Ravi Meka - Business Development Manager at Murphy Oil (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
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EDUCATION:
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My favorite memory from college was my first summer internship at Marathon Oil in the Sakhalin II project team. Marathon was leading an international partnership to develop a billion barrel oil discovery in difficult conditions off the east coast of Russia. To meet the engineering hurdles and timeline, work was being done simultaneously in Houston, Korea, Japan, Russia, and Canada and vendors from all over the world were involved. That was my first real exposure to both how global the oil and gas business is and how enormous the investments and challenges are in developing large oil and gas fields.
Following graduation, I worked for Marathon in Houston as a reservoir engineer in business development and then moved on to roles in finance and strategic planning. During this time I participated in a number of significant transactions for the company including its exit from Sakhalin and entry into Equatorial Guinea. After six years at Marathon, I left to attend business school full time and then spent a number of years in management consulting at McKinsey & Company. This gave me the opportunity to work inside a number of different oil & gas and service companies and learn about the many functions needed for organizations to work well, ranging from corporate strategy to field operations. It also gave me the chance to spend time working overseas in Canada, Indonesia and South Africa which taught me about how the oil business works in other countries and how to work in other cultures.
I currently work for Murphy Oil in Malaysia in a business development role which allows me to use both my technical background and business skills. I work with a team of engineers and G&G professionals to identify, evaluate, and secure new exploration and production assets for our businesses in Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Australia.
I served as SPE Gulf Coast Section Scholarship Chair for a number of years. The SPE–GCS scholarship made possible my education and helped me get my summer internship with Marathon Oil, which then led to a full time offer. I had the privilege of graduating debt free courtesy of scholarships and internships, and had a full-time job waiting for me upon graduation. Without SPE’s support, I wouldn't be where I am today. My advice to students it that despite the current price environment, the oil & gas industry is and will continue to be an exciting place to work in the US and around the world.