Getting Serious about Ex-Military Recruitment

As many Western countries downsize their military forces in response to geopolitical trends and, more commonly, a reduction of military budgets, thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen are facing tough times amid high levels of unemployment. But while the military in these countries is scaling down, the oil and gas industry is seeing an opportunity to fill gaps in their own workforces.

Now, it appears that governments are looking to take a more active role in channeling former servicemen and women with a variety of skills into the oil and gas industry. In the UK, for example, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills last month announced a national program to retrain ex-military personnel for the oil and gas industry in a bid to help the sector find the additional 15,000 staff it will need over the next five years.

The initiative is still in its early days, as Rigzone found out when it contacted the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The department appeared to have little idea about how the national program will look. However, a key organization tasked with bringing about the program is trade body Oil & Gas UK, whose Employment and Skills Issues Manager Dr. Alix Thom filled in a few of the details for us.

First up, Thom pointed out that the UK oil and gas sector has for a long time recruited personnel from the ranks of the military.

"I did it myself 20 years ago when I worked at Wood Group," she said. "But that's a few big companies that can manage the process themselves and in relatively small numbers over time."

For example, one big company involved in the oil and gas sector that has formalized its approach to recruiting ex-military personnel is GE Oil & Gas, which holds career fairs aimed at the military and also has what it calls a Junior Officers Leadership Program designed to prepare young officers for life working within a corporation. Rod Christie, head of GE Oil & Gas' Subsea Systems business, explained this in more detail in an interview with Rigzone published in February.

But a comprehensive and nationwide approach to finding suitable ex-military people with the skills to work in the UK oil and gas sector would help both large and small companies fill gaps in their workforces.

"We [Oil and Gas UK] are now linked to the Ministry of Defence [MoD] at the highest level with its people who are responsible throughout the UK for finding employment for ex-services personnel. And one of the things we weren't aware of, until we made this connection, was that in any normal year there are between 18,000 and 20,000 armed services leavers. And that's without any spikes when there's a cut announced," Thom said.

"So, there's a huge potential resource there, but we're absolutely realistic. We're not going to find 15,000 people who are going to fit our industry. We're not going to find a lot of geologists or drilling engineers, or whatever, but there will be quite a number of people in the military who we think have skills and qualifications that are transferable to our industry."

Thom explained that with this support at national level we are able to then develop a suite of tools that the oil and gas industry can use to best select former members of the armed services.

"For example, there's an exercise being done at the moment to map the skills of oil and gas jobs, while people on the military side are doing the same for military jobs, so that we can prepare and understand the skills that, say, someone with a specific job title in the army has," she said.

"Because if you look at the CV, quite often there is a lot of language in there that recruiters won't understand. This is a bit of work being done at national level beforehand that will facilitate recruitment in greater numbers and identify the transferable skills more easily.

This will help Oil & Gas UK and in particular OPITO, the training body that Oil & Gas UK is working with, to develop specific transition training courses.

Last July, Rigzone reported that OPITO has already made forays into the activity of retraining former military personnel for oil and gas roles. For example, for a few years now OPITO has been piloting its "Transformation Training" concept – a 12-week program that takes a competence-based approach to upskilling workers who have gained knowledge and experience in other sectors. One of these OPITO courses was carried out at Aberdeen College, specifically focusing on training ex-Royal Air Force personnel who had been made redundant after the closure of Scottish RAF bases.

Oil & Gas UK is also working with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) – the UK's official provider of resettlement of demobbed personnel from the country's armed services. Thom explained that the CTP is already involved on a localized level, particularly in Scotland, with channeling ex-military people into oil and gas jobs.

"But in other parts of the country that knowledge and connection doesn't exist. So now that we're at national level, we can access the whole UK network of careers consultants at the Careers Transitions Partnership," she added.

Thom pointed out that the armed services could be a source of technicians, such as mechanics and electricians from the RAF, Navy and the engineering regiments of HM Army. Meanwhile, she said that submariners are currently in demand for certain kinds of subsea work.

"And Logistics is an area where we expect to find quite rich pickings. So, there's a whole suite of roles," she said.

"But our key, and most difficult, area to fill is engineering. So that would be our prize."

It is still in its early days, but if the UK gets it right, the partnership between UK Oil & Gas, OPITO, the MoD and the CTP could provide a template for how other countries scaling down their armed forces might go about finding roles for ex-military personnel within their own oil and gas sectors.

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here

BLM Colorado: Public Has No Need to Know About Public Lands, Public Monies, Public Employees

Cross-posted from ColoradoPols

In a show of arrogance that has become too typical of the Colorado State Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the agency is ignoring a Federal judge, media requests, stakeholders, and the public in denying public information about public activities on the public lands, according to the Durango Herald:

“This isn’t a widespread issue of public concern. It is primarily press that are concerned about oil and gas leasing and activists that are opposed to oil and gas leasing.”

The state ‘Communications Director’, one might assume, has the job as a public employee working on public lands issues and spending public monies, of informing the public and managing media relations.  The ‘press’ and public are–this common-sense assumption goes–the PRIMARY purpose of his receiving a Federal salary as a taxpayer-funded public employee.

But apparently not for BLM Colorado–where public information is no such thing, and the public and media are merely distractions from what ever other self-determined more important things, like defending illegal agency actions perhaps, or intentionally seeking to divide communities.

Colorado’s North Fork Standing Up

This particular matter has its roots in the BLM Colorado State Office’s reckless oil and gas leasing policy that willfully ignores local communities, other federal agencies, state wildlife officials, local businesses and the public, to lease whatever public lands secret industry representatives nominate.  This is despite Colorado having the oldest land use plans in the Mountain West, many dating back to the 1980s–like that that governs the public lands in the North Fork–most of which fail completely to properly account for, describe, consider or protect the resources and uses that exist or depend upon these lands today.

Citizens for a Healthy Community–a Delta County based conservation group–partnered with the Western Environmental Law Center to file lawsuit seeking the names of the nominators who put forward the contentious leases in that valley.  They won that suit.

Here is what the judge wrote:

“Competition in bidding advances the purpose of getting a fair price for a lease of publicly owned minerals,” Matsch wrote. “Moreover, the identity of the submitter may be relevant to the plaintiff and others who may raise concerns about the stewardship records of that potential owner, a factor relevant to the environmental impact of the proposed sale.”

So, a Federal judge acknowledges that sharing information on public lands and public minerals is in the public interest and orders the public employees at a public agency to release that (public) information.

And the senior staff at BLM Colorado Office responds, to paraphrase: Make us (again).

Following the judge’s decision and the BLM Colorado’s clear loss in court, others–including the Durango Herald–have now sought identical information regarding contentious leases in their communities.  Such as those surrounding Mesa Verde National Park opposed by the BLM’s own sister agency in the Department of Interior, the National Park Service.

Now, the Colorado State Office of the BLM, our public employees spending our public monies to manage our public lands and minerals, is refusing to release that information. Again.  Because, apparently its Communications Director has better things to do than communicate.

Maybe like spending more time in court defending the indefensible, losing more lawsuits, and greasing the skids for oil and gas in violation of what the Federal courts have found to be in the public’s interest.

View the original article here

Eni CEO Cautiously Optimistic about Zubair Field

MILAN - Eni SpA's chief executive says he is cautiously optimistic about the further development of the Zubair oil field in Iraq, given how it is taking longer than expected.

"We entered the Zubair project with a lot of enthusiasm and the conviction that, in time, the situation of the country would have normalized. But things are going more slowly than expected and we ask ourselves if the effort...that we are putting into it is adequately remunerated," Paolo Scaroni is quoted as saying in an interview published Monday in Italian newspaper la Repubblica.

"We have spoken of the problem, which is not just ours, to the Baghdad authorities and opened a dialogue from which we have perceived some positive signals and for which we are cautiously optimistic."

Since winning a 20-year service contract in 2009, Eni is leading a group to develop the field, which is producing about 300,000 barrels per day and is expected to increase it to 1.125 million barrels in 2016.

In Venezuela, where production at the Jumin 5 field in the Orinoco region has begun, Mr. Scaroni says Eni will build a plant next year to lighten the extracted crude in order to make it easier to sell.

"Relations are good and I don't see any reason for them to change," he says, in reference to the likely political developments in the country following the death of the country's leader Hugo Chavez.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here

Russian Tycoons Sound Out Ex-BP Chiefs about Oil Deals

Representatives of the Alfa Group, set to earn billions of dollars from the sale of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP, have sounded out former BP CEOs John Browne and Tony Hayward about investing jointly in international oil projects, Reuters reported on its website Wednesday.

German Khan, one of four Russian businessmen who shared control of TNK-BP with BP PLC for a decade, met Mr. Browne and Mr. Hayward and other potential deal partners in London last month, Reuters cited sources familiar with the discussions as saying.

Mr. Khan effectively heads TNK-BP and is Mikhail Fridman's partner in the Alfa Group consortium.

The Alfa-Access-Renova consortium will receive cash of $28 billion for selling their one-half stake in TNK-BP to Russian state-owned oil company OAO Rosneft.

Alfa will get half of that and wants to reinvest much of the money in oil and gas, as well as in telecoms, the sources said in the report.

The other two partners in AAR, mining tycoon Viktor Vekselberg of the Renova Group and Len Blavatnik of Access Industries, are likely to bow out and focus on other ventures and charity work, sources close to TNK-BP and AAR said.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here

Russian Tycoons Sound Out Ex-BP Chiefs about Oil Deals

Representatives of the Alfa Group, set to earn billions of dollars from the sale of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP, have sounded out former BP CEOs John Browne and Tony Hayward about investing jointly in international oil projects, Reuters reported on its website Wednesday.

German Khan, one of four Russian businessmen who shared control of TNK-BP with BP PLC for a decade, met Mr. Browne and Mr. Hayward and other potential deal partners in London last month, Reuters cited sources familiar with the discussions as saying.

Mr. Khan effectively heads TNK-BP and is Mikhail Fridman's partner in the Alfa Group consortium.

The Alfa-Access-Renova consortium will receive cash of $28 billion for selling their one-half stake in TNK-BP to Russian state-owned oil company OAO Rosneft.

Alfa will get half of that and wants to reinvest much of the money in oil and gas, as well as in telecoms, the sources said in the report.

The other two partners in AAR, mining tycoon Viktor Vekselberg of the Renova Group and Len Blavatnik of Access Industries, are likely to bow out and focus on other ventures and charity work, sources close to TNK-BP and AAR said.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here

Anadarko Has Talked With Exxon, Shell about Mozambique Gas Stake

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has held early-stage talks with energy companies Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC about selling a share of the U.S. oil firm's massive natural gas discoveries off the coast of Mozambique, a senior government official in the country said Thursday.

The discovery of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas offshore Mozambique by Anadarko and Italy's Eni SpA has piqued the interest of some of the world's leading energy companies, which are keen to get a foothold in an area well placed to serve energy-hungry Asian export markets.

Anadarko, an oil and gas exploration company based outside Houston, has said it wants to sell up to 10% of its share of the energy trove.

"We know of Shell speaking to Anadarko, and of talks with ExxonMobil," said the Mozambique official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said, however, that Anadarko's talks with the companies so far hadn't brought firm offers as this would have been communicated to the government.

Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen declined to say which potential buyers Anadarko was talking to.

"We've had a lot of interest from a lot of players--a lot of the majors are very interested," he added.

Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said: "We don't comment on potential business opportunities."

Shell declined to comment.

"They don't have to tell us which type of discussions; only when it is at a very, very advanced stage do they come to the government and see if we agree," said the Mozambique official. "We have always said a deal will be acceptable if the buyer satisfies the technical and financial requirements, that is all. It is up to the seller to decide."

While Anadarko and Eni have said they want to retain a share in the finds, both firms have sought out investors to allow them to bank some early profits and defray some of the costs of developing a giant liquefied natural gas plant to cool and ship the gas to Asia.

Eni Thursday announced a deal worth $4.21 billion to sell a 20% stake in its field to Chinese state-owned oil company China National Petroleum Corp.

Although Anadarko and Eni agreed in December to jointly develop an LNG plant, neither has extensive experience with building and operating LNG plants, which can cost up to 10s of billions of dollars. By contrast, Exxon and Shell are two of the world's leading LNG investors and shippers.

"Anadarko wants someone with LNG expertise," said the official.

For Shell, buying into Anadarko's license area would be its second attempt at getting a position in Mozambique. Last year, the Anglo-Dutch energy company was outbid by Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production, which snapped up Anadarko's junior partner in the field, London-listed Cove Energy, for $1.9 billion.

Ben Lefebvre in Houston contributed to this report.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here

Anadarko Has Talked With Exxon, Shell about Mozambique Gas Stake

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has held early-stage talks with energy companies Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC about selling a share of the U.S. oil firm's massive natural gas discoveries off the coast of Mozambique, a senior government official in the country said Thursday.

The discovery of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas offshore Mozambique by Anadarko and Italy's Eni SpA has piqued the interest of some of the world's leading energy companies, which are keen to get a foothold in an area well placed to serve energy-hungry Asian export markets.

Anadarko, an oil and gas exploration company based outside Houston, has said it wants to sell up to 10% of its share of the energy trove.

"We know of Shell speaking to Anadarko, and of talks with ExxonMobil," said the Mozambique official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said, however, that Anadarko's talks with the companies so far hadn't brought firm offers as this would have been communicated to the government.

Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen declined to say which potential buyers Anadarko was talking to.

"We've had a lot of interest from a lot of players--a lot of the majors are very interested," he added.

Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said: "We don't comment on potential business opportunities."

Shell declined to comment.

"They don't have to tell us which type of discussions; only when it is at a very, very advanced stage do they come to the government and see if we agree," said the Mozambique official. "We have always said a deal will be acceptable if the buyer satisfies the technical and financial requirements, that is all. It is up to the seller to decide."

While Anadarko and Eni have said they want to retain a share in the finds, both firms have sought out investors to allow them to bank some early profits and defray some of the costs of developing a giant liquefied natural gas plant to cool and ship the gas to Asia.

Eni Thursday announced a deal worth $4.21 billion to sell a 20% stake in its field to Chinese state-owned oil company China National Petroleum Corp.

Although Anadarko and Eni agreed in December to jointly develop an LNG plant, neither has extensive experience with building and operating LNG plants, which can cost up to 10s of billions of dollars. By contrast, Exxon and Shell are two of the world's leading LNG investors and shippers.

"Anadarko wants someone with LNG expertise," said the official.

For Shell, buying into Anadarko's license area would be its second attempt at getting a position in Mozambique. Last year, the Anglo-Dutch energy company was outbid by Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production, which snapped up Anadarko's junior partner in the field, London-listed Cove Energy, for $1.9 billion.

Ben Lefebvre in Houston contributed to this report.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here

Your Questions About Oil Rig Jobs

How can I get a Job on an oil rig?

Just wondering if anyone here who has ACTUALLY WORKED on an oil rig has any suggestions. I have no prior experience. took a training course for doing this type of work, got like 12 certs. Still no one seems to be willing to hire anyone without prior experience. Seems at some point they would need to take a chance and hire someone without prior experience as current workers will get old and retire. I have been applying for floorhand positions online. have been to general job boards and industry specific job boards like rigzone.com… although last time i was on rigzone, they wouldn’t even let me create a profile without prior experience…figures.

Also I have seen all those “agencies” that you pay money to and they send your resume out to drilling contractors. Not sure if i’m buying that, as most of those types of sites are just looking to make a quick buck and send your resume to places you could probably find on the job boards…..has anyone used any of those succesfully?

any ideas on how to get my foot in the door? I am open to working on or off shore, lowest starting position, any work schedual, any where in the world.

View the Original article

Your Questions About Us Oil Production

Are the GOP plans to increase domestic oil production really about energy security? Or making money?

Those on the Right seem rather cool to the idea of nationalizing the US oil industry; even if they admit that private industry has no interest or obligation in doing right by its host society.
So is it about enegy security? Or making tons of dough while oil is high and can only go higher?

View the Original article

Denver area can expect a White Christmas, with about 3 inches of snow

Font ResizeBusinessBy John Mossman
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/22/2012 08:54:27 PM MSTDecember 23, 2012 3:59 AM GMTUpdated: 12/22/2012 08:59:42 PM MST
Colorado Weather

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Aviation Industry to FAA: Forget About Privacy

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Tweet Posted on Dec 22, 2012 The U.S. Army (CC BY 2.0)

Last month, aviation industry executives asked the FAA to disregard concerns about civilian privacy when it comes to the potential future use of drones in domestic airspace.

“We… recognize that the FAA has a number of initiatives underway supporting the integration of UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] into the NAS [national air space], and appreciate your recent comments that a number of challenges remain in this area,” a Nov. 8 letter from industry representatives to acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said. “It is our belief that for FAA to succeed, the agency must remain focused on safety rather than privacy issues, where the FAA has no statutory standing or technical expertise.” The letter was signed by the leaders of 20 industry interest groups, including the Aerospace Industries Association, the Air Traffic Control Association and Airlines for America.

What’s going on here? The assembled voices in favor of domestic drone use—all of whom stand to profit from the sale of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to police forces, government agencies and private corporations after the deregulation of national airspace—appear to be attempting to quash the question of privacy. Although a glance at the Federal Aviation Administration’s responsibilities reveals no explicit mention of the issue, the authors don’t say which government office should take responsibility for it. They seem to want to make the matter disappear from public discussion altogether.

The letter is a reaction to Rep. Ed Markey’s Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act, a recently introduced bill that calls for the FAA to conduct a study on the privacy implications of domestic drone use. The Massachusetts Democrat’s legislation would also require drone operators to make records of the information they collect that could be used to identify individuals and demonstrate how they would minimize the gathering of such information that is not directly related to a criminal investigation.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

Rotor:

Additionally, as a goal the FAA should ensure that the introduction of UAS into the NAS not limit access to airspace or require modifications to the existing fleet of aircraft flying in the NAS beyond what is already currently anticipated to accommodate NextGen. The importance of airspace access cannot be overstated and FAA must aggressively protect its preeminent role as manager of the national airspace system. Lastly, it is important that the FAA ensure that the focus on UAS integration does not hinder agency progress on areas like certification of civil aircraft, repair stations, or operators where delays are already too commonplace or program improvements are lagging.

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French Actor’s Tax Move Sparks Debate About Patriotism and Greed

French Actor’s Tax Move Sparks Debate About Patriotism and Greed -Truthdig .column > div, .eartotheground > div, .uncovered > div, .report > div, .interview > div, .arts_culture > div, .avbooth > div, .dig > div, .cartoon > div, .podcast > div, .margin {padding: 10px 10px 20px 10px;margin: 0 0 0 0px;border-bottom: 1px dashed #999999;}/*\*//*/ @import "http://www.truthdig.com/?css=home/site_styles_mac.v.1314771156";/**/body div#share_footer {margin-bottom: 30px;}body div#instory_newsletter_signup {margin-top: 30px;}.nav {font-size:90%;} December 22, 2012
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  French Actor’s Tax Move Sparks Debate About Patriotism and Greed Email    Print    Share

Tweet Posted on Dec 22, 2012 Luca Ciriani (CC BY-ND 2.0)

“I am leaving because you believe that success, creation, talent, anything different must be sanctioned,” Depardieu said of the increase.

Gerard Depardieu’s blustery renunciation of his French citizenship for the purpose of avoiding a tax increase imposed to combat the fiscal crisis has exposed a bitter division in the French populace that includes some of its most famous citizens.

As a symbol of French cinema, Depardieu’s departure has provoked an emotional response both from those who support and oppose his decision. Jerome Fourquet, a pollster for the marketing firm Ifop, said a survey last week showed that the French public “was divided over whether the actor was a victim or a villain,” and “that the reactions were ‘complex,’ ” reported The Guardian.

“A small majority, 54%, think the government’s fiscal policies are too tough and are encouraging people to leave the country, and 40% sympathise with Depardieu. At the same time, 35% told us they were shocked by his leaving, so it’s not clear cut,” he said.

French President Francois Hollande’s recovery plan includes a 75 percent tax on incomes over $1.3 million. View a graphic showing the moves of France’s other “fiscal refugees” here.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

The Guardian:

The prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, described the move as “shabby”, provoking a furious response from Depardieu (“who are you calling shabby?”), and from Philippe Torreton, a leftwing, César-winning actor who lambasted his colleague in the pages of Libération. In the article, published last week, Torreton, 47, wrote: “You no longer want to be French? You are leaving the French boat in the middle of a storm? Did you think we would approve? What did you expect? A medal? An honorary César from the finance ministry?

“The prime minister considers your behaviour shabby, but you, you consider it what? Heroic? Civic? Altruistic? Tell us. We would like to know.”

Singer Michel Sardou, 67, declared himself on the side of the patriots and warned Depardieu that he would be “as bored as a rat” in Belgium. “So there is some divine justice,” he joked, adding: “If I said, ‘Guys, now you’re in the shit. Excuse me but I’m taking my dosh and getting out of here’, I couldn’t look myself in the face.”

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