Jesse Arenivas
Editor's note: This profile is part of Hart Energy's 50th anniversary Hall of Fame series honoring industry pioneers of the past 50 years and the Agents of Change (ACEs) who are leading the energy sector into the future.
In the first year of his tenure as CEO of EnLink Midstream, Jesse Arenivas led a groundbreaking deal with Exxon Mobil in October 2022. EnLink is repurposing half of the firm’s existing natural gas pipeline network to deliver CO2 from the Mississippi River corridor in southeastern Louisiana to Exxon Mobil’s 125,000-acre CO2 storage location under development in Vermilion Parish.
Arenivas acknowledges that there remain some difficulties and unknowns within carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), but says the opportunities it brings are worth the effort.
“The world cannot reach its climate goals without substantial investment in carbon capture,” he told D Magazine for a 2023 Dallas 500 feature. “There are some challenges to CCS, but we’re uniquely positioned to be successful and make an impact. That’s pretty exciting.”
Arenivas took the top job at EnLink in June 2022, succeeding founder, chairman and CEO Barry Davis, after almost 20 years at Kinder Morgan. There, he helped the company grow to become the largest transporter of CO₂ in North America. As president of both the CO2 business and energy transition ventures group, he oversaw the workings of the largest transporter of CO2 in North America, delivering approximately 1.3 Bcf/d for use in EOR projects.
Prior to joining Kinder Morgan, Arenivas worked at ConocoPhillips in financial and commercial roles.
Arenivas hails from Midland, Texas, so his path to a career in oil and gas wasn’t too far from expected. A true Permian Basin success story, Arenivas earned at a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas Permian Basin. He is also a certified public accountant.
During the proverbial handing over of the baton, Davis described Arenivas as a visionary leader who would shepherd the company through its vision of the “future of midstream.”
“Jesse’s deep experience in our industry, including most recently at the forefront of CO₂ and the energy transition, combined with his background as a strategic and financially minded business development leader, will foster continued excellence in EnLink’s business, as well as momentum in growing EnLink’s role in the energy transition,” Davis said.
During an exclusive interview with Hart Energy this summer, Arenivas quantified the unique impact ahead for the firm—a 25% growth rate on top of its billion-dollar base business.
It makes for a “very compelling story, a very interesting way to play the midstream space,” he said.
Arenivas is embracing EnLink’s role as a leader in the energy transition in other ways, too. According to the firm’s 2022 sustainability report, EnLink is more than half-way toward meetings its goal of reducing Scope 1 methane emissions intensity by 30% by 2024 from 2020 levels.
The firm has also linked 80% of its executive compensation to performance-driven incentives and targeted compensation.
Moreover, Arenivas noted his pride in being the firm’s first Hispanic CEO, which adds to the diversity of EnLink’s seven-member board of directors.
“We consider this an energy “transformation,” not a transition, as we believe the world’s energy mix will continue to include hydrocarbons, while adding in cleaner, synthetic sources, like hydrogen, as well as renewables,” Arenivas said in the CEO letter to stakeholders in August. “EnLink has what it takes to succeed through this transformation.”
—Deon Daugherty, Editor-at-Chief