Working in the oil and gas industry

Extracting oil and gas offshore is a complicated process carried out in a harsh environment. There are 200 offshore installations, ranging from large structures standing on the sea bed, where up to 300 people may work, to smaller floating production facilities, which may employ as few as 30. Some 20,000 people work offshore and another 360,000 work onshore in 6,000 UK companies. This article focuses on oil and gas employment in the UK.

The way the industry operates is changing as a result of new contracting practices and the move towards operating offshore fields with fewer personnel. There is, however, a steady demand for suitably qualified and motivated people for the foreseeable future.

Once ashore, the oil and gas needs to be distributed to users, storage and delivery systems need to be built and maintained, and appliances require installation and servicing. Oil is pumped to refineries where it is separated into different grades, and then transported by pipeline and tankers to power stations, factories, petrol stations and private houses.

Gas from about 100 fields is delivered to six beach terminals. It is checked for quality and energy content, and then enters a 160,000-mile pipeline system that delivers it to either a commercial or a private customer. Complex arrangements govern the buying and selling of gas, and its storage.

The oil and gas industry and the Services
There is no direct relationship between the oil and gas industry and the Armed Forces; nevertheless many of the skills required and valued by employers are taught and practised by a number of people in the Services. Generalist skills - such as supervisory management, project management and administration - are wanted, as are all manner of specialists like engineers, divers and cooks. There are also fuel specialists in units, and a few people highly trained in fuel technology.

Working in the oil and gas industry
Working offshore
Working offshore involves two or three weeks on a rig or installation, followed by equal time at home. Everyone works shifts, normally of 12 hours' duration. They work close to others in places where there is little space to get away on their own. Conditions are noisy and dirty; work is outdoors, and involves lifting and carrying heavy weights and working with powerful machinery.

Jobs include the following.

Searching
Geologists locate possible sites and calculate how much oil is there
Geophysicists map the substructure

Exploration
Mud loggers (geologists) analyse mud, fluid and debris from an exploratory drilling
Reservoir engineers assess oil reserves and drilling sites

Drilling
Roustabouts are offshore unskilled manual labourers
Roughnecks/floormen carry out the drilling operation under supervision
Derrickmen work above the rig, handling the drill pipe sections
Assistant drillers co-ordinate the activities on the drill floor
Drillers control the drilling team
Toolpushers oversee the whole operation
Rig superintendents are responsible for the operation
Drilling engineers order the drilling programme

Well services
Operations supervisors oversee the well crew's activities
Wireline operators maintain the well and the tools
Coiled tubing operators use a tube to pump fluids into the well

Production
Production engineers monitor wells and check efficiency
Production operators manage the flow of oil
Control room operators manage the equipment that reports on production

General operations
Offshore installation managers are responsible for offshore operations
Radio operators control movement and communications
Crane operators load and unload cargo
Caterers feed and water the crews
Stewards maintain and clean accommodation
Divers inspect and maintain subsea structures, often using remote equipment
Medics deal with minor complaints and major injuries
Storemen order and hold equipment and supplies

Business support
This includes accounting, legal, IT and administration

Entry requirements for the industry
Minimum age of 18, but the preferred range is 21-30
Minimum height of 1.63 metres (5ft 5in)
Physical fitness
Not colour blind (for some jobs)
Relevant employment experience (if possible) and good Services work record

Competition for jobs offshore is fierce; relevant skills and experience are valued, with ex-Forces people often highly employable.

The industry is one of the largest employers of divers. Diving also requires life support technicians to manage and control all aspects of a diver's well-being in a decompression chamber between or after dives. ROV technicians man two types of ROV: work and inspection.

Working onshore
Work onshore encompasses a wide range of activities. Scientists and technicians work to produce improved fuels and more efficient energy, while engineers and construction workers build and maintain the plant and pipelines.

Energy supply is governed by complex and sophisticated ICT systems, so technicians, programmers, designers and trouble-shooters are involved. Transporting bulk fuels by road demands specialist transport, licences and safety qualifications. Liquid fuels are commonly sold to the consumer at petrol stations, which are increasingly becoming shops as well. Jobs in gas include laying mains supplies, plumbing, and appliance installation, inspection and maintenance.

Training and development
Cogent is the new Sector Skills Council for the oil and gas extraction, chemicals manufacturing and petroleum industries, having taken over from the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) and the Petroleum Industry National Training Organisation (PINTO). It is still engineering its new role but is the authority to which people wishing to work in the industry should turn.

Offshore
Careers are now broadly based in the industry rather than with individual companies. All workers must complete fire, emergency and survival training. A basic rig crew course, covering drilling operations and roustabout/roughneck skills is highly recommended.

The industry needs mechanical, electrical and instrumentation technicians, together with process operators and people who can operate facilities like power generation and transportation of bulk liquids and gases. People with degrees in geology, engineering and logistics, and experience in project management are highly prized.

Degrees enable entry into the industry on a graduate training scheme. A-levels or equivalent are required to enter as a technician, while GCSEs or equivalent provide a start at craft level.

All installations and rigs require people with materials handling skills particularly heavy equipment to include riggers and slingers and crane operators. NVQs/SVQs at Levels 1 to 3 can be gained in Drilling Operations/Offshore but, otherwise, it is largely experience and reputation that matter.

The Vantage personal passport will provide a record of every offshore worker; including survival training, medical examinations, employment history, and skills and competencies. Employers will have a record they can trust, and workers will avoid training duplication.

Onshore
Cogent has developed NVQs/SVQs in:
bulk liquid warehousing
forecourt operations
lubricants plant operation
meter proving
refinery field operations
refinery control room operations
transporting goods by road.
It has also introduced a Contractor Passport Scheme into the retail sector to improve awareness of Health & Safety rules for working on forecourts and generally at service stations.

The Gas and Water Industry National Training Organisation is developing a set of occupational standards and qualifications for people involved in mains laying and service laying. It is hoped that the qualifications that result will be as common as possible across the industries concerned to enable workers to have freedom of employment in the entire sector.

Anyone working on gas appliances or fittings as a business must be competent and registered with the Council of Registered Gas Installers (CORGI). Competency can be proved under the Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS). CORGI provides a route to ACS through a distance learning programme. ACS has a two-day core domestic gas safety assessment and a number of appliance assessments that take half a day each. A competent student should take five days to pass the full domestic suite of qualifications.

Useful contacts
International Marine Contractors Association, Carlyle House, 235 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ Tel: 020 7931 8171 Fax: 020 7931 8935 Website: www.imca-int.com

Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7AR Tel: 020 7467 7100 Fax: 020 7255 1472 Website: www.petroleum.co.uk

Transco, 31 Homer Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3LT Tel: 0121 626 4431 Fax: 0121 711 2568 Website: www.transco.uk.com

Cogent SSC Ltd
London office: Monticello House, 45 Russell Square, London WC1B 4JP Tel: 020 7637 9533 Fax: 020 7291 6129 Website: www.cogent-ssc.com
Aberdeen office: Minerva House, Bruntland Road, Portlethen, Aberdeen AB12 4QL Tel: 01224 787800 Fax: 01224 787830

Gas and Water Industry National Training Organisation, The Business Centre, Edward Street, Redditch, Worcestershire B97 6HA Tel: 01527 584848 Fax: 01527 69802 E-mail: enquiries@gwinto.co.uk Website: www.gwinto.co.uk

Council of Registered Gas Installers, 1 Elmwood, Chineham Business Park, Crockford Lane, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 8WG Tel: 01256 372200 Fax: 01256 708144 Website: www.corgi-gas.com

This article has focused on employment opportunities specific to the oil and gas industries. However, there are a number of other functions in these industries that also provide jobs. These include maintenance and administration, driving, catering, security, call centres, IT and communications.

Many of the skills required and valued by employers are taught and practised by a number of people in the ServicesRelevant skills and experience are valued, with ex-Forces people often highly employablePeople with degrees in geology, engineering and logistics, and experience in project management are highly prized