Global staffing challenge

Oct. 7, 2002
Ms. Judah's comments regarding the desirability of replacing US oil and gas technical staffs with foreign nationals strike me as ironic (OGJ, Sept. 23, 2002, p. 18).

Ms. Judah's comments regarding the desirability of replacing US oil and gas technical staffs with foreign nationals strike me as ironic (OGJ, Sept. 23, 2002, p. 18).

The US oil majors had several opportunities to retain the finest oil and gas engineers and scientists in the world during their merger mania of the 1980s and 1990s. Did they do this? No, they dismissed technical personnel that were near the top of their earnings peak.

Her perception of everyone in the halls being in their 40s—and the industry survey claiming the median age of technical staff as being 48 years old—is meaningless. The weighted average, or mean, is a more meaningful figure, although it also has flaws.

Much of today's technical work is being outsourced to contractors and consultants (most of whom are quite young). This shift in technical studies and planning has had certain economic benefits for the major oil companies. It allows the majors to eliminate employee health plans, 401-Ks, retirement plans with company contributions, insurance, general overhead, and the costs of carrying personnel through times of low activity (not to mention lightening the load of human resource personnel).

There is plenty of time for the industry to turn this perceived workforce problem around if it sincerely wants to do it. To say that we should increase the technical staff with foreign nationals in a time of increasing dangers of security seems to me utter folly.

Gail Bloomer
Member, SPE
Houston