Susan M. Cunningham

Susan Margaret Cunningham
Born	1956 Canada
Occupation(s)	Geologist, senior executive in oil and gas sector
Years active	1980–present
Known for	Exploration and development roles at Amoco, Statoil ASA, Noble Energy; board member of Chord Energy

Susan Margaret Cunningham (born 1956) is a Canadian geologist and senior executive within the international oil and gas sector. Since beginning her career in 1980, she has occupied exploration and development roles at companies such as Amoco, Statoil ASA, and Noble Energy Inc. Her specialization lies in overseeing resource exploration initiatives in regions including West Africa and the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Cunningham currently holds a position on the board of directors for Chord Energy. Over the course of her professional journey, she has been honored with leadership and achievement awards from institutions like the National Diversity Council and the ASME.

Education

Cunningham completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Physical Geology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, graduating in 1979. Her undergraduate thesis, supported by the Ontario Geological Survey, examined the "Petrology and Geochemistry of Some Archean Volcanics, Dome Township, Central Red Lake Area, Ontario." Subsequently, she enhanced her expertise by undertaking an executive management program at Rice University located in Houston, Texas.

1980–1997

Beginning in 1980, Cunningham embarked on her career with Amoco Corp, where she fulfilled multiple exploration and development responsibilities until 1997. Among her roles were managing director for Denmark and Sweden and exploration manager for the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Notably, she was the first woman to serve as country manager for Amoco as well as the first female domestic exploration manager in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico operations.

1997–2000

In 1997, Cunningham transitioned to Norwegian energy firm Statoil ASA, initially as exploration manager for South Africa. The following year, she advanced to Vice President of exploration for Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. By 1999, she had assumed the role of Vice President of West African Exploration before moving to Texaco Inc in 2000 as Vice President overseeing core worldwide explorations.

2001–2017

Cunningham joined Noble Energy Inc in 2001 as Senior Vice President of Exploration. Between 2001 and 2014, she held senior leadership positions managing operations across the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and Frontiers regions. She also established and led Noble Energy’s business innovation division. In 2014, Cunningham was elevated to Executive Vice President responsible for EHSR (Environment, Health, Safety, Regulatory) and New Frontiers, where she directed global exploration activities, geoscience efforts, frontier projects, and new ventures until 2017.

Throughout her time at Noble Energy, Cunningham served on the board of Cliff's Natural Resources from 2005 to 2014 and chaired the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) during 2010–2011 on behalf of the AAPG. Additionally, she contributed to governance at the Houston Area Women's Center and Houston Geological Society.

2017–present

From 2017 until 2019, Cunningham acted as an advisor to Darcy Partners. In September 2020, she joined the board of Whiting Petroleum Corporation (now operating as Chord Energy) where she participates on both ESG and Audit Committees. She also holds directorships with Enbridge and Oil Search.

Honors

In 2011, Cunningham was honored with the Rhodes Petroleum Industry Leadership Award. She was recognized by the Oil & Gas Diversity Council in 2016 as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Oil & Gas. Her distinguished recognitions also include the Offshore Technology Conference Heritage Award received in 2014, the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Energy Award in 2019, and the WISE-BIO Houston Leadership in Technology Award.

Scholarly Work

Cunningham contributed as a co-author to "New Biostratigraphic Age Dates from the Lake Rukwa Rift Basin in Western Tanzania: Geologic Note" (1991), which reevaluated previous age determinations for significant stratigraphic layers within the Rukwa Rift Basin. During her tenure at Statoil, she co-developed the paper "Managing E&P Opportunities, and Risks, Hidden by Uncertain Geologic Information," delivered at the 1998 AAPG Hedberg Research Conference. This work proposed a strategic framework focusing on information value, adaptability, and decision sequencing to enhance exploration and production outcomes.

Charitable Endeavors

In 2010, Cunningham made a $1 million donation to McMaster University to establish the Susan Cunningham Research Chair in Geology. She revisited the university in 2014 to present a lecture discussing leadership and women's roles in the oil sector, as part of McMaster’s Academic Women's Success and Mentorship (AWSM) program.

Speaking Engagements

Cunningham appeared alongside geologist William "Bill" Maloney at the Houston Geologic Society in 2018 to discuss her career achievements. She was also featured in the AAPG Distinguished Lecture Series during 2018–19 with a presentation titled "What it Takes to be Successful in Exploration." In 2019, she delivered a talk named "Agents of Change" at a TEDx event hosted by Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Financial Standing and Public Holdings

According to MarketScreener, Cunningham’s publicly listed assets are valued near US$1.74 million. Her net worth was approximated at $8.48 million USD as of December 2016.