from service to solutions: veterans solve problems, innovate in upstream operations

Before the sun comes up, and before his shift even starts, Devin Samaha is already working up a sweat—scaling the stairs of Chevron’s Houston, Texas, headquarters, sometimes with a sandbag slung over his shoulder.

But for him, this isn’t just a workout. It’s a ritual rooted in his Marine Corps days.

“Exercise is how I stay sharp,” said Samaha, an exploration drilling engineer.

Samaha added that his military service instilled an unwavering sense of integrity, a relentless drive for perfection, and an enthusiastic commitment to any mission, which he brings to every task and opportunity at Chevron.

“The discipline, adaptability and mission-focused leadership I honed in uniform—combined with a deep sense of camaraderie—enable me to build strong, collaborative teams that prioritize safety and deliver projects with precision under pressure,” Samaha said. “The problem-solving skills, resilience and enthusiasm for new challenges forged in high-stress environments drive innovative solutions, foster a supportive workplace culture and ensure the highest standards of safety and excellence.”

Samaha is one of many veterans at Chevron who bring military-honed skills to the complex world of shale and tight operations. (Shale and tight rock formations are difficult to extract liquids from.)

Before moving to Chevron’s exploration team earlier this year, Samaha held a series of engineering jobs in the Permian Basin. He played a key role in helping Chevron achieve its goal of producing an average of 1 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day in the Permian, a major milestone.

“I’m pretty proud of that,” he said. “It was a huge success for Chevron, as well as for those who rely on the energy produced in the Permian Basin.”

Outside his core responsibilities, Samaha was part of a team that helped Chevron drill faster and smarter. By slashing fluid usage and fine-tuning solids control—two frequently overlooked but critical aspects of shale operations—his team helped Chevron reduce its cost to operate, thus allowing it to be more cost competitive.

Meanwhile, efficiency gains were realized from other techniques that reduced Chevron’s time to drill wells by half.

These sorts of gains are helping support Chevron’s efforts to meet global energy demands while maintaining the highest standards of safety.

To lead his team to success, Samaha leaned into his military teachings, specifically through decentralized command, a military leadership philosophy that involves pushing decision-making authority to the people closer to the work.

“Giving people ownership of decisions has dramatically improved our rig performance,” Samaha said. “Understanding leadership principles like this has been really impactful.”

Energy security, economic growth and environmental responsibility all depend on the kind of innovation veterans are driving at Chevron.

“Veterans bring a competitive edge,” said Brandon Dutreix, president of Chevron’s Veteran Employees Network. “They have the fundamental culture of completing the mission and winning in any environment.”

Behind America’s energy leadership stand the local workers that drive its success. Chevron supports these communities, spending $44 billion with U.S. vendors and suppliers since 2022.

In 2025, the company plans to invest approximately $9 billion in U.S. energy projects, creating jobs and stimulating industrial growth. For example, in the Permian Basin, where Chevron has maintained a presence for more than a century, its operations have contributed to a flourishing regional economy that supported approximately 630,000 jobs in Texas and 145,000 in New Mexico in 2023. And the company supported more than 850,000 jobs nationwide that year.

The investments Chevron is making are helping drive U.S. energy security and the U.S. energy advantage.