We should take a pause and rejoice in the fact that Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, in the waning days of 2021, tapped a woman to head its operations. Score another point for inclusion – particularly in this traditionally male-dominated field.
But Lorelie Quiambao Osial, who is now the company’s president and CEO, in addition to being the country chair of Shell companies in the Philippines (which include “various companies operating in oil and gas exploration, production, oil refining, distribution, and sales to customers”) would be the first to shrug off its, well, cosmic significance.
“I think that gender is not the be-all, end-all of everything. I am excited with the role just as any person is excited to do a new role.” But make no mistake, she grins as she talks on the other end of our video call, “It is an honor for me to be the first female CEO and country chair of Pilipinas Shell.”
Ours has forever been a world in flux – arguably most evident in recent memory with COVID-19 upending life as we knew it. And now as we slowly come out the other side of the pandemic, another monkey wrench has been thrown into the mix. The Russian military incursion into Ukraine is not just affecting lives in that region but causing a worldwide rise in gas prices.
“Before the pandemic, everyone had their great forecasts and predictions on where we’re all headed. Somehow, the pandemic has changed that,” Osial says. “That will continue to evolve.”
Even as fossil fuel prices at the pump will continue to mirror their global value – which is sensitive to a range of factors – the bigger picture, of course, is suggesting an end in the use of the ultimately finite resource. How then does the lady executive see our energy future (at least in terms of mobility) and, more importantly, securing it? We tell her that more auto brands have been bringing in electrified models.
“Electrification is something that (Shell) is looking at very intensely,” she reveals. “We’re looking at EVs, and we’re leveraging on our global expertise and experience… Definitely, for us it is an important feature.”
However, Osial is quick to note that “from an energy perspective, each country is quite different,” adding, “If you look at the United States and some countries in Western Europe, you could say that they’re a little bit more mature. That’s how we look at it when we evolve our company; we should be on pace with society… particularly (when we) talk about energy transition.”
In effect, Shell is not going to force its solutions and products on a country or market that is simply not ready for them. For now at least, there is no hard stop on fossil fuels. “It is about different sectors coming together: government, private corporations, and communities,” Osial avers, adding that she can’t divulge more for the moment; suffice it to say that the brand is keenly observing the energy landscape and all salient factors.
Shell is also doing its part in nation-buidling, with on-ground work being administered in part through the Pilipinas Shell Foundation. “It has millions of beneficiaries now, and we’ll continue to uplift lives through it,” promises Osial.
The underlying theme will be evolution. “It is an evolving world. We are going to evolve with the world, and expectations of customers,” she explains. “We want to innovate in terms of products and services. We are also looking with interest at different business models. We want to promote sustainability and offer cleaner energy solutions in a responsible way. We want to continue developing world-class Filipino talent – not just developing current skills but skills for the future as well.”