Uncapped with Executive Roustabouts: Is Operations in O&G considered Core? Matt Dahan on Core Work, EOR, and the Future of O&G | Episode 13

In this episode of Uncapped with Executive Roustabouts, Jon Krome sits down with Matt Dahan, a petroleum engineer and global energy executive whose career has spanned Mobil, Saudi Aramco, Delta Hydrocarbons, and Denbury, where he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development, Technology, and Government Affairs before retiring in 2024. A New Jersey native and Colorado School of Mines graduate, Matt began his career in California before taking on increasingly complex international assignments in Venezuela, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. His experience leading the Qatif and Abu Safa developments for Saudi Aramco and his later work in CO2 enhanced oil recovery at Denbury have given him a rare vantage point on both the technical and strategic dimensions of the industry.

The conversation explores the responsibilities of managing one's own career, with Matt offering candid advice for young professionals on mastering their craft, understanding how their role fits into the broader business, and earning leadership before receiving the title. He reflects on the rewards and challenges of international work, including the lean staffing that thrusts greater responsibility on expatriates and the cultural pitfalls that derail some assignments. The discussion also examines the discipline of acquisitions, where overpaying and glossing over production forecasts are frequent culprits behind failed deals, and the critical role of culture in whether a merger ultimately delivers value. Matt shares his framework for thinking about core work in upstream oil and gas, arguing that reservoir management and development strategy must remain in-house, while offering a nuanced view on operations and IT as areas where outsourcing can make sense depending on complexity and risk.

Listen to the full conversation for a thoughtful look at international leadership, mergers and acquisitions, enhanced oil recovery, and the future of an industry that still has enormous resources left to develop.