2022 HENAAC Awards
Education: Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University; Bachelor’s, Chemical Engineering, Universidad Industrial de Santander (Colombia)
In her current role as the Health, Safety, Security and Environment lead for Shell’s $5 billion Whale deep-water development in the Gulf of Mexico, Dr. Olga Reyes Valdes is charged with delivering safety and social performance expertise from the define phase through asset commissioning and startup. Her responsibilities include process and personnel safety, marine construction and installation activities, and contractor health and safety management including impact assessments and regulatory permitting. Discovered in 2017 and scheduled to open in 2024, the Whale facility will feature 15 oil producing wells expected to reach peak output of approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
Dr. Reyes Valdes has made outstanding contributions to the field of process safety in the oil industry with more than 10 peer-reviewed publications during her graduate program. One of her publications, based on her thesis work on the behavior of organic peroxides under rising temperatures and pressures, was among the top 10% most cited engineering articles published that year.
Born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, young Olga and her two siblings were raised by a single mother who pursued a business degree while working two jobs to keep her kids in private school. The message they received was clear: the only way to succeed is through a good education.
After following up her chemical engineering degree with a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, it’s safe to say that message resonated – so much so that she inspired her mother to go back to college to pursue a Master’s degree, which she completed just months before losing her battle with cancer.
Dr. Reyes Valdes’ passion for her work extends to her commitment to the outreach and empowerment, both within and beyond her work responsibilities as Shell. She’s held leadership roles on both the Women Adding Value Everywhere employee resource group, and the Shell Hispanic Employee Network which elected her president in 2022.