Not only did Gloria Moncada begin her career as an intern at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery, but now she has returned nearly 20 years later to serve as the first female manager of the fourth largest refinery in the U.S.
Moncada earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she is from. After serving as an intern at the refinery, she was hired as a process contact engineer following graduation in 1992. She has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility since that time, including roles in technical, operations, maintenance, supply and investor relations in a range of locations, including Fairfax, Virginia; Dallas and Baytown, Texas; Torrance, California; and Singapore. Most recently, Moncada worked in crude supply optimization at the company's Spring, Texas, campus. She
returned to her career "roots" in Baton Rouge in January.
"The refinery holds a special place in my heart, since my husband and I met during my first assignment here with the company," said Moncada. "I'm thrilled to be back in Baton Rouge — this time with the addition of our children, who I know will love this vibrant city.
"I am also excited about both the opportunities and challenges my new position brings!"
Strong alignment
Moncada, who also serves as vicechair of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, sees her primary role as being responsible for the overall performance of the refinery and the safety and security of more than 1,200 employees. With a site production capacity of 502,500 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and approximately 300 products and grades of products manufactured, including motor gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricating oils, waxes, petroleum coke, liquefied petroleum gas and chemical feedstock, that is a tall order Moncada fills alongside her family.
"I am committed to upholding ExxonMobil's strong values, including operating responsibly and with integrity," Moncada said.
"The employees here are my work family, and I see our site as running like a family business — driven by pride, caring and commitment," she said. "The greatest asset we have is our pool of talented and dedicated employees. As their leader, my job is to create a common purpose and communicate often and openly so I fully engage their hearts and minds."
For Moncada, a large part of that is ensuring they are good community partners.
"I am committed to upholding ExxonMobil's strong values, including operating responsibly and with integrity," she explained. "Running a site of this size and complexity requires principle-based leadership, credibility and the ability to connect with people.
"Strong alignment through all levels of the organization is critical in delivering operations excellence and world-class business results."
Exemplary performance has safety as a core value.
"Safety shapes decision-making at every level," said Moncada. "Our mission of 'Nobody Gets Hurt' is clearly conveyed to all our employees and contractors, and is backed up with strong safety programs and continuous improvement plans."
The backbone of the site's safety program is the Loss Prevention System (LPS), which uses behavior-based tools. All employees and contractors have attended at least one eight-hour LPS training class and are empowered to intervene on unsafe acts.
"We are expected to take care of each other as we focus on one task, one job, one day at a time," explained Moncada.
In turn, the team takes care of their community as well.
"All of us at the refinery are members of the community in which we operate, so it is not just good business; it is about taking care of those we consider neighbors and friends," said Moncada. "It is a privilege to operate in Baton Rouge, and we earn that privilege by operating with excellence and being valued and contributing members of our community."
The site does so by strategically investing funds and volunteering support in a number of areas across the capital area.
"I'm so proud of our employees who are involved in so many organizations committed to making our city and region better," said Moncada. "Our volunteer service amounts to about 35,000 hours each year. Volunteer matching grants, combined with additional funds from the ExxonMobil Foundation, generated about $4 million in funding for Baton Rougearea schools and nonprofits last year.
"It's a great feeling knowing that we are making a difference."
Exciting times
Last year, ExxonMobil announced its "Growing the Gulf " initiative, including more than $20 billion in recent and planned investment along the U.S. Gulf Coast. In early 2018, an additional $50 billion in planned U.S. investment was announced to meet growing demand for high-performance plastics and advanced synthetic lubricant base stock products.
"Recent projects have been announced in Texas, and we'd certainly like to see additional investment in Baton Rouge," said Moncada.
The ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery continues to invest in supplying clean fuels to the market.
"We have reinvested an average of more than $250 million annually in our Baton Rouge sites over the last several years," explained Moncada. "This is in addition to annual environmental project investments totaling about $200 million. These combined investments improve safety, reliability and energy efficiency while also reducing emissions. New sources of oil and natural gas play an important role in domestic energy production for refining fuels and chemical feedstocks. We are able to provide increased fuel flexibility and increased diesel capacity as a result of today's renaissance in domestic oil and gas production."
ExxonMobil Baton Rouge's competitive advantage is leveraged through the integration of all area facilities with shared feedstocks.
"The synergy among our Port Allen Lubricants expansion project is a prime example, including synthetic base stocks manufacturing facilities at our Baton Rouge Chemical Plant and a new finished lubricants blending and packaging facility at the Port Allen Lubricants Plant," said Moncada. "We are poised for long-term investment.
"Access to consistent supplies of inexpensive natural gas and oil from America's shale area continues to drive a manufacturing renaissance in our region. A stable, predictable business climate is also important in ensuring Baton Rouge is considered for growth and expansion opportunities. These investments will create new well-paying jobs and generate a substantial ripple effect across our local and regional economies.
"The availability and low cost of shale oil and gas in the United States has created tremendous new opportunities. These are exciting times for our industry, and we must be nimble yet selective about which of these opportunities to pursue. We'll need to continue to focus on developing the necessary skilled workforce to support the expected growth of the industry.
"Our key focus at the site is on fully leveraging our employees' tremendous talents, operating with excellence and taking an entrepreneurial approach to our business. The diversity of our workforce is a huge asset, and I want to make sure we utilize the energy and creativity that comes from all those perspectives being heard and actioned. I believe doing these things well is the winning formula for our continued success as a world-class refinery and to support us as a workplace of choice."
Baton Rouge Refinery
4045 Scenic Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
www.exxonmobilbr.com
Employees: 1,286 employees/2,438 contractors
Products: Motor gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, aviation gasoline, lubricating oils, waxes, petroleum coke, liquefied petroleum gas and chemical feedstock
Size: 2,100 acres