Attracting a younger generation to join the oil and gas industry and the challenges and opportunities in the development of unconventional resources in the Middle East topped discussions on the third day of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC).

Aging resources nearing retirement, regional imbalances, and workforce attrition, along with mismatch of education and industry requirements are key trends affecting the industry, according to panelists at the session “Attracting and Developing Talent for the Next 30 Years.”

The challenges facing the industry will require talented workforces that are able to develop and apply increasingly sophisticated technology to finding and producing increasingly complex and scarce hydrocarbon resources.

“For the old generation, job security and longitudinal career path are the main things that employees look for,” said Ray Richardson, senior vice president of operation and head of Petrofac Academy. “Meanwhile, for the younger generation, autonomy for the employee and frequent job moves and travel are key. That’s why the oil industry is perceived as a tough industry.”

The panelists urged industry leaders to work hard to attract young people because inaction will result in increased competition for talent from other industries. It will also have an effect on exploration and production activities and on the overall supply and process safety.

To meet this challenge, oil and gas companies are urged to sponsor primary schoolchildren with an aptitude for science, technology, and engineering. “The industry should structure training and career development programs, as well as travel-oriented assignments,” Richardson said.

The second executive panel session covered the theme of “Unconventional Resources: Challenges and Opportunities” and focused on the Middle East, which has enormous untapped potential in unconventional reservoirs.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries are beginning to look at unconventional resources, particularly gas, to help meet rising domestic demand for gas in industries and power generation, and to free up oil burned for power generation for export.

Saudi Arabia is concentrating on four areas for exploration of unconventional resources: the north, south of the Ghawar field, Jufarah in the east, and the Empty Quarter in the southeast, said Ibraheem Assa’adan, executive director of exploration at Saudi Aramco.

“We are trying to spread the activities kingdomwide to create local economic development in remote regions of the kingdom,” he said.

Ahmad Al Eidan, manager of exploration at state-run Kuwait Oil Company, cited water and sand as challenges for the unconventional energy industry in the desert nation, which began implementing its unconventional exploration program about 2 years ago.

The conference was an opportunity for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its subsidiary to sign major exploration, production, and construction deals. On Tuesday, ADMA-OPCO, the company in charge of ADNOC’s offshore operations, signed three deals worth approximately USD 3.5 billion to boost output from its Nasr field offshore Abu Dhabi. The deal includes three contract packages with National Petroleum Construction Company, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Technip. The contracts are for Phase II or the “full field development” stage of the project.

Abdelghani Henni is the Middle East Editor for the Journal of Petroleum Technology.
http://www.spe.org/news/article/attracting-young-talent-in-a-competitive-field

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