Chevron’s Steele leading with purpose, embracing challenges

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Chevron’s Tifanie Steele surrounds herself with a dedicated team to drive successful results.

As GM of the Chevron Pasadena Refinery, capable of currently processing up to 95k b/d of crude oil, increasing to 125k b/d after start-up of the Light Tight Oil project, she is ultimately responsible for the safe, reliable and environmental operations of the facility.

"Leaders need to be inspiring, authentic and empower their teams and employees to do great things," she said. "As a leader, you may not have all the answers, but surrounding yourself with a smart, high-performing capable team enables good decisions that affect great outcomes.

"I think an ability to recognize what your own personal strengths and weaknesses are is important so that you can ensure you have people around you that can bolster the areas you need help in or have less experience in."

Steele ascended to the role in January 2023. Her career at Chevron began in 2002 as a process engineer at the Richmond Refinery in California. After five years, she transitioned to Chevron’s headquarters as a global manufacturing planning analyst, where she developed strategic plans for manufacturing operations.

She said that role served as a precursor to subsequent positions as an operations coordinator and then section head at the Salt Lake City Refinery. She had a stint in Pascagoula, Mississippi, before returning to Texas in 2020 as the operations manager at the Pasadena Refinery before becoming GM office of the chairman in corporate strategy and sustainability.

"I was very excited to come back to Pasadena as the GM," Steele said. "It was like homecoming."

The historical Pasadena Refinery is the latest chapter in Chevron’s 145-year history when it was added to the Chevron portfolio and value chain in 2019, Steele said.

Following the discovery of oil in the surrounding Houston area in 1917, Crown Central Petroleum constructed the plant as one of the first petroleum refineries on the Houston Ship Channel, which many years later became the Pasadena Refinery System Inc. (PRSI).

"We are currently going through a major capital project, called the Light Tight Oil project, to retrofit the refinery to take the light Permian crude, refine it and produce several products such as jet fuel, diesel, low sulfur fuel oil and other materials.

"The project on this historical refinery is a great undertaking that will contribute to making the refinery safer, more reliable and more competitive."

The refinery also transports products to the Pascagoula facility and helps supply gasoline to Chevron and Texaco-branded retail stations in Texas and Louisiana, as well as business partners in South and Central America.

A key goal for Steele has been integrating Chevron’s culture into the existing atmosphere at the Pasadena Refinery.

"We acquired a facility but also welcomed a dedicated and talented workforce that help keep the facility going every day. The cultural integration of PRSI and Chevron takes time and is a journey."

Steele said leadership is working to reduce overall emissions and to improve the safety, reliability and environmental performance of the facility.

The facility’s safety record centers on two mottos — "do it safely or not at all," and "there is always time to do it right," Steele said.

Teams at the site use advanced technology monitoring and participate in nationally recognized employee and contractor training that aims to eliminate serious injuries or illness.

Collaborative planning and execution at the refinery revolve around leveraging the expertise of contractors from the ground up and bringing them on board during the crucial early planning phase, she said, ensuring every aspect of the project benefits from the insights of the contractors.

That process allows for a thorough review of the construction sequence, optimizes material ordering and staging and enhances safety measures, Steele said.

"The integration of contractors during the early stages of a project can be a game changer. It’s not just the construction manager who holds the safety torch," she said. "From the pipefitters’ helpers to the electricians, every contractor must feel empowered. If something doesn’t seem right, they have the authority to stop work. This isn’t just lip service; it’s a fundamental shift in mindset."

Chevron’s future will involve diversifying energy sources and cutting carbon emissions, Steele said. The company is also focused on reducing flaring and improving energy management in which the use of AI will play a critical role, she added.

"AI is a game changer for the company, helping to cut energy waste and lower costs across the enterprise," she said. "We’re excited to learn more about the use of AI and machine learning to make our operations smarter with real-time data and automation. This will mean better efficiency, less risk and longer-lasting machinery thanks to predictive maintenance.

Employees at the Pasadena Refinery believe strongly in the importance of community involvement, with some assuming roles in the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and participation in local community meetings to stress transparency and insight into what goes on at the facility.

The plant sponsored a Maker Space with 3D printers and other equipment at the Pasadena Public Library and employees also conduct STEM mentoring at Pasadena Independent School District campuses.

The facility also recently partnered with the Pasadena Habitat for Humanity to help build a home to help make the dream of home ownership a reality for a hopeful family.

Steele is from Webster, Texas, and moved around the country due to her father’s job as an engineer in the O&G industry. Her grandfather also worked as a chemist in a chemical plant.

"I decided early on that I wanted to follow a similar career path and graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering," she said.

Her father’s career was a big inspiration for her, with family road trips spent talking about his job and her parents encouraging her love of math and science. She said pursuing a career in STEM never seemed out of reach for her, and she was leaning toward office-based roles like consulting or technical sales.

An internship at Chevron’s facility in northern California changed that.

"I fell in love with the field environment. I’ve been working at sites ever since," Steele said. "Once I started working, I was intrigued to take on roles that seemed challenging or would allow me to learn different parts of our business which helped set me up for the opportunity I have now. I would advise others who are interested in this career path to be open minded about the opportunities with which they are presented. There is no one way to become a plant manager, but a breadth of experiences and a track record of delivering results through strong teamwork will certainly help."

Steele believes in the power of mentors and mentorship, and said a particular role model for her may be unusual — a fictional character in an Apple TV comedy about an American football coach who moves to England to coach a soccer team.

"I can’t help but say that Ted Lasso is such a great role model," she said. "A leader has the ability to transform a group into a unified team that collaborates effectively to reach a shared objective, while consistently offering support and guidance."

For more information, visit pasadena.chevron.com.

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