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Volume 12 • Issue 5 • September 2012


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Our Perspective


The crew change in our industry is in full swing. Companies and employees are doing what they can to make sure the new talent is getting the guidance needed to adjust to their new organizations and to assume competently the roles that they are expected to fulfill. And the experienced senior professionals are fully connected with the junior staff to make sure knowledge is transferred and retained within the organization. 

True or false? 

We are taking a closer look at how companies and individuals are coping in this unchartered territory. We think there is room to improve. We hope you find a few ideas and pointers for yourself and your company after reading. Let us hear from you!

Your friends at Collarini  
Upcoming Events Back to Top

 

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition 

 

Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

San Antonio, TX

 October 8-10, 2012

Gulf Coast Prospect and Shale Expo 

 

Cajundome Convention Center

Lafayette, LA

October 15, 2012


Employer Tips

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How To Accelerate Knowledge Transfer? Technology Transfer?

When we earn our shiny new degrees in geology or engineering or business, we know how to do nothing! Not right away, anyway. We know the theories, the formulas, the techniques, but no real practical knowledge. When we as an industry are in this environment where we are hiring a very high number of new graduates compared to the current level of more experienced employees, we have to manage the assimilation of this talent into our organizations. Most new hires go to larger companies, because of the volume, and these companies can and should be able to afford to develop a formal or semi-formal process, not just an ad hoc method.

When we are learning, it is important to have trusted mentors. It gives us the chance to make mistakes under an umbrella of experience. Those mistakes can be identified and corrected before they cause problems,like blowouts or structural failures, without the newbies being judged. This is not about pushing the technological edges, but about gaining experience in the use of fundamentals. It is still a big part of accelerating the transfer of technology. While we are increasingly utilizing excellent state-of-the-art technology and very sophisticated software, such as nodal analysis/seismic attribute analysis, understanding the roots of those technologies is what makes us grow into excellent technologists and business people.

How do we transfer that technology? Create a process, and most important, communicate it to all of the employees including the new ones and the mentor level ones.

  • Include paper mentors (many great examples of how it was done before) with a roadmap as to where to find them, whether it is reserve evaluation in the shales, pressure vessel design offshore, riser design, or pipeline agreements. Be sure the new people know how to find good examples;
  • Include people mentors, if possible, assigning new people to specific mentors. Emphasize the importance of a relationship of trust. Don't let the mentors "appraise" the mentees to keep that trustfulness;
  • Include Intranet mentors. Post information, including library books, on the company sites. What seems to be happening is that our newest graduates are asking questions on the Internet that should be able to be answered quietly by their more seasoned colleagues. That colleague relationship has many benefits in transferring technology (even fundamentals) and possibly even knowledge about specific oil and gas fields or basins, including nuances of gathering systems, regulatory environment, geology, and so on. (Be sure that you know what goes out on the Internet! Posting a simple question internally is harmless enough, but having your employees' and company's name in this context could prove embarrassing.)

  • Create internal networking groups who can meet on a regular basis and can build personal rapport on top of exchanging purely technical, project or general business information. Team building meetings are still a great idea!

There are definitely opportunities to manage the large influx of new graduates into our organizations. We would welcome your thoughts to include in a future newsletter.


Talent Pool Back to Top

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.

HSE executive with a bachelor's degree in environmental science and 17 years of experience in the oil and gas industry working for major E&P companies. Expert with offshore and onshore risk reduction methods in upstream and downstream processes, environmental management systems, worker health and safety, environmental remediation, auditing, inspections, investigations, contractor relationships, performance measurements, permitting, business analysis, and compliance. Experience with the development and implementation of project HSEM requirements for the design, construction, installation, commissioning, development and execution of behavioral based programs, positive safety intervention systems, audits and inspections. Additionally experienced with guidelines, standards, and regulations set forth by BOEMRE, SOLAS, MARPOL, BSEE, OSHA, MMS, USCG, U.S. Clean Water Act, EPA and other federal agencies.  See HS387.

Project Manager with a master's degree and more than 30 years of experience in construction, engineering supervision, contract administration, and business development. A strong leader experienced with the supervision of diverse multicultural teams. Directly experienced with the responsibility for the execution of onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, energy and infrastructure projects, conceptual engineering and detail design, construction, integration, hook-up, commissioning, project development, budgeting and estimating, and due diligence. Fluent in English, Portuguese, French, Romanian, and Spanish.    See PM279.

Project Procurement Manager with a bachelor's degree in business administration and 30 years of experience with major exploration and production and service companies in the oil and gas industry. Experienced in purchasing, budget control, contract management and administration, materials management, SAP implementation, systems auditing, logistics, fleet maintenance operations, and marketing. Geographic areas of work include Sakhalin Island, Russia and Uzbekistan. Proficient in the Russian language.  See PU449.

Project Manager with a master's degree in civil engineering and water resources and 16 years of experience with civil and environmental engineering projects. Expert with civil infrastructure project management, engineering design, specs and estimates, agency review, bidding, cost control and construction management. Experience with water distribution systems, pipelines, pump stations and channel systems, storage tanks and facilities, treatment plants, roads and drainage analysis, and groundwater control. Additionally experienced with municipal/industrial wastewater, wetland, and environmental regulatory standards and permitting, reverse osmosis, water supply management and flow-back recycling for shale gas hydraulic fracturing processes. See CS390.

Marketing and Sales Manager with a bachelor's degree in industrial distribution and 10 years of experience in commercial and residential refrigeration equipment industry. Expert with developing new and expanding existing U.S. based territorial distribution and dealer networks. Experienced with developing and implementing large scale marketing strategies, budgets and advertising campaigns, dealer training programs, and sales staff recruiting and training seminars. Proven track record of significantly and consistently increasing sales and market shares.  See SM443.

Lease Analyst with a bachelor's degree in business with approximately 14 years of experience working for small to mid-sized oil and gas companies. Experienced in both field and in-house positions, analyzing due diligence for acquisitions and divestitures, assignments, agreements, courthouse research, and division orders. Geographic areas worked include the Marcellus shale, the Eagle Ford shale, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. Software proficiency in OGSYS, BOLO, Enertia, Quorum, Excalibur, Tobin, and Arc GIS.  See L746.

Geophysicist with a master's degree in geophysical prospecting and applied geology and 25 years of experience with international oil and gas companies, international services companies, and small domestic independent oil and gas companies. Experienced in the analysis and interpretation of seismic inversion data, AVO, seismic attributes and neural network simulation (elastic and petrophysical properties) applied to reservoir characterization, and seismic interpretation. Software proficiency in Promax 2/D/3D, SeisUP, STRATA, ELOG, EMERGE, and ISTAT.  See GP945.

Geologist with a bachelor's degree in geology and 30 years of experience working for large independent oil and gas companies and a major oilfield service company. Expert in the geology of the U.S. Gulf coast and the analysis of producing trends for lease sales, acquisitions, exploration and development and regional analysis. Additionally experienced in technical and managerial levels of exploration and production, development geology, geophysics, well log analysis, and 2-D and 3-D seismic interpretation of both clastic and carbonate environments. Geographic areas worked include the onshore and offshore Gulf of Mexico, east Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, and the Appalachian Basin. Software proficiency in GeoGraphix, GeoFrame, SMT, and Landmark. Fluent in German.  See G262.

Geoscientist with a bachelor's degree in geology and over 25 years of oil and gas industry experience working for major E&P companies world-wide. Expert in managing and mentoring exploration teams. Experienced in exploration, appraisal, new venture-prospect projects, basin screening, play fairway analysis, due diligence, multi-cultural negotiations with various governments, and budget coordination. Geographic areas worked include northern United States, Australia, Brazil, China, and various Middle Eastern areas.  See G2187.

Geologist with a MS and 23 years of extensive experience analyzing clastic rocks for reservoir characterization, including facies, core description, sequence stratigraphy, and borehole images. Ability to work as part of exploration and exploitation teams providing real-time analysis and integration of geologic, petrophysical, and seismic data. Extensive wellsite experience with logging and coring. Experienced with training and mentoring. Proven record of accomplishment building productive working relationships with service providers. Areas of expertise and skills include: deepwater, fluvial, deltaic and estuarine, geological-petrophysical integration, borehole images/dipmeters. See G864.

Drilling Superintendent with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 31years of experience working for operators, service companies, and as a consultant. Experienced in drilling and completions including wildcat exploratory, sour gas, high pressure, directional, horizontal, and air drilling of shale and CBM wells. Additionally experienced in drilling and completion planning. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Washington. See D515.

Drilling Supervisor with more than 40 years of experience working for operators and drilling service companies. Experienced in drilling, completions, and production operations including horizontal, extended reach, and HPHT drilling; multi-stage fracturing, acid jobs, drill outs, washouts, coiled tubing operations, and cementing. Geographic areas worked include Texas and Louisiana.  See DO490.

Reservoir Engineer with a PhD in geomechanics and ten years of experience working for an operator and in academia. Expert in geomechanics, numerical modeling, and applied research. Also experienced in fracture mechanics, reservoir simulation, history matching, and enhanced oil recovery. Geographic areas worked include West Africa and China. Software proficiency in ECLIPSE and other proprietary simulation tools. Language proficiency in Chinese and English.   See R1049.

Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 22 years of experience working for operators and a service company. Experienced in operations management, contract negotiations, budget oversight, and new business development. Additionally experienced in procedure design, on-site engineering supervision, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, AFE design, and permitting. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico.  See P295.

Reservoir Engineer with a master's degree in petroleum engineering and 22 years of experience working for a major operator, a financial advisory firm, and an engineering consulting company. Experienced in reservoir surveillance, reservoir simulation, project management, asset valuation, financial modeling, and mergers and acquisitions. Also experienced in sales cycle management, negotiation, and operations work process surveillance and technology integration. Geographic areas worked include the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. Software proficiency in ARIES, ECLIPSE, Empower, Peep, GAP, MBAL, and Prosper. Licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas.  See R1045.

Engineering Technician with more than 10 years of experience working for various oil and gas companies. Experienced in fiscal year-end reporting, improvements and implementation of ARIES, and assisting various teams such as land, accounting, reservoir, and exploration teams. Software proficiency in ARIES, PEEP, VolTS, Oracle and SQL tables, Excel, Hyperion Essbase, PetroLook, and TOW.  See TE501.

Engineering Technician with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and two years of experience working for an operator. Experienced in reserves estimation, booking, and reporting, maintaining and running ARIES economic models for production, capital reporting, and forecasting, and data management. Software proficiency in ARIES, Microsoft Excel and Access, Spotfire, and AutoCAD.  See TE584.

Engineering Technician with bachelor's degree and over 30 years working for operators, small and large independents, and service companies. Experienced in assisting the engineering, drilling, production, and regulatory operations by running economics, creating oneline summaries and cash flow reports, updating daily production rates, and maintaining all new drill wells in shale plays. Software proficiency in ARIES, PHDWin, and DrillingInfo.  See TE359.

Geoscience Technician with an associate's degree in biology and 20 years of experience working for major and mid-size oil and gas companies and service companies. Experienced in log correlations, seismic maps, digital files, maintaining databases, cross-sections, 2-D and 3-D navigation, generating computerized structure maps, creating databases for in-house geophysical base map and seismic inventories, and creating montages. Additionally experienced in preparing Landmark OpenWorks and SeisWorks projects to migrate from R2002 to R5000. Software proficiencies include Velocity Data Bank, Energy Graphics, MicroStation SE/J, ZEH Montage, GMA, UNIX, GeoGraphix, P/I Dwights, and OpenWorks, and Geolog.  See TG490.

Geoscience Technician with 25 years of experience working for small to medium operators and service companies. Experienced in data loading of well logs, seismic, velocity, and directional surveys, aliasing log curves, and setting up new wells within projects. Additionally experienced in acquisition processes, creating maps, cross-sections, and presentations, and correlating and annotating well logs. Software proficiency in SMT, GeoGraphix, PETRA, Neuralog, PowerTools, PI/Dwights, DrillingInfo, IHS, Tobin, and OWL.  See TG388.  

Review thousands of talented people in more than 30 upstream disciplines at

www.collarini.com


Career Advice

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Rules for Tools: Simplicity is Best!

I love technology! Instantaneous connection to family and friends via cell phone and email, a portable library of hundreds of my favorite songs strapped to my forearm, and all my favorite movies on demand. But with all the brightness of its glory, technology can sometimes cause us to forget the simple things.

Technical message boards and SPE online forums are good tools to share ideas and get answers to questions, but don't forget the "old-timer" way to get answers? stand up, walk down the hallway and ask the guy who's done it for the past 25 years! With the wide generational gap we are currently experiencing in our industry, mentorship is an important way to gain the knowledge you need to quickly move from the theoretical of education to the practical of work experience. Mentors give you the edge in the following ways:

  • You'll reduce your risk of mistakes! You're young, you're smart, and you're in charge, but you don't know everything. There is safety in a multitude of counselors.  Safety processes are reviewed, enhanced, and toughened where they need to be.  The industry has reacted, and talent has risen to the occasion.
  • You'll gain wisdom! Education gives you knowledge. A mentor who teaches you how to apply that knowledge gives you wisdom.

How did we get our answers BG (before Google)? There's an "old timer" tool perfect for finding information. When was the last time you picked up your school text book or a company reference book? A book written by a subject matter expert and edited and published by a respected publishing house is likely to be a more legitimate resource than the subjective blog you found online.

The Internet is huge in size, unordered, and mostly unchecked. Also, remember that Internet content is timeless. It leaves a permanent record of you: what you ask, what you think. I have nothing against the Internet; in fact, I used it to help me write this article! The next time you need answers don't overlook the obvious - people and books are a wealth of information. 

 


About Us Back to Top

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
Mechanical engineers
Operations supervisors
Pipeline, riser, and subsea engineers
Process engineers
Procurement personnel
Production engineers
Production operations supervisors
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

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
10497 Town and Country Way,
Suite 950
Houston, Texas 77024
832.251.0553

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