A leading advocate for diversity and inclusion in the offshore oil and gas industry will give a keynote speech on UK efforts at a prestigious international drilling conference later this week.

Katy Heidenreich, Upstream Operations Optimisations Manager at Oil & Gas UK, will address a special diversity and inclusion session at the SPE-IADC Drilling Conference being held at World Forum, the Hague, from 3 to 5 March. 

Dubbed as the world’s premier drilling event, the conference attracts international operator companies, contractor firms and service companies to address challenges and deliver improved performance.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Katy Heidenreich said:
“This is an important opportunity to reflect on efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in our industry on an international stage. Since the launch of my book I’ve been overwhelmed by support from the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry as well as wider bodies responsible for promoting skills development.” 

Responsible for promoting operational excellence and driving initiatives that align with the Maximising Economic Recovery Strategy, Katy has spent most of her career in the oil and gas industry working in technical and senior management roles in the UK, Norway and Azerbaijan. Katy also recently became a published author, releasing a book supported by OGUK focusing on the impact women have had on the oil and gas sector.

Katy Heidenreich adds:
“We know that meaningful diversity and inclusion has a real impact on companies bottom line, with reports showing gender diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to financially outperform those in the bottom quartile. For ethnically diverse companies this goes up to 35 percent and clearly demonstrates that diversity and inclusion is key in our efforts improve the competitiveness of the UK Continental Shelf.

“I look forward to shining a light on some of the great initiatives being led by UK companies to improve diversity and inclusion, and to learning about what more we can do to drive equality of opportunity.”

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Oil & Gas UK