9 minute read
Heritage Petroleum is Inspiring Future Generations
It is our people, our youth, who hold the power to shape the future.
Erik Keskula, Present CEO, Heritage Petroleum Company Limited
Established in October 2018, Heritage Petroleum Company Limited (Heritage) is a Trinidad and Tobago state-owned oil and gas company. With an unwavering commitment to operational excellence, Heritage is distinguishing itself in the industry. Its success is underpinned by its highly skilled workforce, modern technology, and stringent adherence to international best practice and safety standards.
Since its inception, the company has consistently delivered profits, averaging a 10% contribution to the country's GDP over its five-year existence. Heritage's success is attributed to its strategic approach and vision of being a world-class oil and gas company recognised for its operational safety, innovation, and excellence in sustainability.
Heritage sees the current industry workforce as key to the country’s energy transition. It is therefore not surprising that youth education and development sit high on the list of priorities for the company. In Heritage’s Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) Reports the company’s reference to “the next generation of leaders” reflects the broader ESG focus of the company, namely protecting the environment, building community capacity, supporting economic development, and empowering future leaders.
Behind the company’s internal rallying mantra of ‘One Team, One Journey’ is “a duty of care” to support the next generation of leaders “in creating a sustainable and prosperous future” for Trinidad and Tobago. The message of youth changemaking is clear, and the steps taken to facilitate this process of youth development throughout the company’s operations are visible. As much as the company’s values are premised on the acronym INSPIRE (Integrity, Nimble, Safety, Performance, Innovation, Respect, Excellence), attention is paid to inspiring future leaders.
While Heritage CEO, Erik Keskula has endorsed the company’s support of youth development, he also recognises the need to bridge the multigenerational gaps to ensure knowledge sharing and expertise, continuity and succession planning, are sustained to improve efficiencies across the company.
Inspiring change through education and sustainability
As part of Heritage’s sustainability focus, the company established several social programmes and initiatives which directly benefit our future leaders.
These programmes provide trainees with coaching, guidance, and relevant work experience. The significance of these programmes along with the sponsorships and donations made by Heritage, is better grasped within the context of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (17) (UNSDGs), 11 of which underpin the ESG pillars of the company.
With over TT$41 million allocated to social and environmental programs, sponsorships and donations, Heritage's emerging sustainability and shared value strategy also emphasises employee volunteerism, which embeds corporate values into national engagement. Utilising an informed and calculated approach, the company tracks its reach and impact of a mix of donations, sponsorships, and partnerships. Staff mentorship and talent-sharing further enhance programs empowering youth as future leaders, fostering community capacity, and promoting environmental sustainability.
In 2020, the company established Heritage Education Resource Opportunity (HERO), a scholarship programme offering TT$100,000 to aid top-performing Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) students within its fenceline communities. The HERO programme consists of the Heritage Young Proactive Ambassadors (HYPA) programme, a stress intervention programme designed to enhance pupils’ performance and exam readiness as they prepare for SEA and the Leadership Empowerment Development Programme, which prepares post-SEA pupils for their entry into secondary schools.
Another flagship programme is Heritage’s two-year Graduate Training Programme designed to provide graduating tertiary-level students with coaching, guidance and relevant work experience, that will serve them along their career journeys. Graduate trainees who took part in this inaugural training programme in 2021-2023, received practical work experience within the following Business Units: Finance, HSE, Midstream, Land, Subsurface, Business Development and Offshore. One of the graduates from this cohort, Sadiyah Forde, played a crucial role in supporting the creation of Heritage’s first ESG Report and the company’s plan in alignment with Trinidad and Tobago’s commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement. Miss Forde has since gone on to contribute to the Carbon Capture and CO2 EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) project spearheaded by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries. The project seeks to reduce the Heritage’s carbon footprint by enabling the capture and removal of carbon dioxide from our operations and storing it deep underground.
Cross-sector partnerships, such as this, allow young people to take the skills learnt during the mentorship period into the ‘real world’ and contribute positively to decisions that ultimately affect their future.
The necessity of facilitating partnerships where young people can thrive is underscored by the United Nations (UN) in its 2011 publication Private Sector Toolkit For Working With Youth. As part of the ‘World Programme of Action for Youth’ framework, the UN recommends that “Governments, employers, educators, and civil society groups alike must come together to ensure greater youth participation, knowing that if they do not, the consequences and opportunity costs could be grave.” Through Heritage’s programmes we are investing in our young people by expanding their skillsets and networks, and contributing young entrepreneurs and marketable prospects to employers, particularly in the energy sector.
The ‘Here We Grow’ initiative is the company’s phased approach to supporting food security. This is rooted in the ‘grow what you eat and eat what you grow’ philosophy where food was the result of the value added by the residents. Within this initiative is the Seedling Distribution Programme, which provides seedlings and food to households within the company’s operating communities. Through this programme, between 2021-2023, 50,000 seedlings have since been distributed.
There is also the Agri-preneur Training and Capacity Development Programme, which channels young residents into the agricultural sector, providing them with the necessary resources to launch and grow their agriculturebased businesses. The Agri-preneurship Programme specifically targets community members between 18 and 35 years old. One of the components of the last programme was a field trip to expose participants to the operations of various agribusiness enterprises, agri-processes such as hydroponics, traditional farms, and UWI’s Field Station. It also facilitated a holistic understanding of the agricultural sector as an economically viable option.
The Heritage Information Technology Training (HITT) programme was established in 2023 to provide computer literacy training to people between 7 and 65. It is a technology-based social sustainability programme aimed at improving information technology awareness and addressing the digital divide issues that impact individuals within its operating communities. Heritage partnered with the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) to facilitate learning among various community stakeholders, including students, parents, and youth groups.
In 2023, Heritage launched the Heritage Outreach to Maximize Environmental Excellence (HOMEE) initiative. At the core of the HOMEE programme is a commitment to environmental awareness. Through a series of projects, such as an Upcycling Art Competition for Primary Schools and an Environmental Photo and Essay Competition for Secondary Schools, Heritage allows students to express their creativity on critical environmental issues. In the process, Heritage was able to weave its ESG strategy into youth activism and, more broadly, environmental sustainability.
Evidently, core to Heritage is its sustainability thrust, and adding to its existing complement of social programmes is the Industrial-Mechanical Apprenticeship Programme (I-MAP), in collaboration with Ministry of Youth, Development and National Service and facilitated by MIC Institute of Technology. I-MAP aims to transform the lives of dynamic youths aged 18 to 35 from fenceline communities, by enhancing youth participation and productivity, equipping participants for sustainable job opportunities, building a skilled workforce for diversification, and promoting gender inclusivity. Heritage’s Industrial Compound in Santa Flora will house the first cohort of apprentices in April 2024.
Still in its nascent stages, the company continues to evolve its CSR programmes to meet international measurement standards, and it is setting a baseline in key areas of youth and national development as evidenced by its current programmes and interventions. To learn more about these ongoing projects visit https://heritage.co.tt/.
Creating a Heritage of Future Sustainability
Heritage continues to be a main sponsor of the Pointea-Pierre Wildfowl Trust (PaPWFT), a wetland habitat for an array of birds, some of which have been listed as endangered. In 2024, Heritage donated Five Hundred Thousand Dollars (TTD 500,000.00) to support its conservation efforts, reinforcing Heritage's unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Other social programmes include a mentoring partnership with the Society of Petroleum Engineers, an annual December Toy Drive and an ongoing food hamper distribution programme for the underserved in Heritage’s neighbouring communities.
As part of our community capacity building initiatives, Heritage also donated $26M to the rebuilding of the historical Palo Seco Velodrome, sponsored the Skiffle Steel Orchestra and Siparia Deltones Steel Orchestra at the 2023 National Panorama Festival, supported the Diatonic Pan Institute's Youth Music Literacy Programme and contributed to Point Fortin’s Borough Day activities.
Heritage is a company that continues to excel in its industry and is committed to promoting excellence among youth for our nation's future success. This includes providing education and training programs, mentorship, and investing in the environment and cultural preservation of Trinidad and Tobago. I-MAP is the latest addition to our social enrichment programmes, preparing our young leaders to contribute positively to the energy industry.
We remain laser-focused on our ESG responsibilities and will continue our thrust towards achieving our sustainability goals and investing in the development of our future leaders.
