I see the future of Aberdeen: a post-apocalyptic wasteland of flash cars sitting abandoned and rusting on Union Street, clubs turning back in to churches and office blocks colonised with seagulls.
In this picture of the future there may or may not be oil left in the UKCS. It is largely irrelevant. To win the economic war you have to command more resources than everyone else. We are not in that position.
It’s not all bad news! The seagulls are getting slimmer and fitter now they have to do their own hunting.
When faced with uncertainty, take firm hold of the factors you can control and exploit them.
The world’s reliance on hydrocarbons is not going to disappear any time soon. One secret to our success in the UKCS has been building a whole supply chain around oil & gas. No bolt or grain of sand is too small for someone to make a million from.
Let’s expand that strategy globally. Decommissioning will keep us going for a while regardless of the oil price but what we need to start focusing on is exporting all the hard lessons we have lived through in the form of solutions – especially technology – that other regions haven’t ever dreamed of yet.
Smart, speedy and strategic
By selling to whatever basin or region is looking for innovation and efficiency, Aberdeen can remain a centre of excellence for as long as we are smart, speedy and strategic.
I realise that it’s nothing new; and easier said than done.
We know what we have to do to avoid Aberdeen dropping off the oil & gas map but there’s one critical element missing – excitement.
I work in technology – software development and business intelligence specifically – and I have seen first hand what it takes to create something truly innovative.
There’s having no idea where to start and days spent on something, only to realise that you’ve been lured into a dead-end.
But there is also the elation of a breakthrough, animated group meetings and a never-ending excitement that makes hours pass in the blink of an eye.
It is the love/hate reality of building something from scratch with only your imagination to guide you.
That kind of excitement is what we need to sustain this industry because we need the best and brightest to create technology that oil & gas companies around the globe will clamour for.
The skills shortage that we have been shouting about for years will always be our biggest problem because oil & gas isn’t thought of as an exciting or sexy career choice.
The best and brightest will always gravitate towards jobs that will keep them excited; jobs where they are mentally stimulated, surrounded by people smarter than themselves and feel a regular sense of achievement.
I work in an environment like this. I’m excited about every day because the very environment makes you strive for more and suddenly you see yourself accomplishing things you never thought possible.
I don’t see the same for many of my friends and the young professionals I meet. But I do see talented, educated young people who want a career in energy. However, they need to feel like they are making a difference; that those eight, nine, 10 hours a day have value beyond a pay cheque. Without this they too will leave for the oil rich nations, along with our profits.
The industry is crying out for “innovation” and “culture change” and all the elements are ready and waiting. To current oil & gas executives, taking the leap towards a new basis of our economy can mean making the business case for change to practices that may have spanned their entire careers.
Young professionals don’t have this burden. We don’t want to do things just because that’s how they’ve always been done. We want to make our mark. And perhaps our mark will be leading Aberdeen from an operational centre to an oil & gas technology centre, securing our economic safety in the process. A partnership between the experienced titans of industry and young professionals is the best way to achieve this transformation.
You have the insight that we are only beginning to develop and we haven’t been in the industry long enough to give up hope of a career with purpose.
We will take any glimmer of excitement and run with it. Naturally, we will build an industry that reflects our reality.
A reality where we have an app for everything, can turn to YouTube videos to learn almost any skill, expect unlimited knowledge at our fingertips and share our thoughts and ideas freely.
Technology is the norm for us and, given a chance, it offers a whole generation of engineers, analysts, coders, marketers, everyone, an opportunity to be excited every day at work.
That “culture of innovation” that you, the industry leadership, are seeking, is one we already live in.
Just let us hold on to it and point us in the right direction. Don’t stifle our creativity.
Let us geek out across the breadth of the industry, creating cutting edge tech as we go and you can retire with a clear conscience. After all, we can’t let the seagulls win.
Jennifer Sillars is a member of the EIYPN (Energy Institute – Young Professionals Network).
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