Cecil, Matt and Scott Gentry have been instrumental in ConocoPhillips’ success, each playing vital roles in the company's operations. This story examines the Gentry’s remarkable engineering lineage.
When Cecil Gentry accepted a job with Phillips Petroleum Company in the mid 60s, little did he know the positive impact this decision would have on three generations of Gentry engineers and their respective families.
The Gentry family's legacy at ConocoPhillips began with Scott’s grandfather and Matt’s father, Cecil, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arkansas as well as a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri.
Cecil at Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, circa 1984. A senior high school photo of his son Matt is on the credenza behind him.
Starting in Research and Development at Phillips Petroleum in 1964, Cecil later transitioned to Corporate Engineering where he became an industry-recognized expert in the areas of heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
During his three-decade career with Phillips Petroleum, Cecil amassed over 50 patents and 11 technical publications.
“He was a brilliant man and an intellectually gifted engineer,” Matt said of his father, who passed away in 2015. “He was a huge positive influence on my life as well as Scott's life.”
LEFT: Cecil, circa 1964. RIGHT: Matt and Cecil in 2015.
Scott and Cecil share numerous similarities, Matt said.
"Scott was born on my dad’s 60th birthday and their demeanor, technical skills and academic gifts are strikingly similar. He even looks like my dad. Scott's a hybrid. He's a really nice blend of Cecil and me.
"My dad was a summa cum laude, Ph.D. He was just brilliant technically, but he didn't have much actual field experience because his background was primarily academic and research based. I was the other way around. I was a B student and couldn't wait to get out of college and into the workforce. When I got to the Sweeny Refinery, that's where my practical engineering skill set became valuable.
"Scott has both my dad’s academic gift and my practical skills. He’s an academic rock star like Cecil and yet he also has considerable hands-on practical experience like me. I wish my dad could see Scott today, carrying on the ConocoPhillips legacy as the third generation. He’d be so proud.”
What’s unique about Scott, Matt said, is that he is well-versed in LNG technology, possessing theoretical, analytical and field experience.
Miriam, Matt and Cecil Gentry in 1967
“Scott's highly adaptable,” Matt said. “He’s like a Swiss Army knife.”
A proud Razorback alumnus and a member of the Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering,just like his father, Matt graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and began his career at Phillips Petroleum Company’s Sweeny Refinery in Old Ocean, Texas, shortly thereafter.
During his seven-year tenure at Sweeny, Matt worked as a design engineer, a maintenance reliability engineer and a daily planner. In 1997, Matt was promoted to Phillips’ Corporate Engineering in Bartlesville, where he had the opportunity to work directly with his father prior to assuming the role of senior heat transfer engineer after Cecil’s retirement in 1998.
Matt inspects LNG cold boxes during fabrication.
“I do heat transfer work all over the world” Matt explained about his job role. “I collaborate with pretty much every business unit we have.”
In addition to his global responsibilities, Matt plays a pivotal role in LNG's licensing efforts for the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade® Process, a technology employed worldwide.
“ConocoPhillips’ Optimized Cascade LNG liquefaction process utilizes a variety of highly specialized heat exchangers. Since 1997, I have been closely involved in the design, specification, fabrication, installation and inspection of cryogenic heat transfer equipment utilized in the Atlantic, Darwin, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Australia Pacific, Wheatstone, Queensland Curtis, Gladstone, Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi and Pluto LNG facilities.
"On a typical year, LNG makes up about 25% of my workload, while the rest involves supporting other ConocoPhillips business units. Scott's focus, however, is entirely on LNG development, making him 100% dedicated to the advancement of this sector.”
Matt inspects an LNG cold box in Equatorial Guinea in 2006.
A native of Bartlesville, Matt has truly savored the time he’s been able to work with Scott these past few years.
“It’s very special to interface with your son on a daily basis,” Matt said. “It's a once in a lifetime deal and it makes coming to work pretty pleasant, for sure. I definitely made the right decision to follow in my dad’s footsteps, and I hope Scott’s experience is similar.”
Scott Gentry is the third generation of the Gentry family to be employed by ConocoPhillips or its predecessor, Phillips Petroleum Company. Scott grew up captivated by his dad’s vivid tales of working in the Sweeny Refinery, the stories fueling his imagination.
The Gentry family during Scott's graduation ceremony at The University of Texas at Austin in 2018. From left, Matt, Scott, Jeanette and Stephanie Gentry Randolph.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, man, that sounds awesome, getting to solve all kinds of different problems every day and having fun while doing it,’” Scott said.
With those stories in mind, Scott went to the University of Texas at Austin to study chemical engineering, where he graduated with honors in 2018. After graduation, he went to work in a plant to get some stories of his own.
Prior to working for ConocoPhillips, Scott gained hands-on experience as a maintenance engineer and later as a production engineer for Baystar at a polyethylene plant in Pasadena, Texas.
“Working in a plant really gave me a better understanding and appreciation for all of the things my dad used to tell me about his work. Getting to see some of the same problems that my dad had struggled with and solved in his own way 30 years ago was a surreal experience for me. I remember calling my dad about a problem we had with turbulators in one of our thermosyphon reboilers and getting not only a long explanation from him about how many problems he’s had with them across his career, but also a hand-calculated analysis that my grandpa did for the exact same thing.”
Scott braves the cold in Pasadena, Texas, during Winter Storm Uri in 2021 while working for Baystar, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Borealis.
One of the biggest moments for Scott in connecting with his father and grandfather through his work was when he obtained his Professional Engineer (P.E.) license in 2023.
“I remember sitting in the room with my dad when he studied for the P.E. exam, and I remembered how big of a deal for him it was when he passed it in 2000. When I did the same thing and I got my P.E. stamp, it was really special to get to take my grandpa’s old transport phenomena book that I had taken from him to use for one of my college classes and put my P.E. stamp on the first page of the book right below his and my father's stamps.”
In 2023, Scott took an opportunity to work for ConocoPhillips in the LNG EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) group.
TOP: Matt, left, atop the Sweeny Refinery hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit flare, circa 1996, and Scott atop a flare at Baystar's polyethylene plant in Pasadena in 2022. BOTTOM: Scott and Matt scuba diving; Scott, a homebrewer, built a kegerator to store and serve his homemade beers. Matt shows off one of Scott's brews in front of the kegerator.
“I’ve always tried to learn as much as possible from my dad and working in closer proximity to him has given me some great opportunities to dive deeper into his work, to help with some of it, and to learn how to do some of what he does.”
At ConocoPhillips, Scott is a member of the EPC Services Team associated with LNG Technology. This group is focused on the rigorous technical aspects of the EPC phase of large-scale LNG projects associated with the Optimized Cascade® Process. This involves support of commissioning and start-up of newly constructed LNG trains. One important aspect of this work involves the creation and use of dynamic simulations for producing critical information relating to the automation and control of these facilities.
“We ensure smooth plant operations by designing controls that prevent damage to sensitive equipment and keep the liquefaction system running through process upsets,” Scott said. “Using computer models, we test control loops and optimize tuning parameters before plant startup to guarantee optimal performance.”
He is excited to get to apply his plant experience when the time comes to start up the upcoming Pluto LNG project in Australia.
Ralph Rogers, left, and Ralph with Matt in 1968
The Gentry engineering legacy actually spans four generations, beginning with Matt's maternal grandfather, Ralph Rogers, who graduated in 1932 from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Ralph spent three decades with the Army Corps of Engineers, designing and constructing dams across the United States.
“It’s our calling,” said Matt, reflecting on his family’s deep-rooted connection to the field. This sentiment even extends to his brother, Mark Gentry, who holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. “It seems to be what we’re best suited for. I’m sure there’s a DNA component to it. It’s what we do.”
