Exploring Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry

Exploring Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry Chad Ferguson – Exploration Geologist @ BHP Billiton Petroleum UC Geology Career Days - 2014

What does an O&G Career Look Like for a Geoscientist? • Make a good living working in the ‘subsurface’ (i. e. , doing geology!) • Lots of opportunity once you get your foot in the door, but can be difficult to access • Professional, high-tech work environment with lots of perks • Types of roles/opportunities depend on your skill set, level of education, and the type of company/organization

Types of Companies/Organizations • The ‘Majors’ – Exxon, Shell, BP, Chevron, Total (and a few almost majors); aka, IOC’s • Independents – Conoco. Phillips, Marathon, BHPBilliton, Oxy, Chesapeake, etc. • Small-Shops • NOC’s – Petrobras, Pemex, Saudi Aramco, etc. • Regulatory – BOEM/BSEE • Service Industry – Schlumberger, Haliburton, Baker. Hughes, Weatherford, PGS, TGS, CGGV, Western. Geco, Ion. GXT, PSI, Core. Lab, etc. • Finance – Investment Banks, M&A

Role Examples for Geoscientists • • • • Geologist Geophysicist Petroleum Systems Analyst/Basin Modelers Structural Geology Specialist Biostratigrapher Sedimentologist/Stratigrapher/Rock Quality Specialist Petrophysicist Pore-Pressure Specialist Shallow Hazards Specialist Processing/Imaging/Acquisition Geophysicist Geomechanicist Geo-Technical Wellsite Geologist/Mudlogger/Sample Catcher Logging Engineer/Log Analyst

Industry Phases – Exploration – looking for oil, predrill through discovery – Appraisal – Appraising Discoveries for Commerciality/Reducing Uncertainty/’Right-sizing’ – Development – Building Facilities, Drilling Wells – Production – Optimizing depletion of Hydrocarbons from reservoirs – Abandonment – Safely decommissioning facilities and wells deemed no longer economically viable. • Support – R&D/Technology – In-House Specialist Services – Contractors

“What would ya say you do here? ” Borrowed from You. Tube

Well, Bob’s… • We – – Assess and interpret subsurface data – Develop geologic models – Communicate Uncertainty - (? ? ? ) – Characterize Risk - (!!!) – Prognose resource potential and targets – Plan wells – Support Engineering and Commercial Disciplines – Inform Management

Who gets hired into Industry? • Entry-level Degrees – Major/Independent • Graduate Degree (MS/Ph. D), usually a MS in Geology or Geophysics – Service • BS/MS/Ph. D in Geology or Geophysics, depending on the role. • Recruiting Heavily Tilted Towards Oil Patch Schools • The Majors and Service sector hire the largest volume and many independents build out staff through head-hunting from these talent pools • For example – – a Major may bring in 50 -100 Geo’s in a recruiting cycle – An Independent might bring in 10 or less – Service Sector companies might bring in 100’s, but the jobs can be less desirable

Industry Pro’s/Con’s • Pro’s – – – People Technology Compensation Lifestyle They actually pay you to be a geologist (how absurd!) • Con’s – Commodity Industries are Cyclical • Only the most skilled, motivated, or adaptable people end up with a 30+ yr career – Geographically Concentrated – Corporate Cultures… and sometimes cube farms – It is a business, after all… working towards goals set ‘up dip’

Is it worth the effort? • Salary – MS in Geoscience > $100, 000 to start with Majors (more with Indies, less with Service) – ~10+% annual performance bonus (same as above) – Interns generally earn the same as a new-hire on their three month contract, with benefits… even if you choose not to enter industry in long run, you could make two years of stipend earnings over a summer. • Benefits/Perks – Good Medical, Retirement benefits – 9/80 Fridays; gym, cafeteria, childcare, medical on site; commuting support • Hours • Training – Among ‘Operators’, flexible workplaces are common, most roles don’t work more than weekly hours – 2 or 3 week rotational shift work is common in service/operational sphere – The bigger the company the better the training tends to be… – Operators are better at providing training than the service sector – Training is highly valuable in today’s job market because it accelerates capability development http: //www. geoexpro. com/articles/2009/02/the-great-crew-change

Is it worth the effort? • Locale (? ) – Houston is the center of the O&G universe, but opportunities for expat postings overseas or in places like Denver, Alaska, OKC, NOLA, Bakersfield, Pittsburgh can be had. • Demographics/Opportunity – The ‘Great Crew Change’ is happening… opportunities are plentiful for those prepared to take advantage of them • The Future http: //www. geoexpro. com/articles/2009/02/the-great-crew-change

Graduate or Undergraduate Path? How you might start your career Grad Exploration/Appraisal Generalist MS/Ph. D Production/Development These are the most desirable technical positions in Industry and are usually with ‘operators’ or the largest service companies Specialist Technology/In-House Services/Higher-End Service Sector Operations Ops Geo, Wellsite, Geosteering, Shallow Haz Undergrad (or under recruited grads…) With a few years experience, can become: BS Mud-Logging -service companies, onshore Wellsite Geo Mud Engineer Directional Driller Mud-logger (offshore) Salt-Picking -seismic processor Processing Project Lead Seismic Interpreter Always Opportunities at this entry point because of turnover due to head-hunting or burnout People are in great demand… those with potential get trained to do something more vital With 5 -10 years experience, can become: Development Geologist Ops Geologist PPFG Specialist Sales/Account Rep Geophysicist Sales/Account Rep Operators head-hunt from Service Sector… You could jump into the bracket above or stay on and climb the mgmt track

How to find an opportunity and get noticed… • Students at UC are presently at a disadvantage… • But, here are some things to think about – – Your work speaks for you… do something with cross-over appeal, and be able to communicate that appeal – Join, participate in, and present at AAPG/SEG – Understand Recruiting Cycles and attend industry Student Expo’s (see Resources slide for link) – Apply online for internships, every year, with as much effort as you put into your last GSA grant proposal!!! – Have Dept. help you reach out to neighboring schools (IU, OSU, UK, Purdue, etc. ) for interview opportunities before recruiting season begins – Reach Out to Alumni in Industry • Find out if you might fit or if the work might interest you • Opportunity to name drop! • Learn to speak the language of ‘the industry’ – Encourage the Department to engage Industries where you might want to work • Some things the Dept. might consider doing now – – Start an AAPG student chapter Acquire workstation seismic/log interpretation software (there are some good open-source options) Find a corporate sponsor/state survey to donate subsurface data Begin preparations to field an Imperial Barrel Team

What else can you do to prepare? • Industry training opportunities • Sponsored Short Courses/Field Trips • Familiarize yourself with seismic and well-log data • Network • The ‘elevator speech’ • What you’re about, what you’ve done, and what you want to do in <60 seconds

O&G Recruiting Cycle – Key Challenges • Graduate recruiting cycles operate a year in advance of a candidate potentially starting an internship or full-time position… last minute or half-hearted attempts will get you shut of the best opportunities • Recruiting is almost rigged towards oil-patch schools; UC students don’t have the luxury of the job market coming to them… – You have to spread a wide net and work things from unconventional angles (alumni, professional meetings, online app’s, etc. ) – Attracting recruiters should be a long-term goal and will require a proactive approach from Dept. and University

O&G Recruiting Cycle – 2015 Example • 2015 Summer Internship Cycle (same for every year, so use this as an example) • Spring-Summer 2014 – Present at meetings and network – Build industry formatted resume – Start submitting online applications • September 2014 – Interview at Student Expos, nearby Universities, or on-site with a company if selected • October/November 2014 – Offers made for internships to start June 2015 • June 2015 – Start 3 Month (well-paid) Internship – a 90 day onsite job interview! • September 2015 – Fulltime offers made to best interns in class for 2016 (Ph. D’s are a bit different as they may do 4+ internships over length of study and have no defined end-date) • November 2015 – Fulltime offers made to 2015 interviewee’s to fill out any remaining openings in 2016

Resources • Professional Societies/Meetings • AAPG, SEPM, SEG, AGU, EAG, GCSSEPM, GCAGS (but, sadly, not GSA) • AAPG Student Expo’s – http: //www. seg. org/web/aapg-seg-student-expo/other-expos • Linked. In (networking, jobs, headhunting) – https: //www. linkedin. com/ • Rigzone (jobs, news) – http: //www. rigzone. com/ • Glass. Door (job/internship postings/salary/reviews) – http: //www. glassdoor. com/index. htm • Virtual Seismic Atlas (data) – http: //www. seismicatlas. org/ • Alumni • Company Websites!