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Human resources practices of oil and gas companies need to integrate upskilling of their employees within its policy framework and future vision. As a best practice, it should be a continuous process and not just an instant fix during challenging times.
To further establish the importance of skill set upgradation in the oil and gas industry let us start with the definition:
What is Upskilling?
Upskilling is training an employee on new technology or process to improve his present capabilities. It makes the individual future-ready for upcoming technologies and methodologies, especially the ones related to his skill set and aptitude.
Why is it important to Upskill the workforce?
There are two major reasons:
Manual human labour is always at war with the rapid evolution of technology. New technologies have improved productivity by automating processes and replacing large-scale workforce with advanced machine-learning and AI tools.
This has in-turn led to an abundance of traditional talents and a steep rise in demand for experts who can control this new generation human-machine ecosystem. Upskilling in such a scenario can enable the workforce to use new technology and bridge the skill gap.
Also, it may be more expensive to hire new employees and train them rather than develop ways to nurture talent that’s already there in the company’s workforce; Upskilling is such a scenario will act as a strong retention strategy.
For example, in the last 1800s, rotary drills used to be in operation to drill out oil. Now, the oil and gas industry has technologies like seismic imaging and the latest measurement while drilling technology (MWD) to enhance the productivity of oil drilling. A drilling team that is well versed in the newest technology will always prove to be an asset to the company and vice-versa.
However, upskilling in not restricted to hard skills alone; In the energy industry, soft skills are vitally important, especially because of the rigorous nature of work. Professionals from diverse national backgrounds, cultures, and habits come together to work in the industry. They work in a difficult environment away from family and friends.
Interpersonal skills, ability to communicate clearly, and leadership capabilities are vital to keeping the team working and happy.
Skill set upgradation is a continuous process. Why?
It is quite unfortunate that the implementation of upgrading oneself be it learning new tools & technologies or keeping up with the latest industry trends is not proportional to the advancement of technologies. Hence there is always an imparity in demand and availability of talent.
The only way to bridge the gap between talent demand and supply is timely identification of industry trends and recalibrating oneself by learning the new.
Competition is a big driver of upskilling
Globalisation has opened up new markets. Needless to say, the recruitment department has witnessed a rapid growth of tech-savvy and competitive talent base. For the new-age engineers and entrepreneurs, technology is not something to learn; it is a way of life. When they join the global economy, they will steer everything on the motherboard of technology. The amalgamation of old and new talent would be incongruous if the industry stays away from this mission.
The oil and gas industry has its own downturns and upturns, but such is the importance of energy in the modern world, that it continues to be the force majeure in the economy.
Upskilling through technology courses, in-service training programmes, soft skill modules, and software skilling programmes can keep both employees and employers ready to face the competition and the future.
Nrgedge.net has for long partnered with the industry to equip energy personnel with advanced skill sets in various job profiles and positions. Visionary industry experts have lent their minds to design and develop the upskilling courses to facilitate the process of capability enhancement and professional advancement.
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In its January 2021 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States will increase in 2021. Economic growth and the lessening of pandemic-related restrictions result in more energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions. EIA expects total energy-related CO2 emissions to increase to 4.8 billion metric tons in 2021 and 4.9 billion metric tons in 2022.
U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions fell by an estimated 11% in 2020, largely because of reduced travel and other factors that have led to less energy consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the short term, EIA forecasts rising CO2 emissions as a result of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in fuel mix, and greater demand for residential electricity as colder winter weather leads to more heating demand in 2021.
EIA expects petroleum to account for about 46% of total U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions in 2021 and 47% of total energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022. Most of these emissions come from the transportation sector as a result of increased travel as the economy recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
EIA expects natural gas, which accounted for about 36% of total energy-related CO2 emissions in 2020, to decline to about 34% of total emissions in 2021. Emissions from natural gas are declining mainly because natural gas consumption is declining as natural gas prices increase relative to coal prices. EIA expects natural gas prices to increase by 98 cents per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2021 while prices for coal increase by 12 cents/MMBtu. As a result, EIA forecasts that natural gas’s share of total energy-related CO2 emissions will decline to 32% in 2022 as natural gas prices rise.
Coal accounted for 19% of total U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions in 2020. EIA expects this share of total emissions to rise to 21% in 2021 and 2022 as coal becomes more economical for use in electricity generation amid higher natural gas prices.
More information on EIA’s forecasts is available in the January Short-Term Energy Outlook.
The LG XBOOM Go PL2 is the smallest and least expensive offering in LG's latest speaker trio including larger PL7 and PL5 models. All three models share the same design language and all have Meridian-tuned audio.
LG XBOOM PL2 is portable, small and light enough to be transported easily and offers 10 hours of battery life so it can run almost for a full day without being plugged in.
Ratings: 7.2
+ IPX5 water resistant
+ Easy to setup and use
+ Meridian tuned sound
- No integrated voice assistant
- No EQ adjustments
The LG XBOOM PL2 has IPX5 splash proof rating, which means it can withstand being sprayed with water but should not be submerged. We ran it under a faucet for a few seconds and the speaker kept working as it should.
The PL2 is based on version 5.0 of the Bluetooth standard and the range is quite similar to that of other speakers in the same price range. It can remain connected to more than 25 feet indoors from the audio source.
Two acquisitions in the energy sector were announced in the last week that illustrate the growing divergence in approaching the future of oil and gas between Europe and the USA. In France, Total announced that it had bought Fonroche Biogaz, the market leader in the production of renewable gas in France. In North America, ConocoPhillips completed its acquisition of Concho Resources, deepening the upstream major’s foothold into the lucrative Permian Basin and its shale riches. One is heading towards renewables, and the other is doubling down on conventional oil and gas.
What does this say about the direction of the energy industry?
Total’s move is unsurprising. Like almost all of its European peers operating in the oil and gas sector, Total has announced ambitious targets to become carbon-neutral by 2050. It is an ambition supported by the European population and pushed for by European governments, so in that sense, Total is following the wishes of its investors and stakeholders – just like BP, Shell, Repsol, Eni and others are doing. Fonroche Biogaz is therefore a canny acquisition. The company designs, builds and operates anaerobic digestion units that convert organic waste such as farming manure into biomethane to serve a gas feedstock for power generation. Fonroche Biogaz already has close to 500 GWh of installed capacity through seven power generation units with four in the pipeline. This feeds into Total’s recent moves to expand its renewable power generation capacity, with the stated intention of increasing the group’s biomethane capacity to 1.5 terawatts per hour (TWh) by 2025. Through this, Total vaults into a leading position within the renewable gas market in Europe, which is already active through affiliates such as Méthanergy, PitPoint and Clean Energy.
In parallel to this move, Total also announced that it has decided not to renew its membership in the American Petroleum Institute for 2021. Citing that it is only ‘partially aligned’ with the API on climate change issues in the past, Total has now decided that those positions have now ‘diverged’ particularly on rolling back methane emission regulations, carbon pricing and decarbonising transport. The French supermajor is not alone in its stance. BP, which has ditched the supermajor moniker in favour of turning itself into a clean energy giant, has also expressed reservations over the API’s stance over climate issues, and may very well choose to resign from the trade group as well. Other European upstream players might follow suit.
However, the core of the API will remain American energy firms. And the stance among these companies remains pro-oil and gas, despite shareholder pressure to bring climate issues and clean energy to the forefront. While the likes of ExxonMobil and Chevron have balanced significant investments into prolific shale patches in North America with public overtures to embrace renewables, no major US firm has made a public commitment to a carbon-neutral future as their European counterparts have. And so ConocoPhillips acquisition of Concho Resources, which boosts its value to some US$60 billion is not an outlier, but a preview of the ongoing consolidation happening in US shale as the free-for-all days give way to big boy acquisitions following the price-upheaval there since 2019.
That could change. In fact, it will change. The incoming Biden administration marks a significant break from the Trump administration’s embrace of oil and gas. Instead of opening of protected federal lands to exploration, especially in Alaska and sensitive coastal areas and loosening environmental regulations, the US will now pivot to putting climate change at the top of the agenda. Although political realities may water it down, the progressive faction of the Democrats are pushing for a Green New Deal embracing sustainability as the future for the US. Biden has already hinted that he may cancel the controversial and long-running Keystone XL pipeline via executive order on his first day in the office. His nominees for key positions including the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and Council on Environmental Quality suggest that there will be a major push on low-carbon and renewable initiatives, at least for the next 4 years. A pledge to reach net zero fossil fuel emissions from the power sector by 2035 has been mooted. More will come.
The landscape is changing. But the two approaches still apply, the aggressive acceleration adopted by European majors, and the slower movement favoured by US firms. Political changes in the USA might hasten the change, but it is unlikely that convergence will happen anytime soon. There is room in the world for both approaches for now, but the future seems inevitable. It just depends on how energy companies want to get there.
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