Triskaidekaphobia? Decidophobia? What are we afraid of?!

When you think about manpower needs, you are considering both the number of people needed and their cost. When you do, think about triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number thirteen. No, not because Halloween is upcoming, but because it takes an increase of only 13 barrels of oil a day to pay for an engineer. Do the math! An experienced production engineer, in round numbers, will require a base salary of $200,000. Add 50% for overhead and bonus, and you are at a cost of $300,000. At today's oil prices, an increase in production of just 13 barrels a day will pay for that expense. Do you imagine you would hire someone who could not achieve that small increase if your company is large enough to have producing assets that could be improved? In the same way, hiring two technicians to assemble and organize data from, for example, a very active drilling and frac program or from a new acquisition ought to be able to increase production by that now lucky number!

For smaller companies, or for companies with a less active drilling program, you may be deciding whether to add staff via full time employment or by using consultants. While a full-time consulting drilling engineer, for example, may cost $400,000 to $500,000 per year, you may not need the help full time. Also, there are areas of expertise to consider. Your program, if concentrated in one geographic area, may warrant a full-time employee who can learn the area well. On the other hand, if your program is more diversified, a consulting firm whose drilling experts are learning from other companies' wells in the geographic areas in which you have an interest, may be the most effective solution to your needs.  

While cost of people is an important part of the management decision, we must agree that people, used effectively, are the smallest part of the cost of the E&P business. Let us help you find and use them wisely. Don't be afraid to make the decision!

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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 Manager with over 25 years of experience working for mid-size and major oil and gas service companies. Expert in international market development and negotiations and in leading teams to exceed corporate goals. Experienced in global mergers and acquisitions, consolidations, and domestic and international new business establishment. Strong strategic planner and business analysis skills with an established network within the global oil and gas industry. Geographic areas of experience include Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the US. Language fluency in English, Norwegian, German, Persian, and Hindi. Ask for M601.

Project and Construction Manager with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and over 35 years of experience working for major EPC, E&P, and engineering firms. Experienced in worldwide onshore and offshore production facilities design and in planning and executing oil and gas projects. Additionally experienced in onshore and offshore pipelines, LNG facilities, and oil sand facilities, including construction, project schedules, contractor evaluation, improvements, and safety. Geographic areas of experience include Europe, the Middle East, and the US.  Ask for PM415.

Mechanical Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering technology and more than 30 years of experience in the offshore and onshore oil and gas industry. Expert in LNG facilities, offshore platform and subsea pipeline design, and petrochemical operations. Experienced with project management, having held senior level positions, and in static equipment and piping analysis and full life cycle facilities engineering and construction from FEED through mechanical completion and client acceptance. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, Algeria, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan.  Ask for F1722.

Subsea Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and more than 20 years of domestic and international experience with engineering firms and operating companies. Experienced in design and construction including HPHT, subsea pipeline, and rigid riser design in water depths to 10,000 feet. Also experienced in subsea manifolds, isolation valves, and high-integrity pressure protection system structure and piping design. Additionally experienced in floating production system interfaces, flexible risers and pipe, rigid reeled pipe-in-pipe, and towed pipeline bundles. Software proficiency in Primavera, MathCAD, LUSAS, ANSYS, FS2000, and AutoPIPE. Ask for F527.

Structural Engineer with a PhD in ocean engineering and over 25 years of experience working for major EPC and engineering firms. Expert in design and conversion of subsea and offshore floating production systems. Additionally experienced in drilling modules, HSE support, semi-submersible platforms, pipeline installations, and diverse subsea equipment installation projects. Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas. Served as expert advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy and chaired of the API Committee on wind load specifications. Geographic areas of experience include the Gulf of Mexico and Asia. Software proficiency in ANSYS, SACS, MORA, FLEXCOM, and AQUA.  Ask for MD52.

Procurement Professional with a master's degree in marketing and more than 30 years of experience working for mid-sized to large service companies. Expert in negotiations, international supply chain operations and distribution center management, warehouse operations, and cost efficient logistics management, shipping, and receiving. Also experienced in procurement management for maritime, offshore, oilfield supplies, industrial, fuel, and specialty items sourcing and distribution. Geographic area of experience is the Gulf of Mexico. Software proficiency in SAP. Language proficiency in English, French, and Spanish. Ask for PU803.

Development Geologist with two bachelor's degrees and six years of experience working for an oil and gas operator and service companies. Experienced in advanced mapping, cross-sections, log correlation, geosteering, seismic data, quality assurance, and mudlogging. Geographic areas worked include south Texas, Alaska, California, and Kentucky. Software proficiency in PETRA, PI/Dwights, Landmark, Neuralog, and 2D/3DPAK.  Ask for G2115.

Geologist with a master's degree in geology and over 30 years of experience working for both major and independent companies in the oil and gas industry. Expert in structural geology, seismic interpretation, geophysical analysis, stratigraphic modeling, velocity interpretation, and depth conversion. Additionally experienced in salt structure evolution, risk analysis, and rift basin evolution. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico, offshore California, offshore Alaska, the Permian Basin, and Africa.  Ask for G63.

Geoscientist with a bachelor's degree in geology and over 30 years of experience working for small independents and as a consultant. Expertise in the geophysical and geological evaluation of the U.S. onshore Gulf coast and shallow coastline of the Gulf of Mexico salt domes. Experienced in sequence stratigraphy, 2-D and 3-D seismic interpretation, AVO analysis, log correlation techniques, and subsurface mapping. Additionally experienced in detailed development and re-development of integrated field and reservoir studies. Geographic areas worked include south Louisiana, south Texas, east Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico shelf. Software proficiency in SMT, Landmark, and GeoQuest.  Ask for G2199.

Exploration Geologist with a bachelor's degree in geology and 30 years of experience working for small oil and gas operators. Expertise in exploration and prospect generation. Experienced in detailed, comprehensive field studies, evaluation and assessment of potential acquisitions, reservoir mapping for volumetric analysis, 2-D and 3-D seismic interpretation, and well log interpretation. Geographic areas worked include south Texas, south Louisiana, and the Gulf coast. Software proficiency in SMT Kingdom 3-D workstation and SeisVision 3-D workstation.  Ask for G1176.

Accounting Specialist with 11 years of experience working for major and mid-sized oil and gas companies. Experienced in AFEs, financial reporting, COPAS guidelines and agreements, SOX internal controls, tax accounting, joint interest billing, inventory accounting, project financial coordination, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. Software proficiency in SAP (FICO, MM, PM, & BW modules), OGSYS, Excalibur, SharePoint, ADP, ISIGMA, and Peachtree, and advanced Excel.  Ask for A1339.

Production Engineering Manager with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 33 years of experience working for small to mid-size independents, major operators, and service companies. Experienced in completion engineering, production engineering, reservoir pressure depletion, flow assurance, production maintenance and optimization, and daily production and well integrity surveillance activities. Geographic areas worked include the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, western Australia, southeast Asia, West Africa and the Middle East.  Ask for P699.

Production Engineering Manager with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering and 30 years of experience working for small to mid-size independents, major operators, and service companies. Expert in field development planning and implementation, production operations and optimizations, and subsurface technical assurance. Experienced in petroleum engineering and well and completion technology. Geographic areas worked include the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, western Australia, the North Sea, and the Middle East.  Ask for P698.

Reservoir Engineer with a master's degree in environmental engineering, a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering, and 36 years of experience working for small to mid-size independents. Experienced in reservoir and production engineering with technical and economic evaluation of business development offers, new ventures, and unconventional resource projects. Additionally experienced in the design of well completions, hydraulic stimulations, workovers, and recompletions to enhance production. Software proficiency in ARIES. Geographic areas worked include south Texas, the Williston basin, the Powder River basin, the Green River basin, and other locations in the Rocky Mountain region. Ask for PR618.

Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and more than 40 years of experience working for operators and engineering consulting firms. Experienced in the supervision of personnel and field operations including waterfloods, recompletions, and workovers; the evaluation of producing properties for economic enhancement, the design, installation, and start-up of land and inland water production facilities, and the management of regulatory compliance. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and the Gulf of Mexico shelf. Software proficiency in ARIES. Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.  Ask for P641.

Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and over 30 years of experience working for small independents and as a consultant. Experienced in the planning and field supervision of drilling, completion, and workover operations. Additionally experienced in production operations management, prospect evaluation, lease acquisition, drill stem testing, reserve estimating, facility and pipeline construction, regulatory reporting, wellbore intervention programs design, and expert witness testimony. Geographic areas worked include south Texas, the Texas Gulf coast, the Illinois basin, and Bolivia. Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.  Ask for P599.

• Using modern tools and technologies, a well versed individual will be able to apply skills such as communication, interpretation, bringing together various domains of knowledge, and the ability to find the value and meaning in a large number of facts.

• Businesses will seek individuals who can translate their skills in a given technical or professional field utilizing communication, listening skills, and critical thinking to communicate and persuade an audience.

• In a fast-moving world, educated people will guide us through the rough waters of moral and ethical uncertainty and of ambivalence between right and wrong in a diverse universe. This is a core domain of the humanist's studies.

• The world is culturally intertwined. All workplaces are now home to people from across many different backgrounds. The study of the world and a good understanding of its history, geography, and the different cultures that influenced societies different from ours is crucial to the success of our industries.

These are timeless values and intellectual goals. All individuals who are right now making career decisions or all those professionals who in some way are involved planning and developing a company's organization and resources might want to take a closer look at these two reports.