Gerbert Schoonman is Vice President, Onshore – Bakken Asset, for Hess Corporation, a leading global independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. With nearly 25 years in the industry, Schoonman’s broad experience worldwide includes positions in petroleum engineering, production operations, Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), project management and asset management. Schoonman’s responsibility for the Bakken asset encompasses more than 550,000 acres in North Dakota and is one of the company’s top primary growth investments with a $2.2 billion capital budget in 2014.

As a leading energy company in North Dakota, Hess is the second largest producer of oil from the Bakken.  Under his leadership, the asset brought 168 wells online in 2013, raising the total to 722 operated wells in the region with plans to bring an additional 225 new operated wells online this year.

Schoonman joined Hess in 2011 as Vice President, Production – Asia Pacific, with responsibility for production and subsurface operations for all of Hess’ producing assets in Asia Pacific before taking his current position in 2012. Schoonman previously spent about 20 years with Shell. He served as the East Asset Manager for Brunei Shell Petroleum responsible for growing the asset’s production by bringing on-stream a series of new developments and pursuing operational excellence. He also held various leadership roles with Shell EP Europe, including Asset Development Manager for the company’s North Sea assets, Head of HSE Service Delivery for EP Europe and Offshore Installation Manager at Dunlin and Cormorant. 

Schoonman, who earned his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University of Technology, began his career as a graduate engineer with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), a Shell-Exxon Mobil joint venture.