resources department which asked what they would like to see in the building and what would keep them here,” Smith said. A basketball court and putting green ranked high on the list of outdoor amenities.
“Guys have been anxious to get out there with basketballs, but it’s been a little cold for that,” she added.
Oxy Permian Plaza is the latest addition in a new generation of office buildings that reaffirm Midland’s status as headquarters for the Permian Basin petroleum industry. This new compound joins other new offices that have been constructed for Concho Resources, Pioneer Natural Resources, Fasken Oil and Ranch, LTD, and EOG Resources.
At Oxy’s opening, employees knew few details about their new offices when they walked in on the first Monday. “We’re very excited about how all the employees have responded to the new building,” Smith said.
John Shakarjian, director of real estate for Oxy, was the force behind getting a new building approved for the Midland group, and he then headed up the design team. Kirksey, of Houston, offered architectural expertise, while Satterfield and Pontikes, also of Houston, held the construction contract.
Lana Cunningham is a freelance writer who has lived in Midland since it was a pleasant city of 60,000 people.