Change is a constant in oil and gas, and one of the changes Shanna Keav­eny has witnessed in her relatively short career in the industry is the growing pres­ence of women. Today, Keaveny is vice president of Dallas-based Tex­akoma. But in her early years, as the oldest of four daughters, she never envisioned joining the family energy business that her father, Dean Ken­nedy, had founded in 1982.

Kennedy encouraged his daugh­ters to “find what was interesting and pursue it,” Keaveny recalled in a recent interview. She gradu­ated from the University of Texas with a degree in corporate commu­nications and earned her master’s from North Carolina State Univer­sity. After graduation, while talking with her father about her intention to work in process manage­ment, he asked her to apply those skills instead at Texakoma. The company had been transformed via the sale in 2004 of its San Juan Basin coalbed methane holdings to Pogo Producing Co. The 20-year-old E&P had entered a new phase and was seeking fresh perspectives as it identified the next area of focus.

Keaveny heeded her father’s urging and hasn’t looked back. “I’m getting to do exactly what I wanted to do,” she said. “Here I am, 12 years later, totally engrossed in oil and gas and loving every­thing about it.” A mother of four sons, she serves on community boards, the Leadership Frisco Advi­sory Council and Children’s Hospital initiatives. “I’m focused on kids and making my community better,” she said. Another cause, equally important, is encouraging women to enter the industry and supporting their endeavors.

In a recent interview, Keaveny discussed Texako­ma’s recent acquisition in the Permian Basin and her daily role.

Shanna Keaveny

Investor How has Texakoma survived and succeeded through the cycles?

Keaveny Our business plan is to be prepared, whether for $150 oil or for $40 oil. We think now is the time to acquire acreage and build a position given the down trend.

The challenge in the early ’80s was finding a play that was the right fit for the company. When we got to the San Juan Basin, we realized we had found something that we could create a company formula around: first and foremost, investing in people, and then investing in the science and technology to become an expert. We had production from Penn­sylvania to Kansas to New Mexico, but that was the first time we had done a major bolt-on. After we sold in 2004, we had a blank slate, with the goal to repeat that formula. We kept all our people and once again, took the time to look for the next opportunity.

Investor Where are the company’s operations today?

Keaveny We have two primary areas, in the Texas Panhandle and South Texas. One of our major properties is the McMordie Ranch, which we started working in 2004, and for a period in 2013, we were the No. 1 producer in Roberts County. Empowering our staff to focus on science and technol­ogy helped us achieve a repeatable success pattern in this area as well.

We took that concept with us in looking for the next focus. In 2016, we made a Permian Basin acqui­sition in Gaines County, in the Wolfberry play, along with other conventional opportunities. We began drilling our first well in December.

Investor The Permian is super competitive. What gave Texakoma the edge in making an acquisition?

Keaveny I think it’s our focus on people and rela­tionships. During my 12 years here, we doubled our staff on the technical side with engineers, landmen and geologists. We have strong relationships with our vendors and landowners, and we have a very good reputation.

Investor What is your role at Texakoma?

Keaveny I like to get my hands dirty, to be involved in all kinds of things. Every week I meet with the department heads, and I’ve found it’s amazing how much I can help accomplish just by listening. We have a good chemistry and work well together by listening to each other’s input and creating strate­gies to solve problems. I also work to address the age gap—the generational gap, as our veterans look at retirement, and so many newcomers are just getting started. It’s an exciting challenge for me.

Investor Do you see more women coming into the industry?

Keaveny Yes. We have a lot more women vendors, and our last two interns were college women with specific goals in oil and gas, which is great to see. They have executive-level goals. This is a big change that will be very positive for the industry and for our company.

Investor What’s Texakoma’s outlook for 2017?

Keaveny We know that commodity price fluc­tuations are cyclical, and that the market will eventually rebalance. We will continue to invest in our core assets and position ourselves to take advantage of new deals and look to apply our expertise as an operator to partner with other industry players. We will continue to grow our company assets by investing in the people and technology that can help move Texakoma forward.

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