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.