Oilcareers

Certain parties will endeavour to make us believe that oil and gas in the North Sea is a dying industry and although this is intrinsically true in that the oil reserves currently under the North Sea are finite; the resources decline will be a slow and drawn out process. As it stands there is currently more oil in the North Sea than has already been produced with the only problem being getting it out the ground!

Oil fields discovered in the 70’s but deemed too hard and expensive at the time to drill are being re-approached by companies as they are able to use improved technologies. Companies are using techniques like horizontal drilling, jack-up facilities and more FPSO’s. In fact, in 2012 Xcite Energy were responsible for the project that saw the Rowan Norway Jack-up become the UK’s most northerly use of a jack-up platform and they intend to go further in the future.

Technological leaps are seeing companies in the UK and Norway create new systems to increase the life of our North Sea fields so we can ensure we get everything possible from a field before its gone. By 2015 we will see the first installation of a Subsea Gas Compression facility by Aker Solutions which will increase the life of the project an estimated 20-25 years.

So what does the future hold?

There is currently £46.7 Billion being spent on 64 active projects in the North Sea, whilst there is a further £11.5 Billion set to be spent on 87 future projects.  So the projects exist and 2012 has seen an increase in drilling with the same number of wells drilled in 2011 being drilled in the first 9 months of 2012. It’s just a case of the operators having to target more of the smaller projects.

Northern North Sea fields will be key in maintaining the North Sea as the European hub of oil and gas along with skilled engineers continuing the advances of technology.

Guest blog by Martin Tidbury, Key Account Manager who specialises in oil and gas for Matchtech.

Warnings that oil industry safety standards are being jeopardised by a shortage of experienced staff are supported by a report published on, Monday 11 March 2013.  32% of respondents to the latest joint report from OilCareers.com, the international jobs board for the oil and gas industry, and partner Air Energi, a global provider of manpower solutions to the energy sector, highlighted the on-going skills shortage as the biggest threat to the sector.  The lack of skilled trainers was identified as a major training issue by over 20%.  The report confirms that heightened safety concerns due to economic instability combined with a continuing strong oil price and the on-going skills shortage, particularly in the LNG and subsea sectors, will continue to push oil related salaries upwards.

The Global Oil & Gas Workforce Survey: Expectations for hires and pay rates in the oil and gas industry (H1) 2013 highlights that ensuring the right personnel are on the ground in the right place will present a continuing challenge for the worldwide oil and gas industry.  The survey requested information and opinions from more than 170,000 oil and gas professionals worldwide.  The seven major oil and gas producing regions are represented in the survey with respondents being drawn from over 50 countries. More than 15,500 were either direct recruiters or senior decision makers.

Employee packages are seeing a general upward trend with specific emphasis being seen in areas that are considered to be high risk.  Mark Guest, managing director of OilCareers.com, said: “The recent tragic events in Algeria have served to further underline existing safety concerns throughout the oil and gas industry.  It has long been the case that positions in certain geographic areas attract a higher level of remuneration to reflect the safety issues associated with the work location.  Companies working in these locations take the security of their personnel very seriously and work to protect them and ensure their working environment is as safe as possible.”

Mark continued, “The 2013 H1 survey and predictions for H2 confirm these safety inflation pressures are being reflected throughout the industry.  In addition it should be noted that without the right personnel in place to train the next generation the skills shortage is likely to continue and to become a bigger problem.”

Ian Langley, group executive chairman of Air Energi, added: “Just over 34% of those responding to the survey perceived economic instability as being the biggest threat to today’s oil and gas industry. The skills shortage was a very close second; 32% view this as being a major challenge to overcome.  In particular the shortage of subsea and LNG personnel is being felt throughout the industry and has a knock on effect in terms of project costs and delays.”

View the full report at

http://www.oilcareers.com/onstream/workforce-survey/

Just as technology is evolving so too is the recruitment and hiring process and while there have been countless column inches devoted to advising job seekers on how to utilise social media to enhance their chances of getting a new job, the ‘grand dame’ of business networking tools, LinkedIn can be an often overlooked resource.  While many people use it primarily as an ‘online CV’ there are many other ways to make you more visible to people who may be able to help you find that next lucrative contract or permanent post.

Optimising your profile

A LinkedIn profile not only gives you an online professional identity but it also gives you the opportunity to showcase your skills. Most people will put their job title in the main headline – but if you are a Manager or even a ‘Project Manager’ it doesn’t tell a recruiter much. Consider using your skill set in your headline such as Petrochemical engineering specialist or ‘Project Manager – Subsea systems’ to really highlight your niche. Your LinkedIn Profile also allows you to add skills and expertise – ensure you enter as many as possible – this area is very search engine friendly and the more visible you are – the more likely you are to be found by recruiters.  Examples could include: project execution; drilling engineering; oil industry; subsea control systems etc.

Recommendations

Recommendations act as references that you can showcase, adding value to your profile and giving you credibility. Ask employers, colleagues or customers to write a short comment about your skills and the benefits of working with you, to give potential employers and recruiters an overview.

Endorsements

LinkedIn has recently introduced a new feature – endorsements. Arguably, they don’t have as much value as recommendations, but if other job seekers are utilising them, you should too. As with recommendations, you have to rely on others to endorse you by clicking on the skills they think you have. However, you have the responsibility of ensuring that you’ve added in all of your skills in the first instance, so really think about what you specialise in. Also, try to list them in order of importance so that those that are most significant will be the first ones on your profile, and the easiest to see.

Groups

Your LinkedIn commitment doesn’t end on your profile. Remember that it’s a networking site, so use it as one by being active. Search for relevant groups to join in your industry sector and specialisation.  It’s a great way of extending your network and keeping up to date with industry developments.

Researching companies

LinkedIn is also a first class research tool so if you are looking to shortlist companies with whom you may be interested in working before meeting a recruiter; this is a great place to start.  Additionally, if you are preparing for an interview then look at the LinkedIn company page as well as the website – it’ll give you insights into employees – where they tend to come from and what background they have. And obviously look up the people who will be interviewing you on LinkedIn because at the end of the day – knowledge is power!

 Guest blog by Dominic Morris, Director of Global Energy Business at Twenty Recruitment Group