This year we plan to feature four women who have smashed their way through the glass ceiling and risen to very senior roles in the oil and gas industry. We start with Carri Lockhart, who heads Marathon Oil’s North Sea business. She is one of a number of American women who have done a tour of duty in Aberdeen on their way to the top of a US major.
When Energy met Lockhart, she was in a celebratory mood, marking 30 years of production from Marathon’s Brae field complex. She talked about the future too but made no mention of the planned sale of the company’s North Sea assets . . . not even a hint, despite the fact that we met her in November at which point she must have known of corporate headquarters’ intentions.
While Marathon has assured that it will be business as usual for Aberdeen until or if a sale is achieved . . . we find it hard to believe that the budget required to execute the plans for Brae and articulated by Lockhart will wholly materialise; likewise spending on other North Sea assets, though these were not discussed.
“This year marks the 30th, 25th and 20th anniversaries of Brae Alpha, Bravo and East respectively,” Lockhart said. “It all marks something special to me and the team here.”
Lockhart admitted that, 15 years ago, it was thought unlikely that Marathon would still have a North Sea presence and be talking about Brae.
“Some of the platforms were built with a life expectancy of 15-20 years and we’ve only gotten to where we are through the dedication of the team, paying attention to the things that really matter . . . to maintaining efficiency and maximise value, including seeking ways to extend the life of the assets out there in the North Sea.”
Brae is a busy place. Alpha and Bravo are the top two assets in the North Sea in terms of scale and complexity. As they age they pose a stack of challenges and, according to Lockhart, no less exciting than a newly developed asset.
However, it is critical that they are maintained, otherwise they won’t last. Everything has to be fit for purpose, supported by systems and processes robust enough to manage such ageing assets.
“We have about 900 people in operations; it’s about a 50:50 split between Marathon and contractor personnel. We don’t distinguish between the two; we are one Brae family,” insisted Lockhart.
“We have a lot of exciting things still going on. For example; we’ve completed a major upgrade to our power generation system and we’re finishing reactivation of drilling on Alpha. Even though it’s a 30-year-old platform, we’re going to be drilling again. The last time we drilled there was around 2006.
“We’re going to be drilling a couple of wells at South Brae and, given some new ideas from the subsurface team, there might be further drilling though it’s a bit early to say anything definite.
“We also have well slots secured for additional drilling at West Brae around the late 2014-15 timeframe.”
Lockhart said the drilling, which will be pushing the edges of the mother reservoir, would deliver “great value back to Marathon as well as the UK”.
“I think it’s an exciting time for us.”
Turning to seismic, Lockhart said Marathon had relatively new data to hand but that further survey work was being considered despite the fact that Brae lies beneath Kimmeridge clay and is therefore hard to image.
“However, seismic is one small piece of the equation; there’s a host of other aspects that the sub-surface team is working at, to tell the story of where the hydrocarbons were produced (the kitchen) and where they might remain.”
“Classic engineering equations, new modelling efforts, new seismic, new mapping, geochemistry, geophysics, petrophysics . . . all that has to come together in a way that helps one to understand where the remaining potential lies.
“And then you combine this with your ability to access the resources in an economic manner . . . come up with viable projects.”
Brae has produced 1.8billion barrels so far, but quite what remains is unclear.
“We have a massive resource out there,” said Lockhart. “We believe there’s a lot left but whether or not we can economically get to that resource is a big question and that’s a question that every company struggles with.
“Will we be here another 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years? The objective for us is to continue to push the life of these assets out and maximise recovery and value. That’s what we’re here to do.”
However, Lockhart warned that her North Sea ambitions have to compete against projects in South Texas, US Gulf of Mexico, Equatorial Guinea, Norway and everywhere else that Marathon operates.
“What we know is that the projects we currently have in planning are competitive and we’re going to continue to look for new opportunities; that’s what my job is, that’s what I push my team to do, that’s what we’re delivering and proof of the pudding is that we’re about to start drilling again in 2014-15 and who knows what will come along from there.
“Our objective is to keep on drilling and to keep on looking for value-added projects that can maximise recovery from these reservoirs.”
As for third-party business, which accounts for a significant chunk of the hydrocarbons transported across and from Brae, Lockhart said the company would continue to seek further opportunities, but they had to deliver value.
“I think we have quite a track record of being collaborative and trying to do our best to make sure that the (third party) assets are utilised,” she said, adding that it wasn’t always possible to conclude a deal but that did not mean that there had been a lack of collaboration.
“These commercial negotiations are not easy. It can be very frustrating, tedious, but in the end logic will prevail. Typically, if there is alignment, deals can be made. I can’t speak for other operators but I think the proof is in the pudding . . . that Marathon has done a fantastic job of maximising the utility of the (Brae) infrastructure.”
However, Marathon has determined that its North Sea marathon must end and Lockhart will eventually move on, such is the nature of the business.
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