Member Spotlight - Ed Stokes
Mr. Edward (Ed) G. Stokes 1975 graduate of Oklahoma State University with a BSc in Structural Civil Engineering where he was a Leu Wentz Scholar. He also earned an MBA from Houston Baptist University in 1998 where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He is a FELLOW and HONOARY MEMBER of SNAME, a member of ASCE-COPRI and life member of SPE. He was inducted into the Eastern Oklahoma State College Hall of Fame in 2014 and the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Hall of Fame in 2016. He is a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas in Petroleum Engineering as well as a Certified Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute. He has written over thirty technical papers and articles presented in 7 countries on a broad range of technical and project management subjects with two winning best paper awards, SPE and DOT. He resides in Katy, Texas with his wife Claudia. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.
Mr. Stokes spent his 40-year career with ConocoPhillips. He is a seasoned professional with a broad range of operational, technological and managerial experience in the upstream and marine segments of the O&G Industry. He has worked extensively in the USA onshore, offshore including Alaska as well as had 6 foreign assignments in 5 areas of the world (North Sea, Mediterranean, Middle East, West Africa and South America). Professional experience consists of roles in both technical and business disciplines covering the complete upstream value chain (G&G, drilling, concept develop, project execution (pre-FEED thru EPC), production operations, export and marine transportation including LNG/LPG ship and terminal design). Leadership style is from the front.
Mr. Stokes is a dependable well-rounded individual as exhibited by serving on the OTC Program Committee 1995-2003, Program Chairman in 2002, OTC Board of Directors 2008-15; Vice Chairman 2012&13 and Chairman 2014&15. OTC is the largest O&G Energy Conference in the world. Mr. Stokes is also a past member of the OSU School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisory Board serving 2 years as Chairman. He currently serves on the OSU Dean of Engineering’s Strategic Council. He currently serves as the Treasurer of SNAME, was a Regional VP 2016-18 and the Chairman of the SNAME Maritime Convention in 2016 & 2017. Stokes possesses strong verbal, presentation and writing skills, has a global network of O&G industry contacts, is focused on results, adept at building long-lasting cross-cultural relationships, engendering trust and mutual respect.
Get to know Ed:
Q: How long have you been a member of SNAME?
A: 18 years
Q: How has SNAME membership been of value to you in your career?
A: Throughout my professional career I’ve felt that it was important to be a proactive part of the professional community in the industry where I worked. I’m a member of SPE, ASCE, PMI and SNAME and have been active in all of them. With that said, I’ve been most active in SNAME since this society represented the sector of the oil and gas industry where I worked the last 20 years of my career. Through it I’ve made many connections in the USA and around world. I’ve been able to leverage many of these connections in my work as well as allow professional friends access to these colleagues to allow them to benefit as well.
Q: When did you know you wanted to pursue a job in the maritime field?
A. I joined the Conoco Shipping Company from the Upstream Infrastructure Department in March 1998 as the Manager of Strategy and Commercial Operations. Up to that point I had only had association with marine operations, albeit, worked on many offshore projects. Through this job I became immersed with Conoco’s tanker fleet as well as marine technology development and marine projects. In 2001, I began investigating LNG ships and marine terminals as a strategic initiative. In 2003, I was asked to join the Brass LNG Project as the Manager of the marine terminal design as well as providing support for the LNG vessel spec. This was a joint venture between ConocoPhillips, ENI, Chevron who sold to Total, and NNPC. I continued in a similar role in 2014 as the Project Manager for Alaska LNG, which was a Joint Venture between ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, BP, TransCanada and the State of Alaska in the pre-FEED study of the development of North Slope gas. I led this work until my retirement in mid-2016.
Q: What advice would you give to those entering the maritime field?
A: Learn all you can in all positions and jobs that you have. Be patient, because with time you’ll be in another job. Take calculated risks and embrace new technology. Network with your associates and leverage this by becoming an active member of SNAME where the people your meet and colleagues you make will be your sounding board and technical and personal resources that you’ll be able to use throughout your career.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I love to snow skiing, hiking in the mountains and travel. I’m also active in my church, helping out and helping others. I also like continuously learning. I spend time every day learning and practicing my new language, Spanish. I have also very recently started learning to program in SWIFTUI which is the language for Apple phone apps.
Q: What is your favorite book or movie or tv series?
A: My favorite book is the Bible. My favorite movie is probably “Caddy Shake”, but I love almost anything Science Fiction like most nerd engineers. I’ve recently watched the 6 series of “Bosch”, a police detective from the Hollywood Precinct of the Los Angeles police department. It was hypnotic!