Legal team size:   30

Major legal advisers/ external counsel:  Baker Botts, Hogan Lovells, AZA, Schjodt, Homburger, Morgan Lewis

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?  

To borrow a military term, we “embrace the suck.”  What we do is incredibly challenging, and with all the highs, there are inevitable lows, so it’s best not only to get over it but to embrace it.  A crisis can be a comfort zone. In the fall of 2020, our outlook was uncertain, in litigation with bondholders and at risk of being de-listed.  Market conditions drove most of our competitors into bankruptcy, but we managed to avoid that outcome; we fought our way back and have rebuilt a thriving business.

In terms of Legal’s strategy, it fits thematically with the company’s strategy.  Our roles are different, but they’re oriented toward the same outcomes: optimizing our contracts and revenue efficiency, protecting our people and the environment, innovation, and cost control.

In your opinion, what are the main trends affecting your work now?

 The “make or buy” analysis is getting more pressure, with increases in the hourly rates of our outside counsel.  More fundamentally, opposition to hydrocarbons is incredibly challenging; the world runs on oil and gas, yet the popularity of the products is at an all-time low.  Politically, we’re finding new ways to make a case for what we do.

What strategic priorities are guiding your legal team into 2025? 

We’re constantly innovating to keep up with our internal clients – faster, simpler, more efficient, more integrated into what our clients do every day.