Ms Boyd is an environmental management professional with over twelve years of experience in the oil and gas industry and as a consultant to a broad range of social, health, safety and environmental concerns related to developments and asset transactions.  Heather’s focus has been in the areas of:

Heather came to Acorn in 2007 with five years of experience as part of the environmental management staff of ConocoPhillips in Houston. There she was recognized and promoted for demonstrating an ability to lead diverse teams, build credibility with stakeholders and resolve complex social issues through management of a program to remediate oil sumps in residential neighborhoods.  Heather is a Qualified E/H/Social Facilitator for Chevron’s RiskMan2 Integrated Hazard Identification (IHAZID) Process, a Qualified ESHIA Facilitor for Chevron’s ESHIA Process, and a Qualified Evaluator for Chevron's Third-Party Waste Stewardship (TWS) Process.

Professional Experience

Environmental, Health, Safety and Social Impact and Risk Assessments

• Facilitated workshop for national oil company in the Middle East to diagnose company’s capacity to implement a corporate EIA Process. This project included a benchmark study, gap assessment and development of a recommended framework for an EIA Process. A training session will be held after development of an EIA Guidance document and supporting materials.
• Completed ESIA and related stakeholder engagement program for offshore exploration project in Liberia
• Facilitated ESHIA Screening, Scoping and Impact Assessment and EIA activities for offshore development in Angola
• Facilitated EH/Social aspects of an IHAZID study for a gas plant expansion in Nigeria
• Completed three ESIAs for offshore exploration projects in the Ivory Coast
• Completed ESIA and related stakeholder engagement program for offshore exploration project in Kenya
• Completed Environmental and Social Due Diligence Project for a proposed chlor-alkali facility in Trinidad to evaluate potential impacts and plans relative to World Bank, IDB and IFC standards
• Completed study of over 200 IHAZID risk studies for worldwide facilities and operations to evaluate trends in environmental, social and health risks including potential social and reputation risks
• Facilitated EH/Social aspects of an IHAZID study and revalidated study for LNG Terminal in Australia
• Facilitated EH/Social aspects of IHAZID study for onshore development in Colorado
• Completed ESHIA Screening and Scoping Procedures for a large Upstream Development in Kazakhstan
• Facilitated E/H/Social aspects of IHAZIDs for Development of Offshore Facilities in Venezuela and Trinidad
• Facilitated E/H/Social aspects of 16 IHAZID studies covering a wide range of onshore and offshore oil and gas facilities in the MidContinent US, California and Alaska, including facilitation of in-depth workshops to address social and reputation risk

HSE Management

• Supported development of a corporate due diligence standard for a national oil company in the Middle East
• Developed Operational Excellence plans in areas of air emissions, waste management, biodiversity and environmental design basis for a major drilling project in Kazakhstan
• Provided support to a major oil company’s Environmental Stewardship program for onshore and offshore Mid Continent US facilities
• Supported development of an Environmental Management System for a downstream national oil company including analysis of industry best practices and performance
• Reviewed key indicators and HSE metrics of major oil companies for pilot study to evaluate oil company sustainability reporting
• Managed HSE risk and liability in accordance with ConocoPhillips’ Corporate HSE Management System
• Audited oil and gas facilities to determine compliance with ConocoPhillips’ Corporate and Business Unit Management Systems

Stakeholder and Public Relations Management
Ms. Boyd has been recognized for her successful leadership in stakeholder engagement and public relations aspects of environmental liability management programs for oil and gas industry assets.  Specific experience includes:

• Facilitated ESHIA stakeholder engagement activities for large Upstream Development in Kazakhstan
• Facilitated workshops to identify reputational concerns and develop stakeholder engagement recommendations for onshore and offshore facilities in the US, Venezuela & Trinidad
• Represented ConocoPhillips in public meetings - challenged by negative publicity and community concerns of health, nuisance, and property value resulting from development of residential neighborhoods over abandoned oil sumps
• Led meetings with local media to improve accuracy of information appearing in news articles
• Led cross-functional team of property agents, legal representation, claims specialists, public relations support, and contractors to manage the identification, assessment and remediation of former oil field liabilities
• Facilitated purchase of impacted residential properties
• Interfaced routinely with homeowners, city and county officials and company business units
• Worked with other oil companies and regulators to develop a health risk-based closure process for oil-impacted soil

Environmental Liability Assessment and Management
Ms. Boyd has been responsible for numerous programs to assess and manage liabilities for former upstream and downstream remediation concerns.  Specific experience includes:

• Completed five waste facility audits under Chevron’s TWS Program
• Managed program to assess and remediate 70 abandoned oil sumps from developed properties
• Completed delineation of former oilfield liabilities on 42 residential properties
• Completed $6MM project to excavate 50,000 cubic yards of soil from an active church, daycare and school
• Managed financial forecasting and expenditure of capital and environmental costs estimated at $35MM
• Increased identification of potential new releases on Lower 48 remediation liabilities by 35% through training of staff and contractors
• Facilitated recovery of over $2MM from state reimbursement fund on retail marketing remediation sites

Due Diligence, Site Assessment, and Claims Management for Industrial Asset Transfer
Ms. Boyd has performed environmental due diligence assessments and claims for a large number of industrial assets.   Specific experience includes:

• Managed environmental claims and liabilities and supported due diligence for ConocoPhillips’ portfolio of 2,500 disposed properties
• Supported due diligence and divestment efforts and managed agreement obligations
• Led strategic discussions with legal, real estate, site managers and contractors
• Reported and presented results and learnings to management and business units
• Supervised staff in completion of Transaction Screenings, Phase I and Phase II Assessments
• Developed client solutions for due diligence efforts on large portfolios of sites with strict deadlines
• Conducted fieldwork, data interpretation and regulatory compliance of assessment and remediation projects at residential, commercial and industrial properties

 Prior Professional Experience

Acorn International – Environmental, Health, Safety and Social Impact Assessment work on international oil industry projects, Houston, TX 2007-2009, Boston, MA 2009-present

ConocoPhillips - Risk Management & Remediation, Corporate HSE, Tempe AZ & Houston, TX, 2003-2007
Served as HSE Asset Disposition Claims Manager, Site Manager for the Santa Maria Oil Sump Remediation Program and HSE Site Manager for the Colorado & Utah Retail Portfolio. Performed environmental audits as part of ConocoPhillips HSE audit teams.

Goldman Environmental Consultants, Inc. - Assessment, remediation, permitting, compliance and H&S training Consultant,  Braintree, MA, 1996 - 2002
Served manager of Environmental Site Assessments and conducted a variety of environmental management, assessment, compliance, and training assignments for industrial, commercial and residential developments.

Education

University of New Hampshire - Bachelor of Science - Environmental Affairs, English Minor, 1996
Coursework included sciences, resource management, resource economics, environmental policy, law and ethics. 
Internship: City of Dover Planning Office, 1995. 

Awards and Recognition

Earth Day Award from Utah Board of Oil, Gas & Mining for Reclamation Efforts at former well site in Grand Staircase National Monument, Escalante, UT (2005)

Special Recognition Awards, ConocoPhillips
Assistance in Claims and Guest Auditing (2004)
Completion of Sump Remediation Project (2005)
Execution of Excellence Awards & Poster Session (2006)              
Audit Participation (2006)
Building Credibility in Santa Maria Public Meeting (2006)