Greener pastures

There are many threads of discussions on clean energy use. The recently concluded US presidential election probably was a catalyst for the uptick in these discussions, particularly in transportation, the area of alternative energy that seems to be most engaging to the average person.. In fact the Go Green” buzzword has gone crossed over from the environmentalists’ domain to the whole world at large. And today industry is responding. The future holds many promises with firms coming up with both fuel-efficient and cleaner options.

Where do we stand right now in terms of live projects of ultra low emission transportation options? Here are some recent advances in the field.

Battery powered cars

In 2008, Tesla Motors began producing the Tesla Roadster – a 100% electric sports car that does 0-60 miles per hour under four seconds a with top speed of around 200 kilometer per hour. That’s pretty fast by any standard, battery or gasoline. The car uses no gasoline and can boast of zero carbon emission (provided the battery is charged from a renewable energy source like solar panels). Single the charge is enough to last for over 350 kilometers. Priced at around $100,000 for two seater, this vehicle has been finding buyers among early adopters.
However, refueling is not as quick as with a vehicle that runs on petrol. It takes about three and a half hours to recharge a fully drained battery. Though it is unlikely to run down a battery before its overnight recharge in urban condition, but it is certainly not practical for long journeys or to places without access to electricity. Another concern is around power supply – if millions of such cars are plugged in, power grids will have to undergo costly grid expansion.

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars

Honda’s FCX Clarity is the world’s first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. The outcome of over two decades of research is a non-polluting sedan (the only emission is water vapour) that can travel up to 450 kilometers on one tank and reach a speed of up to 160 kilometer per hour. The car runs on a lithium battery pack and a hydrogen storage tank. Fuel economy of the Honda FCX Clarity is twice than that of a similar size and performance gasoline powered car.

The disadvantage again is the availability of hydrogen filling stations. Even in the US distribution of hydrogen filling station is very sparse. There are just five hydrogen filling stations in the greater LA/Orange County area – where most of the cars are currently leased.

Plane that runs on gas

It is not just automobiles that are turning green. On February 2008, the Airbus A380 became the first commercial aircraft to fly with synthetic liquid fuel processed from gas. The fuel is produced using Fischer-Tropsch process and is known as gas-to-liquids (GTL). The European aircraft manufacturer has admitted it to be a “practical alternative to conventional jet fuel in the short term.”Moreover, GTL enjoys the many other advantages in terms of aircraft fuel burn and virtually free of impurities like sulphur. While the basic science for this has been around for a while, large scale commercial applications are taking off.

I think the next few years are likely to see many more advances such as these.

Think global, hire local

The Oil Boom of the 70’s saw a flurry of oil and gas exploration and production activity in the Middle East. Since there was a dearth of skilled manpower to sustain the fast growth in the region, international and national oil companies turned to experienced staff from overseas to make up for the talent shortage in the region. After 40 years of operation, the situation hasn’t changed much. Though there has been massive growth in the work force, the percentage of expatriates remains the same.

All was okay until recently. There has been an increase in violence directed at expatriates in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile local unemployment has been growing; Arthur Little’s report released this week highlights how this problem has been growing in the region. Yemen’s unemployment rate is 36%, Saudi Arabia’s is creeping up to 14%.

Finally the cost of expats, typically 2-5 times higher than locals, is also more difficult for NOCs to bear. With the populace seeking to “share the wealth” (eg, the agitations in the Niger delta) governments are interested in greater knowledge transfer, upskilling and general hiring of local talent. The Dept. of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria has recently issued a directive to oil and gas companies to hire local talents instead of expatriates. Similar guidelines are already being provided by licensing and governing bodies in growth regions such as Libya and Iraq.

Instead of viewing such directives as a handicap, International oil companies should make most of the situation to cement their relationships with national governing bodies, while NOCs can build up their image as national champions; giving practical solutions for their country’s expatriates dependence in the future. National oil companies’ aspiration to play a major role in the international energy market is very closely related to building local capability. As they venture into other countries, they will need the expertise to manage their growing international operations.

There is a financial imperative to this calculus too. Block awards and renewals are increasingly tied contractually to local workforce development. IOCs also worry about the approximate 50% of the current expatriate workforce that will retire by the next decade. There is no time like now to build a local workforce that will not only deliver the project at hand but may also be a springboard for regional expansion.

Oil & Gas hiring amidst Global Recession

Now that the global recession has become a household term and lay offs & pink slips have become a part of our daily vocabulary, you might find it odd to find large number of ads by oil & gas companies on job classifieds. Oil prices are less than half of what it used to be a few months back. So, why are the oil companies still hiring?

Sure, the worldwide economic growth is slowing and the low crude oil price IS affecting new projects. Prospects aren't too bright for any job, be it in Oil & Gas or any other sector. But if you work in the field, there are still plenty of interesting positions. Companies that have started new upstream activities will continue with their effort. Recession or not, that is still a lot of work waiting for workers to complete. In recent report on The Daily Times, a few local oil companies have stopped their hiring, larger companies continue to hire.

There are two major reasons behind it.

First reason is the basic economic principle of demand and supply. Demand for oil and gas remains high due to the emergence of new economies like China and India. Though China has come down from a blistering two digit growth, the current growth rate is at an enviable 9%. India too is not far behind. Even if oil demands slack from traditional giants America and Europe, new economies will continue to drive up the demand. Recently, the International Energy Agency predicts that China and India will need 300% more crude oil for their economies by 2030. This is good enough reason for oil companies to continue investing in exploration & production projects, either greenfield or in prepping older wells through enhanced oil recovery techniques.

The second major reason for this continuous hiring effort from the oil companies is talent shortage. Today, there are so many jobs, particularly in technical fields, filled by graying workers hired in the 1970s. Most of them will be reaching retirement age in a few years. While the oil and gas companies looking to rejuvenate its work force with young blood, your prospects of getting positions in this sector s remains strong.

Oil below $40 per barrel?

Deutsche Bank AG has said that Oil prices may fall as low as $40 a barrel by April as demand collapses and production costs eases. In a report published on Bloomberg, Deutsche have said:
“Cash production cost ‘floors’ for the oil price are a shrinking target because of lower costs and a stronger U.S. dollar…This implies a `V' shaped downside to $40 a barrel crude around April 2009.”

Oil has dropped 63 percent from a record $147.27 in July. As on yesterday, crude futures hovered around $54 a barrel mark. In a separate item reported in the Financial Times, top executives from national oil company of China have predicted about $40 a barrel, thereby putting quiet a few new oil-exploration projects at risk of cancellation.

Oil that cheap is a major concern for big oil-producing countries like Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela. Any cut in production by OPEC, the cartel of oil exporting countries, is not likely to be as effectual as it was once thought to be. OPEC’s previous announcement of output reduction of 1.5m barrels a day failed to revive the falling crude oil price. The group's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, will “move cautiously” amid the increase in the supply of non-conventional oils such as ethanol in the U.S.

However, this development has another implication. Cheaper oil could also take out some steam out of the push for clean energy in the US – which is much costlier.

Busting some myths

There has been a fair amount of discussion about energy policies in the recent past, aided in no small part by the interest generated in the recently concluded U.S. presidential election. Some facts that were thrown about has been taken as received wisdom. We examine some of these here.

1. Oil companies are extracting extra “economic rents” for the high price of gasoline/petrol

There are many factors that resulted in the run up of gasoline price. About 70-75% of the price is that of crude and refining/distribution/service station charges. The government taxes comprises of 10-15% depending on regulatory regimes. At the end of the day, Oil and Gas companies earn about 5-10% as profit.
There are also several additional factors that impact the price at the pump- cost of exploration and development, cost of extraction (the cost of human services as part of this is another story- more on this in another post), refining cost (no new refineries have been commissioned in the US in the past 17 years). I also think that the cost of speculation was a big factor- note the rapid decline in price in the last two months as many margin call positions were liquidated in the oil futures markets.

2. Oil companies are not investing in alternative energies.

The U.S. oil and natural gas industry invested almost $100 billion between 2000 and 2005 in emerging energy technologies, including $12 billion in non-hydrocarbons and $42 billion in greenhouse gas emission mitigation technologies from 2000 to 2006. This is not mere green PR, but real investments.
There have also been some advances in less intrusive technologies for exploration and production. However, the industry has successfully developed breakthrough technologies like 4D seismic imaging and multi-directional drilling, which have helped reduce the industry’s environmental footprint dramatically. Today it is possible to develop nearly 80 square miles of area below the surface from a single two-acre site on the surface.

SPE Salary Survey

Society of Petroleum Engineer (SPE) recently released its annual salary survey for the Oil & Gas sector. I must say that I was delighted to find the result of the survey which is very promising and reassuring especially in this period of economic gloom! At a time when global giants are tumbling, people are being laid off in the thousands, the report findings are in stark contrast to the global economic slowdown. You can download the complete results here.

This survey was SPE’s second effort. Last year a similar survey was carried out among SPE members. This time around, the scale of respondents was higher and so was the diversity in their demography. Unlike last year, more than half of the respondents are working in countries other than the United States. In total, there were respondents representing 125 nations, working in 116 different countries around the world including a sizable number from North Sea/North Atlantic and Middle East regions.

A quick overview on the findings of the survey –

The average annual increase in base pay is reported as 8.1% overall. The work region with the highest increase is Australia/New Zealand, at 10.6%, while Canada is lowest with 7.3%.
This is great in comparison to other sectors where growth in the mid/high level is much less and in many cases, almost stagnant.

The United States, Australia/New Zealand, and North Sea/North Atlantic have the highest average pay in the industry while Southeast Asia being distinctly the lowest paid.

The average age of respondents is consistent around the globe – around 39 to 45 years.

If you’re looking to join this sector, here’s proof positive of the amount of money you can make. If you’re already in the business, you can do a quick benchmark against professionals in other geographies, disciplines and experience brackets.

Double trouble: deflationary oil prices & financial meltdown

Overlapping Crises

The current financial crisis has ballooned around the world economy and there are fears that this international recession could even trigger a global economic meltdown. Most economic analysts are predicting that it will get worse before it gets better. This is reflected in some of the recent downswings in stock markets worldwide as near term recessionary expectations are being priced in today. The channels of credit have dried up and businesses small and large have been plagued by a credit crunch.

The other key trend is in the sharp volatility of hydrocarbons prices. After a remarkable run up over the last two years, crude prices have plummeted over the past few months. We hit $58 for crude today; and will probably drop further as the global demand cycle weakens in the near term. While there are many factors driving the price of oil (demand- supply, speculation, political risk, etc), it is undeniable that there has been some demand destruction due to unsustainable high prices in the $150 range.

Effect on Projects
So how is this price deflation and the economic crisis at large going to effect the industry, and industry jobs in particular?

In the last few years, quite a few operators were able to leverage cheap credit and high commodity prices to finance large new exploration projects in some new areas. However with the squeeze in the credit markets, some of these projects are either being put on hold or delayed. Small cap companies are scaling back operations, seeking new partners or have become targets for acquisition. There are other companies are also restructuring their project plans to tide over the current period of economic uncertainty. Shell recently announced the delay of its oil sands project in Canada, Yemen has also delayed its gas production outlook. However, most large cap integrated oil companies are not cutting back as they did not factor in prices in the $140 range while making their investment decisions. This is also the case for most national oil companies.

In the long term, my sense is that the demand-supply equation will be unbalanced. The IEA predicted last week in its World Energy Outlook that by 2010 oil companies will have to commit to projects producing almost as 7m barrels a day – if the world is to avoid a supply crunch by the middle of the next decade. This is due to the steep rates of decline in existing fields to meet demand of growing economies like China and India. Further investments should stanch the natural rate of output decline of 9% down to 6.7%. As a result they have predicted a price range greater than $100 by 2015.

Outlook
So the question is how will the credit crunch and lower oil prices affect the labor market in the Oil and Gas industry? Will it stall the recruitment and talent acquisition process? Are we going to see a repeat of the layoffs of the 1980s?

It’s early to say right now; we may have more volatility coming down the pike. But over the medium term once key economies right themselves, demand should increase. China has taken a good step in that direction this week. Only time will tell, but I feel pretty optimistic.

What do you think?

Life in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is among the most important geographies for the upstream sector. The country currently has the 11th largest proven reserves of both oil and natural gas. Estimate indicates that there is over 2.7 billion tons of petroleum scattered in about 160 deposits.

The 9th largest country in the world is bordered by Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China and a significant part of the Caspian Sea. It is widely believed that the Caspian shore is only a small part of a much larger deposit and that 3.5 billion tons of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas could be found in that area.

However, I do not intended to give you the facts and figures of Kazakhstan’s natural resource nor an account of its diversity in terrain – flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, mountains, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. What I would like to dwell upon in this post is the country and its people which energy professionals might find useful in case they take up a project in the country.

Let me begin by saying that Kazakhstan is not at all like the way it was stereotyped in the movie Borat! The cities are clean, complete with ample civil amenities. There are many wide boulevards, lots of trees, and the roads are generally well kept. Though there are no published routes, it’s easy to find your way around. There are city buses, trolleys, and trams making it easy to move around. However, things are not as well kept as you progress farther from the mountains towards the outskirts. It would be a tad harsh to expect the same level of convenience in all parts of a country where the population density is less than 6 people per square kilometer.


History

Kazakhstan was part of the Russian Empire. Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16, 1991. Nursultan Nazarbayev – its communist-era leader, became the country's new president. While the country's economic outlook is improving, President Nazarbayev maintains strict control over the country's politics.


People and Religion

Kazakhstan has historically hosted a wide variety of ethnic groups with varying religions. Tolerance to other societies has become a part of the Kazakh culture. One of the major reasons of ethnic and cultural diversity is because of mass deportations of many ethnic groups to the country during Stalin's rule. Kazakhs are the largest group, followed by Russians. Kazakhstan allows freedom of religion, and many different beliefs are represented in the country. Islam is the primary religion, followed by Orthodox Christianity. The official language is Kazakh, though Russian is still commonly used for everyday communication.


Food Habits

One of the major concerns of people going abroad to stay for a longer period of time is the eating habits of the host country. Generally, diet consist of lots of vegetable and livestock meat cooked in many ways and served with traditional bread. People belonging to the Western countries might be surprised by the amount of fried food here! A Peace Corp volunteer writes in her blog that “Every soup has a little oil floating on the top”

Most of us like our tea, coffee or even a cup of hot chocolate in cold winters while during summers, we resort to juice, lemonade or even iced tea. But Kazaks drink lots of tea throughout the year. Tea breaks are common, and along with the tea breaks there is a variety of cookies and candy. Another peculiarity is that there aren’t any designated breakfast, lunch and dinner foods and it is common to have the same soup for dinner and then breakfast the following morning.


Culture

Traditional moral values of Kazakhs are respect of the elders and hospitality to strangers. This makes it easy for foreigners to ask around and find out places. An average Kazak goes out of his way to help a tourist with language barrier. The country has an impressive 99.5% adult literacy rate, thanks to a well-structured education system comprising of many reputed universities, academies, and institutes, conservatories, higher schools and higher colleges.

Because livestock was central to the Kazakhs' traditional lifestyle, most of their current practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. For example, it is considered as good manners for an average Kazak to ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and later inquire about the human aspects of his life.

The country’s largest city – Almaty is considered to be the musical capital of Central Asia. Well-known artists such as Deep Purple, Tokyo Hotel, Atomic Kitten, Dima Bilan, Loon, Craig David, The Black Eyed Peas, Eros, Ace of Base and others have recently toured the country.


Kazakhstan is a very pleasant country with picturesque landscape almost everywhere. Once your Russian is good enough, it is almost like working in a picnic spot.

Oil & Gas Careers: Things to consider

The Dallas Morning News has suggested in one of its article by Elizabeth Souder that “This is a great time to look for a job in the oil industry.” Her report is largely based the oil prices and an aging industry workforce – something we have been following & acting upon for some time. With the rise in oil prices over the last two years (and notwithstanding the recent gyrations the past few weeks), there is increased enrollment in petroleum engineering and geology programs worldwide.

However, it is advisable not to base one’s career decision based on the commodity market. Before you decide to join the petroleum industry, here are a few things to consider.

Basic Aptitude
Strengths in science and mathematics are the backbone of petroleum engineering and geology careers. You will be doing a fair bit of analysis & modeling in your future roles. If you don’t have the the aptitude in the basic physical sciences you may want to consider other options.

Global Mobility
This industry is one of the most global in nature. Hydrocarbons are found in more than 80 countries, but its likely that in the next two decades extractable oil may be developed in more inhospitable climes. You can look forward to a fair bit of travelling in the Exploration & Production aspect of this sector, particularly if you join a oil services organization. This may strike a chord with you if you’re adventurous in nature, If frequent traveling is not your cup of tea you may want to evaluate other aspects of this sector; particularly in refining or marketing of hydrocarbons.

Cyclicality
The 90s saw a decline in prices which depressed the number and types of jobs in the sector. The past few years on the other hand has been characterized by a steep price rise as well as volatility. During boom times it does seem that the tipping point is far away, however know that Oil & Gas, much like other commodities, is a fairly cyclical industry. A future slowdown in the industry will effect the job market too. However the skills that you will pick up in this industry, including the managing complex engineering projects, data intensive modeling or opening new markets for hydrocarbons will stand you in good stead in other industries.

In summary, the industry is growing and is exciting. However you may want to take a longer term view as you plan on venturing into this field.

Engineering Students: Career aspirations, expectations & needs

As a part of our campus outreach program, we have been interacting with students from various engineering colleges all across India. On of our primary objectives has been to understand the mindsets of young graduating engineering students’ vis-à-vis their career aspirations, expectations and needs. We are in the process of compiling the findings and implications from a very extensively commissioned ethnographic research and we hope to share it with you soon.

Meanwhile, i would like to dwell upon a few very interesting observations and revelations that came out in the process.

One very heartening trend we noticed is a strong 'anti-IT' sentiment that is brewing among most students. I could never fathom how and why half my mates from regular engineering disciplines ended up with a software company! Perhaps the economic recession and saturation in the IT sector are accountable for this change. But most students we spoke to were pretty uncluttered in their minds - they didn't want to pursue a career where their core academic expertise had nothing to contribute.

Students today take a much more proactive role in planning their careers. The Internet epitomizes information for them and they are adept at using it for academic and professionals reasons too. They have increased awareness of career choices coupled with better exposure and understanding of most industries. They consequently seek information that will help them make more informed career choices. However the Energy industry still seems to be in an information black hole - they encounter only a few sources on career related information and none of them is detailed and credible enough.


Another finding of the research was the emphasis students placed on maintaining an equitable work-life balance, even though they haven’t entered the workforce yet! Money is important, but they also feel the need for quality time to actualize themselves. Students also rate work satisfaction as more important than remuneration packages and are keen on seeking out challenging work environments and getting to a personal sense of fulfillment.

To be continued...

Petroleum Geoscientists: Fun @ Work

There are many reasons for someone to choose a career in the Oil and Gas industry. Generous salary and benefits packages, flexible work hours and company-sponsored, high end industry training are a few of them. However, during our many sessions with the people working in this sector, one thing that has came above all the other perks of working in Oil and Gas is the element of fun and excitement.

For example, the geologists affiliated to the energy sector actually get the chance to ‘do geology’ in a high-tech, high-data environment. These types of exposures are only dreamed of and talked about in most other geo-science professional jobs. During a typical career, petroleum geoscientists gather, process, and analyze seismic and well data to locate drill-sites for their companies. Obviously, this means that some domestic and foreign travel is a part of the job assignment.

Generally, petroleum geoscientists learn to locate three types of drill-sites –

Exploration drill-sites which are big scaled and high risk

Field Development drill-sites – medium size with some risk and

Producing field drill-sites which are smaller in scale and very low risk

One can start a career with a medium-to-large company with a bachelor's degree in geology or geologic engineering. A master's degree with specialty in structural geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, or geophysics/seismology is highly sought after qualifications for petroleum geoscientists. Moreover, there are career opportunities for research geoscientists, paleontologists, and geochemistry specialists as well, but in fewer numbers.

There is a popular myth prevalent among people that the number of petroleum-industry jobs fluctuates with the price of a barrel of oil. However, it is only a myth. Almost all leading HR managers will endorse the fact that the employment outlook for new graduates appears to be bright for the foreseeable future, irrespective of the ups and downs of the oil business, All oil and gas companies plan to grow slowly regardless of the price of oil, and they have strategies that include hiring new talent into their maturing workforces.

Job openings are currently available for people with 3 to 15 years of professional experience. Most of these openings occur because many smaller companies are willing to pay a premium in salary and bonuses to people trained by larger companies. What has been a trend now is that companies preferentially seek out students with advanced degrees, broad-based training in the fundamental principles of geology, and complementary teamwork and commercial skills developed through summer internships.

Before signing off, here's a short video from the Documentary "Geo Families - how I learned to love the Rocks"

Climate-Change Management: Managing the Environment

The world is gradually moving from fossil fuel to greener substitutes. The western European countries’ governments especially are spending millions of Euros on alternative power source. However, one can not deny the need of fossil fuel to keep the world moving on. Whether we like it or not, Oil and Gas are the still the basic source for all our primary energy needs – 65% to be precise.

Even though developed countries are looking for alternative, renewable energy, it will be unfair to expect the same from the developing countries to follow suit. Growing economies like China and India have rapidly increased their fuel consumption, resulting in even higher demands. The technology and reliability of renewable energy use on a widespread commercial basis are not yet established nor are expected to be for several decades. Exorbitant cost is another major factor.

The best bet in view of the environmental effects like Global Warming, is that we should be more responsible towards the nature before we disturb its fine balance. This new sense of responsibility has given rise to academic fields like Climate Change Management and allied jobs in the Oil and Gas sector like Environmental Engineer, Environmental Geologist and Environmental Scientist for Petroleum etc.

Presently, a large portion of money is being pumped into the climate-change management studies is flowing from government sponsored grants apart from corporate or academic Research & Development. The U.S. Global Change Research Program has invested almost $20 billion in the areas of climate change and global change research. As we speak, more and more corporations are jumping into the foray to get access to specialists who can help them anticipate and mitigate the business impact of climate change.

The field is relatively new – not just as a course of study, but also as a career path. However, one can find many related environmental services jobs, drawn from diverse disciplines such as meteorology, geology and engineering. Companies are in a lookout for environmentally-savvy managers who can deliver energy efficiency, low carbon emission, smart buildings as well as sustainable business practices. Many of these corporations are willing to pay a premium to get out in front of the macro trend. Most of the current entry-level jobs demands academic qualifications like a bachelor’s degree in engineering or environmental fields or even a science-related graduate degree. If you can mix environmental management with a business degree, there is a lot of scope.

If you’re prospecting for work, bear in mind that there’s no environmental job gold rush yet but if you are the type to plan ahead, this is a career path destined for important things.

KG Basin – Hopes Afloat

The Krishna – Godavari basin spans across the coastal districts of East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. The basin is currently the hot spot for the Indian oil and gas industry. Three oil and gas majors – Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) have discovered gas, with some oil, in three different blocks in the KG basin. Men in orange overalls are engaged in a different kind of activity in the area – exploring for hydrocarbons, drilling as well as production testing.

Reliance India Limited – the biggest private sector petroleum company in India is planning to spend $12 billion on producing and transporting the gas across the country while ONGC has announced $3 billion investment in the area which is expected to be raised up to $10 billion later.

With a combined investment of over $30 billion as reported, the KG basin is viewed as an answer to the country’s gas deficit. The basin is expected to produce 120 million cubic meters of gas per day – about four times the gas the country would have received from Iran through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. Besides, the KG basin gas is likely to be 30 per cent cheaper. Many opine that the KG Basin will wipe out India’s gas deficit, halve the power deficit and change the fortunes of fertilizer companies.

Reliance Industries have commenced oil production from its D6 well in the Krishna Godavari basin last week and plans to release gas from the well by January 2009. According to the chairman of the group Mukesh Ambani, “This will account for 40% of the country's current hydrocarbon production”.

Whenever the gas becomes available, it will have a huge impact on the country’s fertilizer and power companies. Power and fertilizer plants, which consume 70 per cent of the gas available in the country, hope that the gas will allow them to operate at full capacity from the rate of 50-60% of their total capacity. Once all the gas from the KG basin begins to flow, perhaps after 2013, it can add at least 10,000 Mw to the country’s power output! That is more than half the country’s current peak power deficit.

Riggers: Drilling for Black Gold

How do you feel about a career that takes you to all corners of the world?
A job under the big blue sky?
A job where you work only for six months in a year?
A job that gives you the opportunity to meet and live with people from all around the world as one big family?

That's exactly the life of an average oil rig worker – a job with lots of travel, adventure and a sense of immense satisfaction. After all, drilling out petroleum to keep the world running is one of the most important jobs on the planet. The importance is reflected in their pay-check as well!

A rig worker’s job is to drill deep into the earth and extract oil once Geologists find them. Huge driller at the rig’s platform is used to drill deep into the earth at an incredible rate. Drilling sites can be both onshore of offshore. Oil reserves are widely distributed throughout the world – from vast snow covered landscapes in Canada to arid deserts in the Middle East, from dense African forests to deep inside an ocean's bed. A rig worker has to be always ready to go to places wherever oil is. Much like the adventurous army life without the killings

The job has its share of danger too. Sometimes, oil may flow out in an unexpected way creating problems for everyone at the rig. But then again, what is an adventure without the element of risk? This is a job where everyday is a new day, everyday you get to learn something new or find a new way to make things work better.

A career as an oil rig worker is apt for those who seek a life beyond the comforts of a cubicle. If you are looking for a challenging yet satisfying job in the great outdoors, oil rig is the place to be.

Getting Started

Energy @ Work takes a fresh look at the energy ecosystem from a different point of view – the perspective of the people associated with the industry (Oil & Gas, Power, and Renewable) and of those who are likely to be a part of it in the future.

We live and play at the intersection of the vital stakeholders who fuel the energy sector – corporate, academic institutions, professionals and students. As a team of energy enthusiasts, we will be delving into the various facets & aspects of the industry – technology, economics, career, lifestyle, environment, politics as well as many off track news and events as and when they occur.

Most importantly we will be talking about issues surrounding working and growing in this sector. We encourage you to participate, share and engage with us in dialogues that can help in building these synergies.