How Relationships Built My Career in Energy...

Why People — Not Titles — Shaped My Path in Energy

By Natan Battisti | Vice President Finance, Harbour Energy Argentina

Natan Battisti is a petroleum engineer with a strong foundation in finance, focused on energy economics and the role hydrocarbons play in driving global development.

He currently serves as Vice President of Finance in Argentina at Harbour Energy, and alongside his corporate role, Natan is deeply committed to developing the next generation of energy professionals, having been an active member of Society of Petroleum Engineers since 2013, holding leadership positions across Brazil and the UK.

Earlier in his career, he worked across Brazil, building a broad understanding of the upstream value chain. He is also the founder of Até o Último Barril, an initiative created to empower students and young professionals in the Brazilian energy sector.

His career reflects a consistent focus on combining technical expertise with relationships, mentorship, and community-building—principles that have shaped his path across multiple geographies, including the UK, Colombia, and Argentina.

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Early in my career, I believed success in the energy industry was mostly about technical competence. Study harder. Master the subsurface and how drilling and completions work. Understand a bit how we make money. Do the work — and opportunities would follow.

I was wrong. Technical skills are necessary, but relationships are what compound them over time.

When I look back, almost every meaningful opportunity I’ve had came not from a job posting, but from a conversation, a mentor, a volunteer role, or a relationship built long before it was ever “useful.” That happens inside organizations as well.

This is not about networking as a transaction. It’s about building trust, contributing consistently, and showing up — often without knowing where it will lead.

Where It Really Started: Volunteering Before Titles

My relationship-driven career started well before my first formal job, when I joined the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) as a student volunteer in 2014.

I didn’t join SPE to “build a network.” I joined because I wanted to be part of something bigger — to do more than just attend classes and work on research projects. Over time, that decision gave me exposure, responsibility, and a real sense of belonging in the industry — things that, living in Pelotas, RS, far from where the energy industry actually operates, would have been hard to access otherwise.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that volunteering became my first leadership laboratory. By organizing events, coordinating speakers, negotiating sponsorships, and working with peers across Brazil and abroad, I started building relationships with senior professionals who later became mentors — and with peers who would go on to become outstanding professionals and, in many cases, lifelong friends. Those relationships weren’t built through polished elevator pitches. They were forged through shared effort, failed initiatives, late-night planning calls, and a genuine desire to connect students and young professionals from Pelotas to the wider O&G world.

Mentorship as a Force Multiplier

One concept I often repeat is that mentorship is a force multiplier.

Mentors accelerated my learning in ways no course or conference ever could. They challenged my thinking, explained industry dynamics honestly, helped recalibrate expectations, and, at critical moments, opened doors I didn’t even know existed. Importantly, mentorship rarely came from formal programs. Some of m y strongest mentors emerged after months — or years — of consistent interaction. Others started with a simple email exchange, a conference conversation, or a volunteering collaboration.

What made these relationships work was not hierarchy, but mutual respect and a genuine desire to share — and absorb — knowledge. As my career progressed, I found myself on the other side of that equation, becoming a mentor relatively early. Something unexpected happened: mentoring others sharpened my own clarity and leadership far more than I anticipated.

Relationships Create Options — Especially in Downturns

The energy industry is cyclical. Roles disappear. Markets contract. Uncertainty becomes the norm. In downturns, relationships become insurance.

When opportunities are scarce, people who know how you think, how you behave under pressure, and how you treat others are far more likely to advocate for you, recommend you, or simply pick up the phone when you call.

How I Actually Built These Relationships

For young professionals, “building relationships” can sound vague or abstract. In practice, my approach, often unintentional, was simple:

• I showed up early and followed through — often before I felt fully ready
• I stayed curious, asking questions instead of trying to impress
• I gave back early — volunteering, mentoring, and connecting people

Most importantly, I learned that authenticity scales better than polish.

You don’t need to sound like someone from a boardroom to make an impact. You need to be reliable, respectful, and intellectually honest. Be kind. Work hard. Trust that good things will come.

Relationships in any industry that I know don’t pay off in months. They compound over years. Many young professionals give up too early because they don’t see immediate returns. But the strongest networks are built quietly, long before you need them — often without realizing it.

Titles change. Companies merge. Markets evolve. Relationships endure far longer than any organizational chart.

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Key Lessons for Future Young Professionals

1. Volunteer early — it exposes you to people faster than job titles ever will
2. Treat mentorship as a two-way relationship, not a ladder to climb
3. Never underestimate how far kindness and reliability can travel

In the end, my career hasn't been built by a master plan — although having a written, regularly tested personal development plan certainly helped.

It has been built by people — and by choosing, again and again, to invest in relationships before outcomes.

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