Sign In
Welcome! Sign In to personalize your Cat.com experience
If you already have an existing account with another Cat App, you can use the same account to sign in here
Register Now
One Account. All of Cat.
Your Caterpillar account is the single account you use to log in to select services and applications we offer. Shop for parts and machines online, manage your fleet, go mobile, and more.
Account Information
Site Settings
Security
The Oil & Gas industry is always changing, and the market changes with it. Here at the Caterpillar Oil & Gas division, we rely on our market intelligence team to be our eyes and ears, to help us do the work so that we can help our customers do theirs. Enter Wayne Zemke!
By Max Russell and Wayne Zemke | Posted October, 2022
A: Eastern Iowa. I live in Houston, Tx. I’m not from Texas, but I got here as quick as I could.
A: I’m the Market Intelligence Manager for our Oil & Gas division and our Marine division. I’ve been doing a variety of this role for about a decade. The job has changed a bit over that period of time, but the title has remained the same.
A: Be passionate about what you do. I work for a company that’s really known as a tractor company, and you don’t have to love tractors. But if you aren’t excited about the work that we do; building infrastructure, providing energy, providing things that make the world work…if those things don’t light your fire, your wood’s wet. Find something that you can be passionate about.
A: For most of history, oil and gas development has really been done in what is today called Conventional Plays, which take long cycle planning before you get first oil. What happens is you get this dynamic where you’d have a relatively low period of oil prices that would squash investment for multiple years, leading to a future situation where you’d have a long period of oil prices that would then take the industry several years to spool up and be able to respond to. That cycle could be a decade or two, entry to exit. And with shale, unconventional resources, that cycle is something like 18 months to 3 years depending on what’s going on in the general economy. So, it keeps one on their toes because it’s so dynamic in terms of trying to predict the turns, trying to understand the magnitude.
A: It’s the dynamic nature of the industry. It’s how interconnected it is into everything that we do. The shirt I’m wearing has plastic buttons. The table I’m leaning on has a plastic top. I’m sitting at a computer made of machine metal with plastic buttons. All those things are derivatives of energy and fossil fuels. It’s tremendously fascinating.
A: Previously, the industry used the words ‘oil company’, and now they use ‘energy company’. These companies will be a big part of the energy transition, and most of them focus on that. At Caterpillar, we look at the energy transition as an opportunity because we make solutions that fit our customers’ needs as the energy transition happens. I think that’s very interesting and positive in the outlook of the industry.
A: When it comes to market intelligence, which is what I do, you’re always trying to do the best you can to predict where the industry is going to go. It’s not a crystal ball. As I mentioned, the industry is very dynamic so it’s not as easy as trend forecasting. It’s not a perfect science, but we try to get a little bit ahead of the headlights of the rest of the business. Shine a direction for where we think the road is headed and course correct as we need to. We then try to drive an intellectual curiosity that leads to change and makes us a little smarter.
The Cat Blog is dedicated to sharing expert advice and industry knowledge to help our customers do the work better. Read our customer stories, tips and resources.
Read Our BlogDiscover Caterpillar oil and gas solutions and applications. Designed to be durable and efficient, our oil and gas generators are prime movers that deliver low operating costs.
Learn MoreWhether helping us go about our daily lives or aiding us in exploring the next frontier, these 5 products are proof that there is more to the oil and gas industry than meets the eye.
Learn More