He has been one of the North Sea’s leading bosses for nearly two decades.
But there was a time – not so long ago – when many industry doors were slammed in David Heslop’s face.
That was 1986, when the oil price dropped to $9 a barrel and panic swept through the North Sea.
After doing the hard yards in places like Egypt, Syria and Iran, a young Mr Heslop thought he’d walk into a top job at Chevron or Mobil after getting his masters in petroleum engineering.
Instead, he was met with a recruitment freeze.
“There was just a panic in the North Sea and globally,” he said.
“I didn’t look at other careers though but instead thought ‘what do I need to do to cling on to the industry?’”
Mr Heslop, along with a couple of fellow-graduates, set up their own resourcing company, Petroleum Manpower Services, promoting themselves, in his own words, ‘as low-cost, low-experience but capable and hardworking people’.”
“We didn’t sell ourselves as super-skilled but said that if anyone needed us, we were prepared to do whatever they wanted us to do.
“We got a few jobs and, at our peak, we had about six companies as clients with a turnover of £100,000. One of those clients was Mobil, and through working with them, I ended up joining the company as a graduate recruit in 1987 as a reservoir engineer.”
He went on to become the reservoir engineering supervisor for the Beryl field and joint venture representative for the Scott development, which saw the dad-of-two move with his family to Aberdeen.
He worked with Mobil North Sea for 14 years – latterly as exploration and development manager in Germany, before moving to Talisman as a subsurface manager.
He said: “I took a step back in terms of my job title when I joined Talisman but a step forward towards leadership. I was given a leading role in the development of the Clyde, Tartan and Claymore assets before being given the opportunity to lead the acquisition of the Fulmar and Auk fields.
“To be a part of that and realise you’re involved in shaping the late life development of such significant assets is amazing.”
Learning about oil and gas at the sharp end of the industry from the outset of his career has been pivotal to Mr Heslop’s success and at EnQuest, where he is UKCS managing director, he is now at the forefront of a number of exciting industry developments.
In just three years, EnQuest’s development and production capability has resulted in it becoming the largest UK independent producer of oil in the UK North Sea while its footprint is growing internationally in Malaysia and Tunisia.
EnQuest recently made two significant announcements: it has given the go-ahead for the £4billion investment in the Kraken development, and has acquired 50% of the UKCS Greater Kittiwake area (‘GKA’) assets currently owned by Centrica North Sea Oil Limited (Centrica).
The company has raised £112,000 for its nominated charity, Archway, which provides invaluable respite, shared and permanent care services for children and adults with learning disabilities.
“I’m a strong supporter of EnQuest’s commitment to Archway, which provides such valuable support to so many families of adults and children with learning disabilities,” said Mr Heslop, who has personal experience of supporting those with special needs.
One of the most rewarding experiences he and his family shared was when they became short-break carers for a girl with cerebral palsy through Barnardo’s in 2001 after moving to Aberdeen.
The family was matched with Tamara and provided support to her family by looking after her for one weekend a month for four years.
“My wife Val, who’s a fantastic counsellor, wanted to do this, although I was cautious about it initially because it is a lot of responsibility to take on and we had two young daughters.
“We spoke with other couples who had done it and the whole family were given training and support.
“We got a huge amount out of supporting Tamara and her family.”
DAVID HESLOP: Q&A
What do you still hope to achieve in business?
If we want to make the most of the remaining oil reserves in the North Sea, we need to turn the industry on its head and become commercially collaborative instead of commercially competitive.
What is your greatest business challenge today?
Nurturing a company culture that is firmly rooted in our EnQuest values. If you don’t manage culture, it manages you.
If you were in power in government, what would you change?
I would give all primary school children free meals. A balanced diet is a vital component of mental and physical wellbeing and we should be much more active about promoting it.
Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?
The Algarve for golf, London, Paris or Milan for a city break, or anywhere out of mobile phone range to get away from it all.
What are you reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
The most compelling book I’ve read this year was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which makes you constantly reassess the way we judge people, but I also confess to being a bit of an addict of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books.
If you were a character in a TV series or movie, who would you be?
Daniel Craig wearing a black tie or a pair of pale blue swimming shorts. Well, that was my wife’s answer anyway.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
My favourite car for commuting is our VW Polo. I did hanker after a shot in the large excavator used to demolish the Aberdeen Seafood Park to make way for EnQuest’s new office.
Which charity do you support and why?
EnQuest supports Archway, a local charity that provides respite care for families of children with learning difficulties. This kind of facility is an absolute lifeline for families who need an occasional break from the demands of looking after a much-loved child who needs constant care. Please look them up at archway.org.uk
What’s on your bucket list – the things you still want to accomplish?
The trouble with bucket lists is they are so often contrived or constraining. I agree with John Lennon when he said “life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans”.
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