In the last couple of weeks, there has been a bit of an uptake in the number of upstream roles being advertised on social media, even in the G&G domain. A good example of this is the recruitment drive OKEA has embarked on, with two positions in geoscience on offer.
Is this part of a trend, or just a coincidence?
We asked Peter Bottomley from Subsurface Global for a quick view on the job market in the wider North Sea area. He confirmed that the market looks a bit better, but at the same time he admitted that it is still very much focused on contract work rather than permanent roles.
Also, the uptick is mainly seen in the reservoir and petroleum engineering side of the business, including geomodellers, with exploration still being depressed.
Good news for Stavanger and Aberdeen
This is good news for places like Stavanger and Aberdeen, where companies are working of field developments or re-developments. But the smaller players that dominate the London oil and gas landscape, companies that are mainly active further afield in attempts to work up prospects in less mature areas, are still cautious in hiring people again.
This situation – where it is the engineering roles that are being recruited for first – could also be seen when confidence returned following the 2014 crash. Is it a matter of time until more geoscience roles are being advertised as well? Maybe, maybe not.
Whilst there will always be some demand for G&G roles as long as there is an oil and gas industry, it is probably fair to say that the market will not return to levels seen back in the days. As the North Sea matures further, demand for geoscientists – especially the explorationists – will gradually diminish. In that sense, it would be surprising to see a sudden rise in exploration roles.
On top of that comes the insecurity with regards to securing investment and licences, as Peter Bottomly also noted. This is especially the case in the UK; if operators struggle to get FDP approval for existing discoveries over the line, the picture for greenfield exploration looks even more uncertain.
In the meantime, the exploration geoscientists lucky enough to land a job with OKEA will have the challenging but potentially rewarding task to come up with some good prospects to drill following the Jerv, Ilder and Ginny dry holes!
HENK KOMBRINK