Publications

Globalization. “The Big Crew Change. “Oil and gas prices reaching all time highs. These are not just fancy buzzwords of the day, but truly characterize the current state of the oil and gas industry. With this sustained upturn, it has had a marked effect on the way E&P and service companies manage technical staff needed to execute and deliver on high value projects.Globalization has provided technical professionals the opportunity to market their skills abroad, for highly competitive compensation. The “big crew change describes a changing of the guard, with experienced professionals retiring and an influx of new talent to fill the gap - sometimes without the benefit of mentoring from senior professionals or in-house training. High oil and gas prices have created a real need to have effective technical staff to contribute to the success of strategic projects quickly.E&P and services companies alike have to address these staffing issues to remain competitive. An obvious solution is to recruit new talent from universities or outside the energy industry. With this there is a lag time until a new hire becomes productive and can function independently, and in turn add value to the company. Through focused on-boarding programs, this lag time can be reduced.Two case studies will be reviewed, demonstrating the value of customized training programs. The first case will describe a joint E&P and service company program to train a group of fifty new university graduate students, and the synergies gained from both sides. The second case details an E&P companys collaboration with several service companies to tailor a training program to accelerate personnel up the learning curve. A look back on the results of these focused technical training programs has shown direct benefits to both the company and in the long term professional career development of employees.