OTC 2009 Recap

Let's review the Offshore Technology Conference.  Attendance was strong with 66,820 visitors, the second-highest in its history, even with a flat economy, a flu scare, and torrential rains that caused exhibitors to pack up and change locations.  We noted the  following areas of special interest:

Technology developments:

Fourteen technology awards were presented, with most winners addressing these issues: solving the problems of vibration and fatigue in the frontier deepwater environments and extending the ability to release oil and gas from previously inaccessible shales.  These developments will help the industry recover oil and gas reserves once considered impossible to use.  We continue to be amazed by the resourcefulness of our industry experts and their commitment to national energy needs.  Congratulations to all winners and nominees. A complete list of the winners can be found here.

Costs:

Companies highlighted creative ways to manage costs and reduce expenses. They also focused on saving client costs in development, deployment, and overall down time.  Technical sessions and luncheons dealt with managing costs and price expectations in uncertain markets and business environments.

Politics:

The industry is under fire in Washington, and discussions at OTC surrounded changes in regulatory and taxation rules we can expect to come down from D.C. Industry groups are busy educating lawmakers about the negative effect the new rules would have on our industry and nation.  The debate concerning the opening of the US Outer Continental Shelf to drilling became a central subject at the OTC.   

People:

The "hire, fire, and re-hire" approach appears to be a thing of the past.  Managers at the OTC were clear that they do not intend to cut their hard-working and talented staff irrationally in times of price volatility.  The underlying economics and consumption statistics are sound, and work still needs to be done!  This is good news, since our industry has barely managed to change its image as a fickle one for employment. 

Mexico:

Pemex announced that it is increasing deepwater activities.  This will have great potential for U.S. companies supporting the effort in the region.

Safety performance:

For the first time since 1983, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) presented its National Safe Award at the OTC instead of at separate luncheons. MMS representatives felt the recognition would carry more weight at the well-attended OTC.

---

Talent Pool

The following biographies are just a small sampling of the kind of talent available in our talent pool of over 17,000 experts.  Please call our placement managers if you are interested in learning more about these professionals, or check out our website for more candidates.

Engineering Technician with a bachelor's degree and over 30 years of experience supporting reservoir and production engineers.  Experience in analyzing financial reports, maintaining production data, production reporting, economic and data analysis, acquisitions, divestment, end of the year reserve reporting, and teaching and supporting economic software packages.  Computer skills include ARIES (DOS and Windows versions), PHDWin, OGRE, and many proprietary industry softwares.  Ask for TE413.

 

Drilling and Completions Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 18 years of experience working for small to mid-size independents and a major E&P company.  Experienced in well planning, drilling, completions, workovers, site preparation and logistics, fracing, wireline operations, cementing, and acidizing.  Geographic areas worked include Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Wyoming.  Ask for D460.

 

Drilling and Completions Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 28 years of oil and gas industry experience working for small to mid-sized E&P companies.  Experienced in well planning, creating drilling procedures, field development, well optimization, log interpretation, formation evaluation, stimulation techniques, fractured completions, gravel pack completions, AFE creation, cost estimating, hydraulic fracture design, workover design, well construction, HSE compliance, and BHA design.  Geographic areas worked include Texas, Louisiana, the Gulf coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and West Africa.  Computer skills include DIMS, Stress Check, PIE, MBAL, GAP, PROSPER, and GeoGraphix for well log interpretation. IWCF and IADC certified.  Ask for D459.

 

Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in engineering, a master's degree in systems management, and 28 years of upstream oil and gas experience working for a major oilcompany, an independent E&P company, and a service company.  Experienced in reserves estimation, reserves reporting, artificial lift, nodal analysis, production logging, well testing, reservoir surveillance, economics, reservoir characterization, production surveillance, and production optimization. Geographic areas worked include west Texas, south Texas, and Nigeria. Computer skills include ARIES, NODAL, PEEP, @Risk, SAPHIR, OFM, DSS, ArcView, VIP, DSS, and TOW.  Fluent in Spanish and intermediate knowledge of Arabic.  Ask for R912.

Senior Geophysicist with a master's degree in geology and more than 30 years of broad-based experience for both large and small producing companies. Experienced in deepwater depositional settings in both domestic and international plays with skills in sub-salt, attribute analysis including AVO, sequence stratigraphy, 3-D visualization, and prospect risks. Additional experience includes mentoring junior staff, team leadership, and management. Geographic areas worked include the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the Louisiana and Texas Gulf coast areas, Oklahoma's Arkoma basin and Wichita Mountain front, Kansas’ Hugoton field, the Williston basin, Canada, the Bay of Campeche, the Mediterranean Sea, Gabon, offshore Yemen, the deepwater and shelf of India, deepwater Brazil, and Trinidad. Strong computer skills include Landmark, Paradigm, GeoProbe, GeoQuest, Petrosys, and ArcGIS using UNIX, Linux, and Windows platforms. Registered professional geophysicist in Texas with memberships in SEG, AAPG, and HGS.  Ask for GG237.

Senior Geologist with a master's degree in geology and extensive experience in field exploitation, exploration, and project management for major oil companies. Experienced in field development, petrophysics, reservoir analysis, and economic evaluation.  Additionally experienced identifying drilling, recompletion, and workover opportunities for client-operated properties, cross-training in production engineering, reservoir engineering, and workovers and completions. Accomplishments include management and coordination of drilling teams in the development of 17 wells, leading exploration activities which resulted in the drilling of two exploration wells and subsequent identification of lease acquisition opportunities, the reactivation of shut-in oil and gas fields, the recompletion and reactivation of shut-in wells which doubled field production, and the identification of many recompletion opportunities.  Domestic geologic work activity includes Texas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico as well as international plays in Burma, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, and Guatemala. Licensed professional geologist.  Ask for G810.

Senior Geophysicist with an executive M.B.A., a master's degree in geology, and 30 years of upstream oil and gas experience with major and midsize companies. Experienced in seismic imaging, seismic inversion, pressure prediction, seismic attribute evaluation and AVO analysis and is considered a deepwater, sub-salt expert. Participated in global reviews of conventional and unconventional exploration projects. Additional experience includes strong leadership skills in rebuilding drilling inventory and growing exploration capability. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico deepwater and shelf areas, China, and Canada.  Ask for GP1090.

Geoscience Technician with 17 years of domestic and international work experience in both small and major oil companies. Experienced in managing, analyzing, troubleshooting, and integrating geological and geophysical data for management, production data retrieval systems, and lease sale activities. Additional experience includes preparing cross-sections, graphs, charts, maps, and wellbore diagrams, and digitizing base maps and logs. Software proficiency includes Geographix, Lexco, Neurolog, Landmark OpenWorks, Zeh Graphics, Petra, Z-map, SDI Montage, Intellex, Finder, and Dwight's Petroleum Information. Operating system proficiency includes OS, MVS, SP, SAS, COBOL, AIMS, UNIX, LAN, and SQL.  Ask for TG236.

Naval Architect with a master's degree in transportation management, a bachelor's degree in naval architecture and marine engineering, and 12 years of experience in marine design and naval architecture.  Experienced in hull form development, stability analysis, ship strength and weight engineering, plan review, and regulatory compliance.  Industry related software skills include GHS, SHCP, HECSALV, SMP87 and AutoCAD.  Ask for CS243.

Supply Chain Manager with a master's degree in business administration, a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and 19 years of experience in the petrochemical industry.  Experienced in global supply chain design, order fulfillment operations, carrier management, production planning, inventory and warehouse systems, third party logistics, distribution logistics, materials management and global distribution.  Also experienced in Six Sigma implementation, SAP Exchange management, and integration of the Oracle ERP Order Management module.   Further experienced in customer service management, employee development, staffing, budgeting, and forecasting for department development.  Ask for PU795.  

Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager with a bachelor's degree and 20 years of global experience in the oil and gas industry.  Experienced in deepwater offshore HSE planning, supervision, and coordination.  Expert in the development, training and implementation of safety management systems including hazard identification, hazard operability analysis, job safety analysis and international safety management to ensure local government regulatory compliance.  Experienced in permitting, project sanctioning, conformance of all EHS programs and documentation, ongoing monitoring, and data management and audits.  Geographic work experience includes the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Brazil, and west Africa.  Trilingual English, Portuguese, and Spanish.  Ask for HS467.

Subsea Facilities Engineer with a master's degree in subsea engineering and 12 years of experience with major oil and gas companies.  Experienced with FAT/SIT activities on subsea trees and IWOCS, deepwater installations including trees, tubing head spools, umbilicals, ROV flying leads, and subsea distribution equipment.  Computer skills include Autodesk and MathCAD.  Ask for MD 118.

Job Search Strategies in a Changing Climate

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate in April was 8.6 percent. That means the employment rate was 91 percent. There are jobs out there; it's time to get creative.

Here are some expert recommendations:

•    Bring visibility to yourself and your skills.  "In developing a resume and other promotions materials, think about how your current skills and talents apply directly to the responsibilities you'll hold in the new job," says Alexandra Levit, author of "They Don't Teach Corporate in College."

•    Know what you bring to the table.  Practice and sharpen your interview skills so that you are always ready to prove why you're the top candidate for the job.

•    Sharpen your skills. Brush up on software skills, either through an online tutorial or in a classroom. Professional associations regularly hold classes on topics in your discipline.  Many colleges and universities offer counseling, workshops, and continuing education courses for their alumni.

•    Be flexible in the short term.  Temporary or contract assignments are a great way to earn money and gain additional experience while the market is soft.  These types of jobs may turn into full-time employment when the economy regains stability.

•    Be ready to move. Look at a relocation opportunity as an adventure for you and your family and a great way to broaden your experience.

•    Keep it professional.  A positive attitude goes a long way in your conversations with potential employers.

 •    Don't apply for every job you see.  You may be tempted to say, "I'll take anything," but a concentrated search is your best approach.  Applying for numerous jobs within the same company appears desperate and unfocused and most likely will "turn off" the employer. Instead, highlight your skills and experience that make you right for a particular job.

•    Network, Network, Network.  Attend your professional association's meetings, luncheons, and classes; join job search groups and online network associations such as Linkedin.  This is an excellent way to contact old colleagues and interact with others in your profession.  

There are jobs out there. You will need to take risks, be realistic, and understand your potential employer's needs. We can all agree that times are tough.  If you're gainfully employed, you're probably relieved it's not you. But if your company isn't among those that have slashed jobs, it's a sure bet that you at least know someone who has been affected, says HRGuru.com.

---

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):

Accountants and finance personnel Administrative and clerical personnel Business analysts Civil and architectural engineers Drilling engineers Drilling operations supervisors Executives Geologists, geophysicists, and petrophysicists Health, safety, and environmental personnel Human resources personnel Instrument and electrical engineers IT professionals Land, legal, and supporting personnel Materials and corrosion engineers

Naval architects Operations supervisors Pipeline, riser, and subsea engineers Process engineers Procurement engineers Production engineers Project managers and support personnel Quality control and inspection personnel Reservoir engineers Sales and marketing professionals Technical writers Technicians, drafting and graphic Technicians, engineering and geoscience

Reservoir Solutions the Industry Trusts...

Collarini Associates are petroleum engineers and geoscientists that specialize in evaluating oil and gas reservoirs. Specific projects include integrated field studies, acquisition evaluations, independent reserve appraisals, and exploration and exploitation prospect generation and assessment. Our full divestment services include creation and hosting of electronic and physical data rooms in addition to the technical evaluation. Our teams in Houston and New Orleans are very experienced and stand ready to help you on projects of any size. Try us!

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
11111 Richmond Avenue, Suite 126 Houston, Texas 77082 832.251.0553		4200 South I-10 Service Road, Suite 230 Metairie, Louisiana 70001 504.887.7127

---

Comments
This newsletter is produced six times per year for employees and friends of Collarini. If you would like to add a friend or colleague to our mailing list, please send us his or her email address.		If this page did not display correctly, or if you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please email: news@collarini.com.

Visit us on the web!
www.collarini.com