With all the fast moving trends flowing through the global energy business today – from shifting natural gas market dynamics, US oil & gas production increases, climate change issues and workforce demographics – it’s always interesting to hear which markets energy company executives are focusing on.
Ernst & Young Global Oil & Gas Leader, Dale Nijoka recently discussed some of these topics with oilfield service company Superior Energy’s CEO, David Dunlap and some highlights from that conversation are included below.
What are the key markets for energy today, and which are the ones to watch?
Dunlap: “From our perspective, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Australia are the markets we will monitor closely. You will notice that I omit the big markets such as Russia and China, because the service industries have struggled there from a margin-and-return standpoint, so while we will watch those markets, we are trying to stay away for now.”
As in many other sectors, recruiting and keeping talent has been a challenge in this industry globally. How is this being addressed?
Dunlap: “I have certainly seen examples of talent challenges in the industry, but if I’m honest, recruitment isn’t really causing us a problem. In saying that, retention and talent management is something all companies must be mindful of. In the US, booms in shale oil and gas have caused a great influx of talent.”
“So we now have several talent-acquisition programs and are looking to expand these internationally. We also designed a training program to attract former marines and then provide the training and mentoring to allow them to become leaders in the sector. Many marines have a strong technical foundation, a great work ethic and discipline from the military, so this initiative has been hugely successful for us.”
Nijoka: “In my experience working with different clients over the years, I have seen four trends affecting talent that all companies need to consider. The first of these is the size of the energy boom. Higher volumes of drilling activity, wells and demand for equipment lead to sharply increased demand for skilled labor.”
“Add to this the fact that workers may often be asked to do difficult and stressful work in inhospitable environments, and you have a talent shortage. This shortage is made more pressing by a third factor — the aging of the workforce.”
“The average oil and gas industry worker is approximately 50 years old, and more than half of those are eligible to retire in 5 to 10 years, so it’s a difficult situation to manage. Finally, an added human dimension is the renewed focus on safety, which plays a role in the attractiveness of an employer to potential new recruits.” – Ernst & Young
