Pink Petro plans to paint Permian pink June 18 in Midland, TX

Rapid growth of women in energy fuelled demand for Pink Petro, says founder Katie Mehnert

Women in the traditionally male-dominated energy workforce need to a place to connect with each other, says Katie Mehnert, CEO of the new social platform Pink Petro, which launches in Midland June 18.

Katie Mehnert, CEO of Pink Petro. Photo: Submitted.

Mehnert is an oil and gas industry veteran, working in health and safety for BP and Shell before striking out on her own last year with Pink Petro, which now has over hundreds members in 16 countries. She’s passionate about helping women succeed in a business that can be tough and competitive, but offers tremendous opportunities for future growth, especially because of the American energy renaissance created by the shale oil and gas revolution.

“It shouldn’t take another generation for my daughter to see that there are as many women as there are men in this business,” she said in an interview. “We are outnumbered four to one. So I’m passionate about helping women succeed, I’m passionate about making people aware of all the opportunities available to women.”

What is Pink Petro exactly?

Pink Petro is partly a website slash social platform powered by Silicon Valley wizardry that allows members to chat with each other, share information, and learn about the energy industry. Mehnert likens Pink Petro to subscription-based television models like Apple TV that carry a wide variety of shows customers can watch at their convenience.

Paint the Permian Pink, Midland TX, June 18.

“My daughter is a huge fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” she says. “We can watch as much Ninja Turtles as we want, commercial-free, because we pay a monthly fee to access that information at our convenience. I often compare Pink Petro to this model.”

The emphasis is on connecting members and giving them the tools to build relationships. Information is a big part of the Pink Petro package, and some of that is provided by media partners like American Energy News. Members pay an annual fee ranging from $50 to $500. Menhert emphasizes that her platform is spam-free.

There is also an offline component to Pink Petro. Mehnert says the objective is for members who are interacting online to further that relationship offline.

“We are not having monthly meet ups, that sort of thing, there are already a lot of organizations that do that,” she said. “What we’re trying to do is channel and elevate events put on by other groups like the Society of Women Engineers.”

Interest has been so great that Mehnert will be in Midland for the “Paint the Permian Pink” event on June 18, 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. at the Teen Flow Ministries, 711 South Main St. She will be speaking about the American energy renaissance, opportunities for women in the energy sector, and how Pink Petro will help women get ahead.

A special feature of the event will be a live Twitter chat during the event that includes Markham Hislop, veteran energy journalist and publisher of the American Energy News and Canadian Energy News. Attendees at the event or people interested but can’t make it, can ask questions of Mehnert and discuss energy issues of interest using the hashtage #PinkPermian.

Mehnert stresses that men are welcome to join Pink Petro – 10 per cent of existing members are male – and she hopes the Midland event will attract people from all areas of the energy sector, including CEOs, CFOs, land professionals, geologists, engineers, pumpers, supply, pipers, and office staff.

Click here to register now for the event.