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Volume 13 • Issue 2 • March 2013 | Printer Friendly Version |
Our Perspective | |
New technologies remain one of the biggest drivers in the success story of our industry. Not only does the ever increasing volume of production put the U.S. on a path to the long-sought-after energy independence, but it also provides a solid basis for employment of experts in the future. This is not only true for the next generation of oil and gas professionals, but at the speed we are progressing, everybody working today should be aware of what is going on technologically in our industry. It may affect your career! We took a brief look at some cutting-edge developments that impressed us and that we think will have an impact on employees in the industry even now.
And if your company is thinking about engaging in its first large development project with international participants, then you might be interested in a primer of typical participants involved in managing a global project. You may find that your current organization needs some additional resources and new team members with diverse skills.
| Upcoming Events |  |
SPE/Unconventional Resources Conference
The Woodlands Waterway Marriott The Woodlands, TX April 10-12, 2013 |
Offshore Technology Conference
Reliant Park Houston, TX May 6-9, 2013 |
| Employer Tips |
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Managing international projects for the first time?
If you work for a large oil and gas operating or service company, then the chances are you have already been engaged in large and complex development projects that involve a multitude of parties on a global scale. If this is the case, your organization already has competent individuals and teams in place to handle the various tasks, plans, and issues that are a part of massive projects. But if your company is only now embarking on its first major international venture, then there are many details to be considered about what kind of personnel you need to handle the work load.
To help you determine what personnel resources will have to be included in your plans, we present the experts' backgrounds that have to be considered.
• Finance
Professionals with a background in international finance will become a cornerstone for the success of your project. Controlling costs and the cash flows in foreign currencies, an understanding of international tax rules and familiarity with foreign banking systems will all become crucial as your plans take shape.
• Project services
When service companies, providers, and partners are just down the street, managing all aspects of business is relatively uncomplicated. When your engineers, consultants, and fabricators are spread around the globe, you should seek the assistance of scheduling, planning, and documentation experts. Professionals with the right backgrounds can assist the teams with scheduling and tracking of deliverables in software such as Microsoft's Project or Primavera. It is imperative to know where your project stands at any given time and whether all parties and teams are in sync with each others' expectations of services and products that have to be delivered.
• Procurement and logistics Technical buyers with the right experience who can work efficiently with your vendors and service providers will become very important as the number of line items to be purchased begins to grow. Note that there are buyers with general expertise and others who possess a very particular equipment background. Be sure to identify a buyer with the right background for the equipment you are trying to procure for the project to avoid wasted time and training. • Legal A good team of legal assistants, contract specialists, and lawyers, depending on the size of the project, will keep you out of trouble when you are trying to understand and manage complex international law structures affecting your projects. Most providers of legal services are connected through international networks, such as Interlaw, to give you access to specialists in other countries as the situations demand it. Be sure to maintain strict oversight of all international team members - costs can add up quickly. • Technical project management A good project manager will most likely be a solid engineer as well, but most of all he needs to be an experienced technical leader. One of the surefire ways to get a project into trouble is to allow otherwise competent engineers in charge of a project delve "deep into the weeds" and lose sight of the overall goal, namely to finish the project and accomplish the goal. Interview this person well from this perspective! A wrong choice can become a very costly mistake. • QA and HSE And last but not least, making sure that things are done correctly and safely are paramount! Don't skimp on assigning a professional with the right credentials and background to develop and manage quality standards required for the project. Remember that although the work may get done in a different country from your own, should something go wrong, then your company is still responsible for the overall conduct of the project. If you are just starting out with international projects, this is a thrilling time, but it can also be daunting. Carefully mapping out who you need on your team to execute the project is an important task within the project - the satisfying completion of which can save you many headaches later.
| Talent Pool | |
The following biographies are just a small sampling of the kind of talent available in our talent pool of over 20,000 experts. Please call our placement managers if you are interested in learning more about these professionals, or check out our website for more candidates. Senior Business Development Professional with over 30 years of oil and gas industry experience working for mid-sized to large independent service and equipment companies. Expert in subsea equipment design and implementation. Experienced in quality control, onshore and offshore pipeline management, petrochemical and refinery operations, developing marketing strategies and analysis, project management, and field installation. Additionally experienced in directing business development activities for deepwater saturation diving and pipeline recovery tools. Various industry certifications and acknowledgements. Ask for SM449. Project Advisor with a master's degree in business administration and six years of experience in the oil and gas industry working for a major oil and gas company. Experienced in upstream capability organization, upstream major capital projects, pre-start up safety review, $6 billion projects in the front end, drilling and facilities design, and coordinating logistics, cost, and scheduling. Additionally experienced in translating risk and interfacing processes, and coordinating with facilities, drilling, HSE and subsurface teams to validate concepts. Geographic areas worked included Angola. Ask for F1802. Project Manager with a master's degree in chemical engineering and 33 years of oil and gas industry experience working for major and mid-size to large independent companies. Experienced in project standards and procedures, FEED and detailed design work, Aspen HYSIS, guidance on simultaneous operations, HAZOPs, engineering surveillance, and floating production, storage, and offloading. Additionally experienced in SIL analysis, Brownfield engineering, P&ID reviews, design, heat and material balance, equipment sizing, and water treatment systems. Geographic areas worked include Yokohama, Norway, Nigeria, West Africa, and Guinea. Ask for PM297. Project Manager with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 20 years of oil and gas industry experience working for mid-size to large companies. Experienced in brownfield project scopes, budget planning and scheduling, managing engineering contractors, project installation of equipment packages and piping spools. Managed a team of equipment and piping engineers for natural gas gathering compression. Additionally experienced in process flow diagraming, P&ID's, and equipment layout and piping design. Geographic areas worked include Israel. Software proficiency in AutoCAD. Ask for F1804. Materials Manager with a master's degree in finance and 22 years of oil and gas industry experience working for mid-size companies. Experienced in developing master service agreements, joint operating agreements, and contract administration with owners, operators and freight forwarders, bids, and developing strategic plans. Additionally experienced in tactical strategies to optimize supply chain efficiency, SOP and supply chain matrixes, SCM planning, preparing project close-out documents, equipment managing, and interfacing with project management, engineering, field operations. Geographic areas worked include Russia, South America, and the Middle East. Language fluency in Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Ask for PU512. Petrophysicist with a master's degree in geophysics, a bachelor's degree in physics, and ten years of experience working in the oil and gas industry for operators and service companies. Experienced in conventional and unconventional resource evaluation and reservoir classification. Additionally experienced in geohazard modeling, operations management, and reservoir geosteering for well placement. Geographic areas worked include the Permian Basin and north and southwest United States. Software proficiency in Interactive Petrophysics, EarthVision, Senergy, DrillWorks, and Petra. Ask for GS393. Geoscientist with a master's degree in geology and ten years of experience working for small and mid-sized oil and gas companies and as an independent consultant. Experienced in both geology and geophysics in conventional and unconventional plays. Additionally experienced in booking reserves, mapping, stratigraphy, sedimentology, 3-D modeling, seismic attributes, post-stack seismic processing, 3-D seismic interpretation, ODP/DSDP wireline log data interpretation, data integration, and acquisitions. Geographic areas worked include the shelf and deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the Haynesville shale, the Woodford shale, the Barnett shale, and west Africa. Software proficiency includes Petrel, SMT, Landmark, PETRA, GeoQuest, Hampson-Russell, and GoCAD. Ask for G2181. Geophysicist with a PhD. and over 30 years of experience working for major and mid-sized E&P companies. Expert in exploration and production geophysics including advanced modeling, interpretation and processing of seismic data, and 3-D design and operations. Experienced in project management, research and development, interactive workstation applications and support, prospect evaluation, and the application of geophysical technology to the solution of exploration problems. Geographic areas worked include the Anadarko and Arkoma Basins, Louisiana and Texas onshore, and the Gulf of Mexico shelf, upper slope, and deepwater. Software proficiency in SMT and Landmark. Ask for GP341. Geologist with a bachelor's degree in geology and over 30 years of experience working for mid-sized drilling and production companies. Expert in interpretation of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data and conducting field studies. Experienced in the application of engineering science and technology and stratigraphic and structural mapping. Geographic areas worked include the midwest and southwest US, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Software proficiency in Petra, GeoGraphix, CAD, DrillingInfo, and IHS. Explorationist with a master's degree in geology and over 30 years of experience working for major operators in the oil and gas industry. Expert in exploration, development, evaluation, divestiture, economics, budgeting, mapping, and field redevelopment. Additionally experienced in farm-out and farm-in negotiations, lease sales, and project management. Geographic areas worked include the shelf and deepwater Gulf of Mexico, south Louisiana, Mississippi, Africa, and Thailand. Software proficiency in Landmark and SMT and owns a SMT license. Ask for G2192. Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering, an MBA, and 30 years of experience working for mid-sized to large operators, an engineering consulting firm, and in energy information. Experienced in acquisition analysis, economic evaluations, decline curve analysis, reserve estimation, production forecasting, and field studies. Geographic areas worked include Colorado and New Mexico, Software proficiency in ARIES, Power Tools, and Fekete software. Ask for R1068. Business Development Executive with an MBA and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 33 years of experience working for independent oil and gas companies and consulting firms. Experienced in the management of integrated study teams, the identification and execution of business development opportunities, and the management of mergers, acquisitions, and divestures. Additionally experienced in reserves determination, production forecasting, well performance analysis, risk analysis, petroleum economics, market valuation, auditing, certification, and the reporting of reserves. Geographic areas worked include North America, the Gulf of Mexico shelf and deepwater, South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and the North Sea. Software proficiency in OFM, PHDWin, and ARIES. Ask for R1008. Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 35 years of experience working for independents. Experienced in reserves evaluation, economic analysis, field development planning, risk analysis, workover evaluation, PVT analysis, volumetric analysis, and drilling and completion planning. Geographic areas worked include Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico shelf. Software proficiency in ARIES and Gemini. Ask for R1067. Technical Assistant with a bachelor's degree in business administration and four years of experience working for an E&P company. Experienced in production spreadsheets, revising, editing, and finalizing joint operating agreements, creating monthly production graphs for onshore wells, and maintaining well files and well history. Software experience in ARIES and DrillingInfo. Ask for TE531. Drilling Technician with eight years of experience working for a major E&P company and a service company. Experienced in data management, data analysis, project planning and execution, and cost-saving process improvements. Software proficiency in WellView. Certifications include Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Ask for TE561. Senior Engineering Technician with a bachelor's degree in business administration and over ten years of experience working for mid-sized to large E&P companies. Experienced in coordinating development and exploration economics, assisting in the preparation of quarterly, annual, and long-term forecasts and budgets, and assisting in business development. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico, the Barnett shale, and Alaska. Software proficiency in ARIES and Excel. Ask for TE526. Geoscience Technician with six years of experience working for an oil and gas E&P company. Experienced in providing geological support for both development and exploration teams in conventional and unconventional plays including data management, initiating projects, retrieving data, and producing various types of maps. Geographic areas worked include East and South Texas, and Louisiana. Software proficiency in Petra and knowledge of OpenWorks, SMT, and SmartSection. Ask for TG850.
Ask for G2216.
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| Career Advice |
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New Technologies in the Oil Patch
Oil production in the United States is increasing and very often driven by new and innovative ways of getting the black stuff out of the ground.
Today's advances in drilling, geology, and digital imaging collectively lower the cost of development in fields that were previously unprofitable to tap. Aggressive development of cutting-edge technologies has become essential.
The industry is taking advantage of advancements in drilling technology to produce oil and gas from deposits long considered too challenging for commercially-viable extraction. And companies are sharing what were formerly competitive secrets in order to work together on solving the most challenging environmental problems.
Here are just some examples of these new and advanced techniques:
- Shell has developed low-salinity water flooding as a way of boosting recovery by controlling the ionic composition of the water. The low-salinity water prevents oil from "sticking" to the surrounding rock as the pressure pushes it out. The company has refitted the water-flooding systems on some of its platforms in the Gulf, extending by a decade the life of those oil fields. BP has also adopted a variant of this technology.
- Shell has a pilot project in Colorado that heats the shale in place, by sinking heating elements into the ground. The oil then flows up from the rock.
- Chevron's Tahiti project, in the Gulf of Mexico, is adapting an old technique called water flooding for use in its offshore wells. Water flooding has been used extensively on land, but only recently have oil companies applied it to the deepest offshore projects
- Philip Bell with ElectroPetroleum, uses electricity to extract heavier oil once considered unprofitable due to the expense and effort needed to extract and refine it. They have a pilot project in the United States and one in Canada. Bell says a big advantage of the process is that it doesn't require water. Ordinarily, extracting heavy oils from the rock requires high-pressure steam.
- N-Solv Corporation is using a new technique employing solvents as an alternative to steam for extracting oil from Alberta's tar sands. The solvents reduce the oil's viscosity, and can operate at much lower temperatures, on the order of 50 degrees C (100 F). The process also uses a lot less water than conventional methods.
- Cenovus Energy, a Canadian company, is pursuing more than 140 development projects that aim to reduce costs and improve environmental performance, particularly with steam-assisted gravity drainage or SAGD production.
- Shell has been approved for the construction of the first carbon-capture-and-storage project in the oil sands at its Scotford upgrader near Edmonton. The Quest project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the upgrader by 35 per cent.
- Recently, innovation in fiber optic sensors and hydraulic control systems has significantly improved the reliability, and the market adoption of this new technology is accelerating.
- Other techniques, such as horizontal drilling and the injection of carbon dioxide, have also boosted oil production in previously unprofitable wells. Carbon dioxide injection involves pushing the gas into the well, so that the pressure pushes more oil out of the rock.
In total, oil companies spend about $1-billion annually on R&D, but that represents only about 0.5 per cent of revenues, compared to 1.8 per cent among all primary industries. And only six of the country's top 100 R&D spenders are oil companies, and none are in the top 10, according to the latest survey by Research Infosource Inc.
The International Energy Agency concluded, in a report released at the end of 2012, that the United States could overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's leading oil producer in five years, becoming an oil exporter by 2030. These are impressive developments, indeed, and a good opportunity for a career-minded individual to get on board and develop the new skills and expertise needed with these technologies!
| About Us | |
Connecting
the Industry's Experts...
Collarini
Energy Staffing Inc. is a full-service agency specializing
in the placement of energy and EPC personnel and including the disciplines
listed below (other supporting personnel are managed upon request):
| Accounting and finance
personnel Administrative and clerical personnel Business analysts Civil and architectural engineers Data Management Drilling engineers Drilling operations supervisors Energy trading professionals Executives Facilities engineers Geologists, geophysicists, and petrophysicists Health, safety, and environmental personnel Human resources personnel Instrument and electrical engineers IT professionals Land, legal, and supporting personnel Marine engineers and naval architects |
Materials and corrosion engineers |
Guiding
Careers to the Next Level...
Collarini
Career Management applies
its deep understanding of the career paths of technical professionals in
the E&P and EPC communities to help companies and professionals build
successful organizations and careers. We leverage Collarini's unique
combination of industry knowledge and technical expertise to guide
companies and individuals during transition, training existing employees
for high performance, and designing customized technical training plans
for companies and individuals.
Contact
Us
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Houston,
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832.251.0553
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