Too Many Grey Hairs, Not Enough Young Guns

Here’s an interesting conundrum for you: Recently, several of the larger exploration companies have restructured (yet again) and ‘let go’ a significant number of employees. Now, a short time later, we note that they are trying to fill the gaps they have created and can’t seem to find enough people, despite the streets being awash with the under-employed. So, what is going on here?

Perhaps a recent conversation I had with a (similarly grey-haired) manager may shed some light: He was bemoaning the fact that he couldn’t find enough explorationists, particularly geophysicists, to fill his vacant positions. I found this odd as I know of several colleagues who have been less than fully employed in recent times and have even been looking for work offshore.

It seems that part of the problem, at least, stems from management attitudes to us ‘more mature’ professionals: The first issue is that companies are commonly reluctant to re-hire employees whom they have previously laid off – even though the parting of the ways may have been through no fault of the employee. Of course, invariably many of those who are laid off have significant experience behind them and consequently end up as consultants. At the same time, there has been a noticeable shift towards extracting maximum information from the available technical data, fuelled by the ready availability of large 3D seismic volumes and comprehensive attribute analysis software packages. These days even the smaller companies are waving around seismic lines with ‘direct indications of oil’ on them (and no, apparently not from the olive they had in their martini at lunchtime).

This attribute analysis invariably requires the services of people with specialist QI skills and intimate familiarity with the latest software packages. (QI refers to quantitative interpretation – in which the actual digital data values are interpreted, rather than the patterns of the wiggles). Of course, most of the older geophysicists don’t possess that sort of background, having completed their education before computers were invented! To make matters worse, consultants are commonly hired for their recognised expertise in a particular area, and no-one would ever think of providing them with training in another area – no-one wastes money on training for consultants (including the consultants themselves). Consequently, as time goes by, the consultants’ skills fall further and further behind those of the younger members of staff.

As a result, we are hurtling towards a situation where the older explorationists fade away and leave the industry, only to be replaced by younger employees with highly developed software analysis skills. The problem is, many of the new guys have never even seen a rock outcrop or a seismic crew, let alone worked on one; they may be able to analyse a slab of data to death, but do they know which slab of data to collect in the first place?

Where is all this leading? I suspect we will end up drilling a lot more (dry) holes in the wrong place – but we’ll be able to describe them in 20 different ways.

Anyway, while you contemplate which course to enrol in, have a look at this edition of PESA News.

PESA Awards

As another year passes, PESA acknowledges two industry stalwarts who have put considerable effort into the society: Peter Baillie and Ian Grierson.

APPEA Awards

Talking of awards, at the recent APPEA conference the awards being handed out were plentiful, from the Lewis Weeks medal through to the annual safety and environment awards.

Book Review

Yet another book review from our ‘resident’ reviewer Paul Bouloudas. In this review Paul takes a colourful look at how the communi-cations revolution is changing our lives.

Committees

Each year, in the June/July edition, we list those lucky souls who have put their hands up and won election to represent the members on the state and federal committees. If you have any issues that you want your branch to take up on your behalf, then look to see whose ear you can bend.

Apache: Built to Last

Apache’s Eve Howell and Jim Bass reflect on the company’s 50 year history, reviewing the various directions taken over this period, how it has remained independent; and what the future holds, particularly in Australia.

Merlin

Flying in to the local industry with big expectations is Merlin Petroleum Ltd. Chairman Jock McGregor and Managing Director John Heugh elaborate on their short and medium-term plans.

Words

In this edition of his popular column, Words, Peter Purcell takes us back to the basics of punctuation with his review of the recently released book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Apparently, a good bit of punctuation at bedtime still stirs the imagination: although only released last November in the UK, the book had sold over 500,000 copies by December. It was Number 1 on the official UK book-selling list and Number 1 at online bookshop Amazon. It was sold-out Australia-wide by mid-December.