Upstream Oil Consulting: Letter from the President

I started E.A.G. Services, Inc. with the vision of creating a consulting company tailored specifically for the needs of the Upstream Oil and Gas industry. Since that time, I have focused on building an organization to support my vision. Over the years, I have asked myself and my clients what value do consultants bring to organizations and how is that value created? Some of the answers that I have heard over time include the following:

• Consultants bring an outside perspective to organizations
• They question why companies are doing things as they have always been done
• They backfill company resources in key roles
• They bring specialized skills to projects which in-house resources may not currently possess
• They bring momentum to projects by laying out project plans and deadlines

What always bothered me is that every conversation I have ever had about consulting and consultants has always been interspersed with negative comments. Complaints about knowledge, skills, arrogance, excessive documentation, impractical deliverables and failure to meet deadlines. These negatives take away from the value that I feel consulting can bring to organizations. Looking back over my career, I can see that there were four key elements to every successful project:

• Values such as honesty, integrity and the willingness to do the right thing when problems or mistakes occur
• Service offerings that resolve pain points within companies and align with corporate objectives
• Well-planned and well-managed execution of service offerings by consultants who understand both the industry and the technology involved
• Reliable results through attention to detail, timing, coordination of participants and open communication

These four elements have become the basis of our company. The infrastructure of E.A.G. Services is designed to ensure that these elements are met on each and every engagement. Ethics and integrity are qualities that we look for during our hiring process, and our consultants are evaluated on their professionalism and ability to act as partners with our clients. Our service offerings are developed based on requests from our clients, and we dedicate ourselves to recommending practical, cost-effective solutions that match our customers’ business needs rather than our own personal preferences. We take responsibility for the execution of our recommendations and work hard to ensure that jointly agreed upon deadlines are met. Finally, we focus on producing reliable results by laying out the risks and benefits prior to implementing a solution and incorporating a risk mitigation strategy throughout our execution process.

At the end of the day, E.A.G. Services exists to support you and your organization. It is our pleasure to serve this industry and to participate in the growth and continued changes the Upstream Energy industry is experiencing. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or issues that you may have. We look forward to lending our assistance.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth A. Gerbel
President & CEO
E.A.G. Services, Incorporated