API, Blue Wave Propel Next Generation of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Suppliers

Justine E. Cenzer
Posted February 13, 2024

In 2004, Elizabeth Cravens founded Mid-America Contractors with a vision of providing quality construction services with a safety-first mentality. Twenty years later, she has a thriving business with over 200 employees that work with some of the biggest companies in the world, including providing facility maintenance services to petrochemical plants, refineries and other oil and natural gas operations.

But Elizabeth is always searching for ways to make herself and her business stronger. So, when she heard about API and the Blue Wave Supplier Development Program for diverse businesses in the Houston area, she decided to apply.

Six months, 10 workshops, lots of homework and a site visit later, it was time to graduate, and Elizabeth was excited to share just how valuable the program had been for her growth as a businesswoman.

“It connects us with industry in a way that we've never had the opportunity to do so before. … This program allows you to go down the path of each entity and every pillar of business, giving us the knowledge that we wouldn't have otherwise and [policies] that we're lacking in our business for it to prepare for growth. It's given us that insight so that we can take that, put a plan together and grow from it.”

Elizabeth Cravens (second from left) receives her award for completing the Blue Wave program.

Mid-America Contractors has already started putting these lessons to work in a new two-year strategic plan that incorporates the many lessons Elizabeth learned.

Joining Elizabeth in API’s Blue Wave program were 27 other leaders representing businesses that are working to expand their partnerships with American oil and natural gas companies. This was the second class of business leaders to go through the program since it was launched in 2022. Each cohort embarked on an extensive six-month course to learn, implement and utilize the international standards used by corporate and government organizations. Participants also received mentorship and coaching from industry leaders and API staff.

At the recent graduation event, the participants shared their experiences and detailed what they learned. The event convened oil and natural gas company representatives and local businesspeople to help grow the Houston energy community.

Closing Business Gaps and Opening a Door to New Possibilities

At the core of the Blue Wave Supplier Development Program are workshops that teach participating business leaders how to achieve international business standards, from health and safety to finance to cybersecurity.

For example, a cybersecurity policy is important for companies that deal with secure operations and data, but may not be something a smaller business (and potential supplier) would yet have.

By meeting international standards, these companies are positioning themselves for improvement and growth – and the impact can already be seen with this year’s graduates.

Don Thiboudeaux, founder and CEO of FuelHub, which provides management services for fuel operations in more than 40 states and outside the U.S., tells the story of using information he learned from one of API’s Blue Wave workshops:

“I actually have a recent example of [putting the lessons to use] whereby I was able to provide a privacy policy that I had just completed … through Blue Wave a couple of months before. That in and of itself led me and led us, our company, to being able to say with certainty for our customer opportunity that we were qualified, not just winging it.”

Program participants, API member company representatives and API staff at the Houston graduation.

Libny Pineda, founder and CEO of VEPIC Energy and Resources summarized what many said:

“Blue Wave is valuable in the sense that it not only questions how you go about doing business and challenges you to do better, but it shows you how and brings a lot of thought-provoking business strategies, as well as ways to put that into [action] for the company.”

Building a Network and Community

Beyond the specific lessons on supplier development, a central piece of the Blue Wave program is building relationships in Houston, better known as the Energy Capital of the World. Over the last six months, the participants met with oil and natural gas leaders, as well as the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council. These mentors shared their advice, expertise and shared more about what makes the oil and natural gas industry unique and essential.

As a part of the graduation event, all the participants were invited to tour Phillips 66’s Sweeny Refinery outside of Houston. Leaders from Phillips 66 showed participants how a refinery works from the inside and shared the importance of the industry’s safety culture. This brought to life many of the lessons learned.

API’s second Blue Wave cohort tours Phillips 66’s Sweeny Refinery and meets with their team.

Nitin Nagar, vice president and CTO of BHT Solutions, explains why the site visit was so impactful:

“During this refinery tour, it opened my eyes in terms of safety. I saw some ‘stop work’ banners, and one of the Phillips 66 personnel helped me understand what it means. That actually is the biggest takeaway from here: Why we have these policies in place [and] the importance of it, not only to the business, but especially to our workers.”

A common theme across the graduation was how grateful the graduates were to the API, Blue Wave and the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council and how excited they were to put their new skills to good use. Many told stories of already utilizing the policies or plans they had made only weeks before as a result of the program’s workshops. It was clear to all the graduates that their hard work and dedication to continuous learning and improvement is leading to a better future for their companies and community.

API’s 2^nd Blue Wave Cohort graduates!

After two successful cohorts, API looks forward to recruiting the next. Thanks to support from API members and community partners, we are planning expansion to new parts of the country. With global oil and natural gas demand on the rise and U.S. production hitting record numbers, opportunities abound for service, supply and technology companies in the energy sector.