Category Archives: Oil & Gas

Lies You Hear in the Oil and Gas Industry

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Tim Newman

1. You will be met at the airport. 2. The workscope is “frozen”. 3. Safety is our priority. 4. It is important that you share your career aspirations with your management. 5. FEED is complete. 6. Everything is taken care of … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas | 4 Comments

What goes around…

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Tim Newman

Regular readers will recall that in early 2010 I was unceremoniously hoofed out of Sakhalin by my former employer, a move instigated by a man who was as useless as he was dishonest.  His last words regarding me were “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas, Recruitment, Sakhalin | 8 Comments

Australia Takes Aim

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Tim Newman

At its foot, that is.  With a 12-bore shotgun. I’ve written before about Australia’s muddle-headed approach to developing its oil and gas reserves which has contributed to project costs spiralling out of control.  Faced with crippling skills shortages the Australian government, … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Oil & Gas | 1 Comment

Another Clueless Politician

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Tim Newman

This time in Australia: WA Premier Colin Barnett was quoted in local media on Tuesday as saying he believed the environmental risks with [Floating LNG] were higher than piping offshore production to onshore infrastructure. “I don’t think it is safe … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Oil & Gas | 3 Comments

BP Men Facing Manslaughter Charges

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Tim Newman

A quick note before we begin: my comments here relate to the oil and gas industry in general, and are based on my personal experience and conversations with other people.  They do not reflect any particular country or company, least … Continue reading →

Posted in Macondo, Oil & Gas | 2 Comments

Managing Contractors in the Oil Industry – Part 2

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Tim Newman

Part 2 – Respect your contractor’s technical knowledge. There are two reasons why oil companies subcontract work. The first is when you know how to do a job, but you don’t have the manpower to carry it out.  For instance, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Oil & Gas | 3 Comments

Project Costs Blow-Out

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Tim Newman

Upstream Online reports on a project whose budget has been blown to the tune of $20bn: The paper cited … union demands, high-cost local manufacturing and productivity issues as the reasons behind the expected cost increase. Union demands?  Productivity issues? … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Oil & Gas | 3 Comments

Managing Contractors in the Oil Industry – Part 1

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Tim Newman

One of the main tasks in my current position is to manage contractors, i.e. companies to whom we are outsourcing work, on behalf of my employer, a major oil company.  In fact, this is pretty much the main role for … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Oil & Gas | 7 Comments

Oil and Gas Maths Test

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Tim Newman

According to this article in the Daily Telegraph (H/T Tim Worstall), Williams F1 give potential employees a basic maths test and a lot of them are failing. This is a remarkable coincidence, because for the past few months I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas | 6 Comments

A bit childish I know, but…

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Tim Newman

Here is an email I recently wrote to a senior recruiter at Wood Group PSN, who are looking for an engineering manager: Hi [name deleted], Many thanks for contacting me. However, despite the position looking very interesting and attractive, I fear … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas, Recruitment | 2 Comments