Jump to content

Oil Companies


Recommended Posts

Chevron moved away from doing research years ago. The researchers generally manage research in universities and contracting companies rather than actually do it. The strategy is to leverage research under the practical guidance of those who actually need it, rather than the other way around.

It is difficult getting into oil companies these days. Teams hire rather than companies, except in recruiting efforts where the teams are encouraged to take on inewxperienced people from the universities. Those tend to get in the door through summer programs and they come from special schools, sponsored by folks who went to school at those special schools, e.g., Colorado School of Mines. The best ways of finding work in those companies are through networking and contracting, already covered in this thread.

Let me ask you this: If I know someone who works at Exxon, not necessarily in the geosciences, but someone who has worked there for 20+ years, would I be better off sending my resume through them or by applying on the company's website recruiting page? Or, what if I know some friends who work in the geosciences but have only been there for 2-3 years? Should I try going through them instead? They work at other companies, Schlumberger, Noble, and Pioneer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me ask you this: If I know someone who works at Exxon, not necessarily in the geosciences, but someone who has worked there for 20+ years, would I be better off sending my resume through them or by applying on the company's website recruiting page? Or, what if I know some friends who work in the geosciences but have only been there for 2-3 years? Should I try going through them instead? They work at other companies, Schlumberger, Noble, and Pioneer.

My experience (just shy of 10 years in oil/gas/pipeline) is send it through a known friend/associate any chance you have. Lots of reasons for this. First, Houston oil and gas is a good ole boy industry, and knowing someone helps a ton. You'll always come across the same people, even when they move from company to company. Second, most companies have pretty nice recruiting bonuses, and you can split that with your friend. My small/medium engineering company currently offers $2500 for non-engineering recruits and $5000 for engineers. I am sure that larger companies offer more.

I saw earlier comments about hourly rates and such for contract workers. Contract workers make up a fairly big chunk of the workforce. There are also companies that you may work for direct that you get your insurance/401K etc through that will contract you out to their clients as needed. Nice compromise there. As far as hourly rates, different for each company. Smaller companies have lower hourly rates obviously. I'll use myself as an example. I currently work in procurement/inspection services. I was recently asked to come interview with a dedicated inspection firm that is familiar with my work. They did not blink to offer me 30-35% more starting salary, with an additional 10% bump in 6 months if the clients liked my work. If I was to go purely contract I could easily ask for 40-50% more per hour, but there is the lack of 401K, insurance etc that needs to be considered.

I am sure as a geologist with experience you could go to a mid/major and make somewhere in the ballpark of $90K without putting up a fight, granted that you have a bachelor's, which I'm sure you do. And if you tell them up front that you're interested in staying with a company and taking advantage of their scholarship/education programs it can boost their offer. Companies are desparate to keep their people these days, and someone telling them out front they are not interested in jumping around can go a long ways.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My experience (just shy of 10 years in oil/gas/pipeline) is send it through a known friend/associate any chance you have. Lots of reasons for this. First, Houston oil and gas is a good ole boy industry, and knowing someone helps a ton. You'll always come across the same people, even when they move from company to company. Second, most companies have pretty nice recruiting bonuses, and you can split that with your friend. My small/medium engineering company currently offers $2500 for non-engineering recruits and $5000 for engineers. I am sure that larger companies offer more.

I saw earlier comments about hourly rates and such for contract workers. Contract workers make up a fairly big chunk of the workforce. There are also companies that you may work for direct that you get your insurance/401K etc through that will contract you out to their clients as needed. Nice compromise there. As far as hourly rates, different for each company. Smaller companies have lower hourly rates obviously. I'll use myself as an example. I currently work in procurement/inspection services. I was recently asked to come interview with a dedicated inspection firm that is familiar with my work. They did not blink to offer me 30-35% more starting salary, with an additional 10% bump in 6 months if the clients liked my work. If I was to go purely contract I could easily ask for 40-50% more per hour, but there is the lack of 401K, insurance etc that needs to be considered.

I am sure as a geologist with experience you could go to a mid/major and make somewhere in the ballpark of $90K without putting up a fight, granted that you have a bachelor's, which I'm sure you do. And if you tell them up front that you're interested in staying with a company and taking advantage of their scholarship/education programs it can boost their offer. Companies are desparate to keep their people these days, and someone telling them out front they are not interested in jumping around can go a long ways.

Thanks for all the good information. Sounds like you have a pretty sweet deal there for yourself. I've got a Master's degree but all my experience is in coal so far. I know that won't translate well, but would you expect that to help my case? If they're desperate enough I'm sure somebody would hire me!? I really like the sound of $90k. That would represent a $30k/year increase for me. I'm certainly agreeable to staying with one company as long as it was a good one. What kinds of reputations do some of the companies have for treating their employees? Sounds like all the benefits are first-class...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I can tell you that new-hire PhD's with no previous oil experience are making 90K/year at the majors to start. I would guess that a Master's level hire would start lower. Unless you have some skills that are immediately applicable to exploration/production in the specific places that the majors are drilling I don't think you're that marketable yet.

And even the PhD's are still taking classes and training pretty regularly - no university degree trains you as well as the companies want. Which might work to your advantage - they're going to train you anyhow, so if they can pick you up "relatively" cheaply you'd get your training, start moving up the pay ladder and become more valuable in the industry.

Definitely get your resume out there through your contacts. Networking is your friend. Nothing is worse than having to get through the first level of paper-pushers in response to an ad on a job site.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I can tell you that new-hire PhD's with no previous oil experience are making 90K/year at the majors to start. I would guess that a Master's level hire would start lower. Unless you have some skills that are immediately applicable to exploration/production in the specific places that the majors are drilling I don't think you're that marketable yet.

And even the PhD's are still taking classes and training pretty regularly - no university degree trains you as well as the companies want. Which might work to your advantage - they're going to train you anyhow, so if they can pick you up "relatively" cheaply you'd get your training, start moving up the pay ladder and become more valuable in the industry.

Definitely get your resume out there through your contacts. Networking is your friend. Nothing is worse than having to get through the first level of paper-pushers in response to an ad on a job site.

No, that's fine. I had been hearing more along the lines of $80k for Master's degrees. Sometimes a little lower, but that's still an attractive number for me.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I can tell you that new-hire PhD's with no previous oil experience are making 90K/year at the majors to start. I would guess that a Master's level hire would start lower. Unless you have some skills that are immediately applicable to exploration/production in the specific places that the majors are drilling I don't think you're that marketable yet.

And even the PhD's are still taking classes and training pretty regularly - no university degree trains you as well as the companies want. Which might work to your advantage - they're going to train you anyhow, so if they can pick you up "relatively" cheaply you'd get your training, start moving up the pay ladder and become more valuable in the industry.

Definitely get your resume out there through your contacts. Networking is your friend. Nothing is worse than having to get through the first level of paper-pushers in response to an ad on a job site.

I had also read that they hire more M.S. degrees than PHD. I wonder if it's a better idea to go get a PHD and get on a higher track or stick with the M.S. and do just fine that way...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as company reputations go I can only speak first hand for a small number.

Technip - 50/50 chance of really enjoying it. Lot of communication issues with their teams in my experience. People do seem to be knowledgable.

Mustang - Have quite a few friends/family members at Mustang and for the most part they seem to really like it. Mustang used to have a reputation for hiring huge numbers, and firing at an even faster rate. I don't think that's the market right now, as I said companies want to hold onto their good people.

Total - Unless someone can come and speak up for Total, I say run like hell. I've been working with them for 2 years, and it is absolutely the most disfunctional organization I have ever come across.

Fluor - I have worked a handful of Fluor projects, and have always been a great company.

Keep in mind there are always the oil/gas agencies that will hire you direct, and contract you out. You can make a bit more than as a direct hire like this sometimes, as they will contract you out for 2.5-3 times your salary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had also read that they hire more M.S. degrees than PHD. I wonder if it's a better idea to go get a PHD and get on a higher track or stick with the M.S. and do just fine that way...

Unless you have a burning desire to take a vow of poverty and devote your existence for the next 4-5 years to doing research, I'd stick with the Master's. You'll probably come out ahead in the end, given student loans and career time lost to school. The Master's level hires I know are doing great.

My husband didn't start his PhD with the idea of working for an oil company (in fact, he came from a hard rock mining background). But as I mentioned earlier, his program had close ties with two of the majors, and when they came recruiting it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Use the connections you have, get your resume out there, and see what shakes out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless you have a burning desire to take a vow of poverty and devote your existence for the next 4-5 years to doing research, I'd stick with the Master's. You'll probably come out ahead in the end, given student loans and career time lost to school. The Master's level hires I know are doing great.

My husband didn't start his PhD with the idea of working for an oil company (in fact, he came from a hard rock mining background). But as I mentioned earlier, his program had close ties with two of the majors, and when they came recruiting it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Use the connections you have, get your resume out there, and see what shakes out.

That sounds exactly like the train of thought I was on, thank you. I'd love to one day get a Phd and teach, but only later on as I head into retirement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as company reputations go I can only speak first hand for a small number.

Technip - 50/50 chance of really enjoying it. Lot of communication issues with their teams in my experience. People do seem to be knowledgable.

Mustang - Have quite a few friends/family members at Mustang and for the most part they seem to really like it. Mustang used to have a reputation for hiring huge numbers, and firing at an even faster rate. I don't think that's the market right now, as I said companies want to hold onto their good people.

Total - Unless someone can come and speak up for Total, I say run like hell. I've been working with them for 2 years, and it is absolutely the most disfunctional organization I have ever come across.

Fluor - I have worked a handful of Fluor projects, and have always been a great company.

Keep in mind there are always the oil/gas agencies that will hire you direct, and contract you out. You can make a bit more than as a direct hire like this sometimes, as they will contract you out for 2.5-3 times your salary.

This is great! There is one mentioned above I had great reservations about before considering. I will hope to PM if you can give your perspective. I knew it was just too good to be true. :mellow:

As crazy as it sounds I am strongly considering going back to the Oil industry. Hell, at least I got to travel some.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is great! There is one mentioned above I had great reservations about before considering. I will hope to PM if you can give your perspective. I knew it was just too good to be true. :mellow:

As crazy as it sounds I am strongly considering going back to the Oil industry. Hell, at least I got to travel some.

Where have you travelled to with the oil companies? I had been wondering about this: how do you all who work in the petroleum industry enjoy traveling to other countries as part of your job? Where have you been, what's the work like, how long do you work somewhere before getting to go to let's say Brazil, etc.? I'd love to hear some stories from people who have been in the industry. Any kind of anecdote will do - doesn't have to be a travel story, just some memorable experiences. I'd especially like to hear from any geoscientists out there, but stories from everybody would be great!!

Edited by davev1977
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where have you travelled to with the oil companies? I had been wondering about this: how do you all who work in the petroleum industry enjoy traveling to other countries as part of your job? Where have you been, what's the work like, how long do you work somewhere before getting to go to let's say Brazil, etc.? I'd love to hear some stories from people who have been in the industry. Any kind of anecdote will do - doesn't have to be a travel story, just some memorable experiences. I'd especially like to hear from any geoscientists out there, but stories from everybody would be great!!

Dave I spent the majority of my career working internationally. Me personally, I liked it, it's somewhat different traveling these days with all the security now, but if you are prepared and have you act together it can be rather painless traveling through the bigger hubs. I really have no complaints. I met my wife while traveling abroad, she's Lebanese, and that was the best thing to happen to me in life, had a few touch and go run-ins in Venezuela I'd rather not repeat. Was actually wounded in Nicaragua in 1979 when there were some local issues going on with the Sandinistas. Things are different there today I'm sure. I'd stay away from the Western Africa area, stability is an ongoing thing around there.

Brazil is not too bad, but not much of a place to move the family if they travel with you, IMHO. I lived in Macae for a couple of years, the family was ready to go home as soon as the new wore off. Definitely a different culture, and my wife is very conservative and overly protective of the kids, she was never really happy to be there. If we were not parents at the time it could have been different. Rio can be like Las Vegas on Steroids and Carnival make Mardi Gras look like a church picnic. Majority of the expats live in Macae just north of Rio. Going there on a two week vacation is one thing but living there is another.

Dubai is the greatest, as long as you can deal with the climate. If heat and humidity is an issue, stay home. One of the best places, and most interesting was Madagascar. We had some offshore exploration projects going on there, however restrictions and other issues made it not really worth the trouble, at least back then, but the country was really neat. They've eased up some and a few projects still go on there. But environmental impact awareness is huge there.

Been all over the US currently in West Virginia on a project. The patch has been good to me, would change it for the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where have you traveled to with the oil companies? I had been wondering about this: how do you all who work in the petroleum industry enjoy traveling to other countries as part of your job?

My travel was all domestic. My first territory was the West Coast, so I was able to visit my clients starting at Monterey, San Jose/SFO and all the way up to Ukiah near Santa Rosa (wine country). Later on I took on the Mid-Atlantic territory. We were a major oil brand so my trips always involved attending races ie; Laguna Seca, Sears Point et all. It became a pampered work life, best hotels, car rentals, etc. :blush: It was more of a PR position than anything. I later was able to be part of the International Sales force but it was all handled here with no travel involved. Our collegues would visit us from all foreign countries. I still keep in touch with all my group from the west coast and its even more tempting to go back in the industry. Once its in your blood....

My advice to anyone in the biz is to move around the company and garner as much experience as possible. You will be glad you did later on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've seen both sides of it, and enjoyed it for a while. My least favorite trips were Port Arthur and Gillette, Wyoming. Now you think Wyoming and nice landscape, but something about northeast Wyoming just isn't as great. Beyond that, there is nothing to do there (except get speeding tickets driving to Cheyenne or Rapid City on the weekend). Now Cody, Wyoming is another story. I love that place. I hit Yellowstone as much as I could on those trips.

I've been to a lot of great places though - I got to spend a good amount of time in Aberdeen, which was really cool. I took a few weekend trips to Edinburgh and out in the country to Balmoral Castle. Also went to Cork, Ireland. That place rocks. Kinsale, south of Cork on the coast, it a beautiful place, and I actually got to fly out to the platform for that trip, about 12 miles out in the south Irish Sea. So beautiful.

Also got to go to Alaska about 5 times now. Anchorage is great, but the best was being able to get up to the north slope. Of course I only got there during winter, so it was like being on the moon (I imagine, don't know for certain). White/gray everywhere, and just constant wind. I think 50 below was the temp in October sometime. To fly back on my second trip I had to get a guy to drive me 20 or so miles from Kuparuk to Prudhoe bay, and I remember being amazed looking at the truck thermostat reading 90 degrees. When the wind would blow I could feel it come through the cab, that's how cold the air was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I consider traveling one of the perks of the job. Some people hate traveling, and refuse to do so, and tend to bring it up quite often. I find it kind of stupid to work in oil/gas and refuse to take an expense paid trip to Dubai. Sign me up! But some people do.

I've traveled to both coasts, Calgary, and Edmonton in my career so far. Ajob I recently interviewed for told me that travel overseas is a definite possibility, and needless to say the chance to go to Japan, or Korea, or Iceland on the companies dime is pretty damn sweet.

So yeah, travel. It's a great thing. A lot of people will tie a day or two of vacation, and stay over in say, Italy, and have some nice trips of their own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I consider traveling one of the perks of the job. Some people hate traveling, and refuse to do so, and tend to bring it up quite often. I find it kind of stupid to work in oil/gas and refuse to take an expense paid trip to Dubai. Sign me up! But some people do.

I've traveled to both coasts, Calgary, and Edmonton in my career so far. Ajob I recently interviewed for told me that travel overseas is a definite possibility, and needless to say the chance to go to Japan, or Korea, or Iceland on the companies dime is pretty damn sweet.

So yeah, travel. It's a great thing. A lot of people will tie a day or two of vacation, and stay over in say, Italy, and have some nice trips of their own.

I definitely see travel as a perk, too. I've had some international travel experience, including the Marshall Islands, where I went to high school, and Europe, where I was in the military stationed in Germany for 2 years. I can't wait to become mobile again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

Does anyone here work for Devon Energy or know somebody who does? I was very impressed with the information on their website and was wondering if anyone could speak up about the company's reputation among the employees. I also noticed they offer 3 weeks of vacation to begin with...does it ever increase to 4 weeks? I plan to be employed as a geologist/geophysicist within the next year or two.

Edited by davev1977
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My new question is for those of you who commute to downtown Houston. Where do you commute from, how long does it take, what kind of car do you drive, and how much is it costing you on average per week? We're thinking about moving to Sugar Land and I wonder how expensive it will be. If my income increases by $20,000/year, I'm sure I'll still come out ahead, but I still want to factor this into the equation. Plus, my wife may end up staying home for a few years when we have kids, so I need to factor that in as well because that will represent a decrease of ~$40,000/year. Thanks for your help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The folks I know who work at Devon like working there. As far as I know, theiir vacation goes to 4 weeks at 10 years.

I've been traveling with oil companies since I was born. We moved all over the US when I was growing up, then spent 4 years in London for high school. After getting my degree, I spent 5 years overseas in Gabon, Egypt, and Thailand before getting laid off. I then worked contract in Peru for most of a year. I've travelled to the UK, Belgium, Russia, and Qatar, and recently started an assignement in Qatar.

I will say it's getting harder to go overseas. More countires are developing their own expertise, and companies prefer to hire locals whenver possible, as they const less - no housing, travel, etc. There are more overseas spots for engineers and geoscientists than for the support types.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

hi guys, i thought i would just reply to this thread rather than start a new one...i have a few interviews with EPC companies in Houston (mainly Sugar Land) i.e. Bechtel, Fluor and Shaw. I'm currently a process engineer with 4 years experience working in Canada (Calgary) kind of the O&G equivalent to Houston over here.

I was wondering what kind of salary to ask for in the interview and do these companies have tough interviews, or will it just be a sit down with the Process Chief and maybe a HR person. Working in EPC over here, I have never really been grilled in an interview and its not a big thing like you would see with a production or operating company. Usually its just myself and the Process Chief and he asks me questions about my previous work and tells me more about the company.

So I guess my questions are, what salary to ask for as I am thinking of 100k as a minimum since I currently make about 85k. And also information on their interiew processes if anyone works there or has been through it before. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't comment on your salary amount, however as a Canadian who grew up in Calgary I can comment on the cost of living difference. Even if you came down at 85K, you'll pay less tax, less for food and less for your much bigger home here than in Calgary. So dont necessarily think that you need to negotiate a higher salary to increase your standard of living.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

There is a definite shortage of Process Engineers throughout the industry as a whole. 100k minimum for your experience level, you shouldn't have a problem with the interview and obtaining at least a $50/hr rate.

I can't speak for the interview process, but I know of plenty of new grads that are getting $45 an hour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
I'm wondering what the mood is like for those of you working in the oil industry now that Obama has been elected. Is the general consensus that not much will change, things will get worse (layoffs, etc.), or things will get better? How do you all view this situation?

There is a sense that the good old days of high oil and gasoline prices are gone, but there is still optimism..cautious one i should say. Obviously, most of them voted for McCain, but they realize that Obama would come in and not be so favorable to the oil companies. My co-workers are just waiting to see what happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the information, I'll explore each of those avenues. I just looked at El Paso's website and was very impressed. They seem to offer everything I'm looking for and I was getting excited by the prospect. I certainly need to learn the software as quickly as possible, but I'm ready, willing, and able. Almost more than anything, working as part of a team appeals to me. Right now I work largely on my own as I'm responsible for overseeing our exploratory drilling and geological data management, drawing maps and cross-sections, etc. I do collaborate with our engineers, but I'm the only geologist for our Kentucky subsidiaries. I enjoy my job and the independence is good and all, but it would also be fun to be a part of some larger projects with several other geoscientists working together to solve problems and such.

Actualy yes It happened in my family waaay before my wife and I met . See her dad was a geoligist for Shell oil. He was a Venuezuelian citizen. The government then sent him to University of Texas to further his credentials . Eventually his family was transfered to Houston where he worked with "Tar-Sands and other rock formations in the search for oil. He eventually retired from Shell after spending some fourty years there . By the way in the late sixties I took the Shell Dealer training school to become a service station operator . It was an invaluable experence , wouldn't trade what I learned for anything too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm wondering what the mood is like for those of you working in the oil industry now that Obama has been elected. Is the general consensus that not much will change, things will get worse (layoffs, etc.), or things will get better? How do you all view this situation?

Short term, bad. Long term, uncertain.

It seems a lot like global demand could potentially offset stagnant demand in the U.S., but that won't be for at least the next several years IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm wondering what the mood is like for those of you working in the oil industry now that Obama has been elected. Is the general consensus that not much will change, things will get worse (layoffs, etc.), or things will get better? How do you all view this situation?

Obama is no real threat to the Oil Industry from where I dwell. He's already doing a 180 from all the election rhetoric. A Lot of people are on a wait and see what he does mode. A lot of this "Change" that was the entire theme of his run at the White House, is now taking shape as the Clinton Administration less Bill Clinton. 36 of his current 41 appointments are former Clintonites. So it is still yet to be seen where things are headed. One thing I think he will find out or is finding out, is pulling out of Iraq pre-maturely will be crushing to our economy, because OPEC will shut the valves on us, and run the cost of Oil up higher than we've ever seen. The Saudi Royal Family, is waiting to see what direction he takes, because believe me when I tell you, pulling out of Iraq early and leaving behind a vacuum to be filled by Iran, would be disastrous to the region. All this talk of the US becoming Energy Independent is a pipe dream, and anyone who bought that line, really needs to get a clue. We are far too over indulgent to ever be fully independent. I mean look at the hypocrisy behind Mr. Green Jeans Al Gore. He achieved what he was after. He vindicated his failed attempt at a Presidency, by Buying a Pulitzer Prize, Sold a few million books, and has been the self appointed Green god of salvation, and by some bazaar method, been atoned the utmost authority on Global Warming. All the time flying Coast to Coast and World Wide in his not so Environmentally Friendly G5, arriving in Limos, not Hybrids, and is still a huge stockholder in Oxy, a far from Environmentally friendly, oil company.

This Banking fiasco has dealt a blow to a large part of the industry. About 80% of the upstream industry deals in credit and investors. The days of the Wildcatter that invests his own money on an idea or dream, are long gone. These days there are few cash and carry companies, that have the liquidity to operate on cash. Most ventures are on one of two things, short terms loans and investors. A lot of the time these investors are individuals that are investing money that is borrowed against other investments, most of these are short term loans also. Right now things are in limbo waiting on the bounce. AFE's (Authorization for Expenditure) are being put on hold, either waiting on money or unable to get it under the current financial conditions. Banks are really watching the paper right now. About 50% of the paper is out of the Market right now, waiting on stability. People have cashed out during the panic and slow to get back in, very understandable. It's going to take some time to get volumes up in the Market, and it's also going to take time for the banks to recover their faith in lending.

For those that are curious what I am talking about, in describing these AFE's. Here's a basic scenario. Widget Exploration finds available lease land, they get their Landman to do the ground work, they have their geologists put together the potential reserves available on said leases. The Drilling Engineers put together a drilling prognosis and cost to get at these reserves. The production Engineers do the same for getting it from the well-site to the sales pipeline. Then the bean counters put together the potential financial gains there, after drilling and production work. The Upstream VP for Widget Exploration, puts on his best suit and tie, meets with the board and sells them on the idea. This board is usually made up of members that hold purse strings with capital sources. Sometimes they just bring in the bankers, if they are going at it alone, asked for say 20 billion on a 4 year note, (This time varies based on the size of the field or prospect), show them the numbers, they say yeah or nay. If it's approved, then the Upstream VP is budgeted the money, His Superintendents put together AFE's for each individual well, they are signed off on by the VP, and it's off to the races.

If Widget is doing this off of investors, they romance them and sell them on the deal and the money is approved, and as I said before some of these investors are investing on the short term notes on other investment, stock holdings, and sometimes properties, or whatever. Whatever the case most of all of this involves banks and lending, all of which is at a virtual standstill right now, except in the best case, low risk scenarios. Oil ventures are always risky to some extent or in some way, so money has dried up some. Of course there is a lot of stuff still ongoing because this money has long since been approved, and is in the works, so right now there is just a few ripples on the pond. But the longer this crisis drags out the bigger the ripple gets. If we see this thing resolve in the next couple of years, the ripple will have very little domestic effect.

In one case it will be a blessing, because we can get some house cleaning done, and get rid of some dead weight. What I mean by this, with the off the chart prices that have been around for the past few years, every Tom Dick and Harry has tried to get in on the boom, and there is a lot of dead weight out there, and short timers that jumped on the band wagon to make a quick buck. We can weed all that riff raff out and get the industry back on a more solid standard. This is something I will welcome with open arms, as will any oil person that's worth their sand and has spent any years in this business. Also on the other end, their is a lot of dead weight of hangers on that are way past their prime, and have managed to hang on much longer than they should have been allowed to. The are mostly old and outdated, but are still in play because people have been so desperate to get anyone experienced in place. So a bunch of these old washed up hands, dusted off their old outdated resumes, and got back in the game, that they were banished from back in the late 80's and early 90's, when the out lived their usefulness. So this could be some long need house cleaning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obama is no real threat to the Oil Industry from where I dwell. He's already doing a 180 from all the election rhetoric. A Lot of people are on a wait and see what he does mode. A lot of this "Change" that was the entire theme of his run at the White House, is now taking shape as the Clinton Administration less Bill Clinton. 36 of his current 41 appointments are former Clintonites. So it is still yet to be seen where things are headed. One thing I think he will find out or is finding out, is pulling out of Iraq pre-maturely will be crushing to our economy, because OPEC will shut the valves on us, and run the cost of Oil up higher than we've ever seen. The Saudi Royal Family, is waiting to see what direction he takes, because believe me when I tell you, pulling out of Iraq early and leaving behind a vacuum to be filled by Iran, would be disastrous to the region. All this talk of the US becoming Energy Independent is a pipe dream, and anyone who bought that line, really needs to get a clue. We are far too over indulgent to ever be fully independent. I mean look at the hypocrisy behind Mr. Green Jeans Al Gore. He achieved what he was after. He vindicated his failed attempt at a Presidency, by Buying a Pulitzer Prize, Sold a few million books, and has been the self appointed Green god of salvation, and by some bazaar method, been atoned the utmost authority on Global Warming. All the time flying Coast to Coast and World Wide in his not so Environmentally Friendly G5, arriving in Limos, not Hybrids, and is still a huge stockholder in Oxy, a far from Environmentally friendly, oil company.

This Banking fiasco has dealt a blow to a large part of the industry. About 80% of the upstream industry deals in credit and investors. The days of the Wildcatter that invests his own money on an idea or dream, are long gone. These days there are few cash and carry companies, that have the liquidity to operate on cash. Most ventures are on one of two things, short terms loans and investors. A lot of the time these investors are individuals that are investing money that is borrowed against other investments, most of these are short term loans also. Right now things are in limbo waiting on the bounce. AFE's (Authorization for Expenditure) are being put on hold, either waiting on money or unable to get it under the current financial conditions. Banks are really watching the paper right now. About 50% of the paper is out of the Market right now, waiting on stability. People have cashed out during the panic and slow to get back in, very understandable. It's going to take some time to get volumes up in the Market, and it's also going to take time for the banks to recover their faith in lending.

For those that are curious what I am talking about, in describing these AFE's. Here's a basic scenario. Widget Exploration finds available lease land, they get their Landman to do the ground work, they have their geologists put together the potential reserves available on said leases. The Drilling Engineers put together a drilling prognosis and cost to get at these reserves. The production Engineers do the same for getting it from the well-site to the sales pipeline. Then the bean counters put together the potential financial gains there, after drilling and production work. The Upstream VP for Widget Exploration, puts on his best suit and tie, meets with the board and sells them on the idea. This board is usually made up of members that hold purse strings with capital sources. Sometimes they just bring in the bankers, if they are going at it alone, asked for say 20 billion on a 4 year note, (This time varies based on the size of the field or prospect), show them the numbers, they say yeah or nay. If it's approved, then the Upstream VP is budgeted the money, His Superintendents put together AFE's for each individual well, they are signed off on by the VP, and it's off to the races.

If Widget is doing this off of investors, they romance them and sell them on the deal and the money is approved, and as I said before some of these investors are investing on the short term notes on other investment, stock holdings, and sometimes properties, or whatever. Whatever the case most of all of this involves banks and lending, all of which is at a virtual standstill right now, except in the best case, low risk scenarios. Oil ventures are always risky to some extent or in some way, so money has dried up some. Of course there is a lot of stuff still ongoing because this money has long since been approved, and is in the works, so right now there is just a few ripples on the pond. But the longer this crisis drags out the bigger the ripple gets. If we see this thing resolve in the next couple of years, the ripple will have very little domestic effect.

In one case it will be a blessing, because we can get some house cleaning done, and get rid of some dead weight. What I mean by this, with the off the chart prices that have been around for the past few years, every Tom Dick and Harry has tried to get in on the boom, and there is a lot of dead weight out there, and short timers that jumped on the band wagon to make a quick buck. We can weed all that riff raff out and get the industry back on a more solid standard. This is something I will welcome with open arms, as will any oil person that's worth their sand and has spent any years in this business. Also on the other end, their is a lot of dead weight of hangers on that are way past their prime, and have managed to hang on much longer than they should have been allowed to. The are mostly old and outdated, but are still in play because people have been so desperate to get anyone experienced in place. So a bunch of these old washed up hands, dusted off their old outdated resumes, and got back in the game, that they were banished from back in the late 80's and early 90's, when the out lived their usefulness. So this could be some long need house cleaning.

Mark , uh I like whar ya commin from der Brutha, I like it when somebody like yerself can give a statement like you did . Yep sound like ya got yer act together there too. I think you need to go see if K P R C if they're still News talk will alow you on as guest commentator . If no one else says it , well let me thank you here . Thank you for the story, uh post . Ed Shaver, scrubba

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
I'm getting closer to the time when I begin applying for a job with an oil company and I'm wondering what the situation is for new hires in the industry while oil prices are so much lower than the average over the last couple of years. Any thoughts?

I would just say good luck. A lot of people I know in the industry began looking for new work as their projects dried up, only to find that companies were hiring at much lower wages, or not hiring at all. I think over the next year the industry is going to suffer, but hopefully in 18 months we'll see banks lending money again so companies can begin new projects. All my company will likely see for the next 2-3 years will be updating/repairing old stations, and no brand new projects. I suspect it will be the same all over. A friend at Mustang told me prior to the holidays that even they had lost a big project and were looking at some significant layoffs.

As far as the effect on the industry with Obama in office, I really don't see one. The big (huge) boys will get taxed a bit more maybe, but that's it. The world still needs oil/natural gas, and even with the transfer to renewable energy oil won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I'm more worried about the state of the industry 15-20 years from now when I'm working hard to retire early.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...