John B. Willis is Chief of Drilling for Occidental Oil & Gas Corporation, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation. Oxy is the fourth-largest U.S. oil and gas company, based on market capitalization. Oxy is the No.1 oil producer in Texas, and California’s No.1 natural gas producer and No.2 producer of oil and gas on a BOE basis. Oxy has operations in the U.S., the Middle East region, and Latin America. Oxy has drilled more than 5,000 wells in the past five years, and currently operates more than 80 drilling rigs globally.

 

Willis joined Oxy in 2006 as Manager of Drilling Performance and Technology in Houston. He served as Drilling Manager for Oxy in Libya, and then Oman, returning to Houston in 2010. As Chief of Drilling, Willis manages the Oxy headquarters staff group responsible for global systems and experts.

 

Willis graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Chemical Engineering and started his career at Exxon. He then operated a drilling software and consulting company, and worked with global service companies. An active SPE member for more than 25 years, Willis has chaired two SPE Forums, and chaired the 2003 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference.