APPEA 2024 Conference and Exhibition

Christopher A. “Chris” Powers, 43, is vice president, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) for Chevron New Energies (CNE), a position he assumed in October 2021. He is responsible for leading and growing Chevron’s CCUS business worldwide and is based at CNE’s headquarters in Houston, Texas.

Previously, Powers served as General Manager of Strategy and Business Performance for Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company (CNAEP) since 2020. In this role, he was responsible for leading efforts to shape strategies and competitive plans for each business unit across the North America region, including the leading Permian position. Chris led the merger integration of Noble Energy’s North American assets into CNAEP.

Powers’ recent leadership roles include General Manager, Maintenance & Reliability, at the Pascagoula, Mississippi Refinery, Chevron’s largest wholly owned manufacturing facility, and Area Operations Manager in Bakersfield, California, within the San Joaquin Valley upstream business unit. Previously, he served as Advisor to the Vice Chairman and EVP of Upstream, and as General Manager of CUEL, a former joint venture in Thailand.

Powers began his career as a process engineer in the Chevron Energy Research and Technology Company in Bellaire, Texas. Over his 20-plus year career with Chevron, he has held business and technical leadership positions of increasing responsibility in Kazakhstan, Thailand, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

A native of Port Neches, Texas, Chris received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering Magna Cum Laude from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is a registered Professional Engineer.

Married with three children, Powers and his family are active in the Houston community, where his children, from high school to preschool age, attend HISD public schools. He is a Governing Director of the Houston Symphony and is active with HETI, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative. Powers also serves as the Chevron Executive Sponsor for the Chevron – Rice University relationship and serves on the George R. Brown School of Engineering External Advisory Board at Rice.

Presentation details

Plenary 4 Keynote Panel: Energy Superpower | Australia’s role in the region
Thursday 23 May 2024
8:30am – 10:15am