Maria Angela Capello is an award-wining leader and expert in
reservoir management, leadership strategies, multiculturalism, training, and diversity
for the energy sector. Her strength resides in a leadership capacity to advance
large organizations toward strategic objectives, and in her insightful knowledge
of national oil companies and service companies from her experience in the
Middle East, United States, and Latin America.
Capello is currently an executive advisor at Kuwait Oil Company, championing
the standardization of reservoir management practices across the company and other
strategic initiatives. She is lead advisor of the Professional Women Network of
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its nine subsidiaries.
Capello was the first woman to
supervise geophysical field operations in the jungles of Venezuela and
progressed to general manager of an oil asset in PDVSA. Later, she was subsurface
and operations manager for Latin America and the Northern Arabian Gulf for
Halliburton Landmark. Recently, she authored the book “Learned in the
Trenches — Insights on Leadership and Resilience.” She believes that
improving an individual, team, or corporation starts with clear strategic
goals, communicated in simple and appealing ways.
Initially a physicist, Capello
also received an MS in geophysics from Colorado School of Mines. She has been
an SEG vice president, Honorary Lecturer, and has received the Special
Commendation and Lifetime Membership awards from SEG. She has chaired several
SEG committees, and currently is a member of the SEG Advanced Modeling (SEAM) Board
of Directors, the chair of the Women’s Network Committee, and an SEG Council
member.
Capello is a Society of
Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Member and Distinguished Lecturer. She
received in 2017 the SPE Distinguished Service Award, is an associate editor
for the Journal of Petroleum Technology, and “SPE Women in Energy” advisor.
In 2018, she received the
international GRIT Award, for being a “Difference Maker in Energy.”
Position
Statement
Geophysics
is in transition from focusing on exploration for hydrocarbons to other
applications. As a director at large, I would like to steer specific
initiatives and raise the necessary flags to ensure SEG remains a valuable
society for members of all ages, cultures, and genders with different levels of
experience around the world, by taking a wider range of interests and
preferences. To advance SEG into the new energy ecosystem, I am convinced we
need to do more specifically for younger geophysicists, for women in geophysics,
and for nontraditional and new applications of geophysics.
I
will leverage my understanding of our Society, acquired from decades of
volunteering, and my multinational experience to
- Ensure
mechanisms are in place at all levels for encouraging the active participation
of younger geophysicists. We need to hear their voices (and Snapchats!) to
rejuvenate SEG!
- Boost
the participation (and leadership!) of women from all regions in our technical
and organizational committees, and in SEG leadership roles
- Expand
attention to new applications of geophysics, including monitoring of production
in the oil industry, civil engineering, hydrogeology, and environmental
engineering
- Empower
SEG actions toward promoting geophysics at earlier ages in education, joining
STEM initiatives in selected regions around the world