Cindy Yeilding

Independent Consultant

Cindy A. Yeilding joined the Board at Denbury in March 2021, bringing more than 35 years of experience as a technical expert and leader in the oil and gas industry. Ms. Yeilding is also an expert in sustainability, climate risk, and energy transition. She was the chair of a working team that delivered the 2019 National Petroleum Council study and report on Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage, creating a roadmap for its application at scale in the U.S. She is a board member and Vice Chair of The Center for Houston’s Future, where she focuses on energy transition, healthcare, and immigration. Ms. Yeilding is also an instructor and co-developer of the University of Houston’s Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage executive education course.

In terms of operational and technical expertise, Ms. Yeilding was a key leader in delivering BP’s deepwater Gulf of Mexico upstream portfolio, resulting in over 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered and the creation of one of BP’s core businesses. She also transformed BP’s geoscience technology and research program by developing cutting-edge geophysics and a digital high-performance computing center, leading to significant additions to BP’s resource portfolio.

Ms. Yeilding has extensive board experience, including serving as a Director, Vice President, and Executive Committee member of BPX&P, the multi-billion dollar Gulf of Mexico subsidiary of BP. She was also a Director (at-large oversight role) of the BP America Board, where she led the development of BP America’s Ethics and Compliance Committee. Additionally, she served as a Director for BP’s onshore production business, BPAPC.

Ms. Yeilding is an accomplished academic and author with more than 100 publications on geoscience, CCUS, and energy transition, including the textbook, Deepwater Sedimentary Systems. She was named the AAPG Distinguished Lecturer on Energy Transition for 2022-2023, the Michel T. Halbouty Lecturer for 2022, and gave the keynote address at the AAPG CCUS Conference in 2021. Ms. Yeilding has also received numerous awards for her leadership in the energy business, including being named one of Hart Energy’s “25 Most Influential Women in Energy.” She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Science in Geology from the University of North Carolina.