THE WORKFORCE OF THE NET ZERO FUTURE

Opinion piece from Geeta Thakorlal, President, Energy Transition and Digital, Worley

Climate change is the defining challenge of our generation. So, what does this mean for the future workforce?

Its stark reality is shifting societal expectations. And brings a demand for low-carbon energy. International net zero commitments are the rallying call for government, industry, and individual action.

And at the centre of the global response to the crisis is the oil and gas industry.

In years gone by, its workforce was stigmatised as being a part of the problem. Today, industry veterans and new recruits alike are better labelled as champions of our net zero future. And their talent and ingenuity will be critical for our shared future.

As the industry embarks on its greatest ever transformation, it’s clear that the workforce of the future will look dramatically different to previous generations.

New thinking will have a profound impact on the workforce

Building a sustainable business is complex. As oil and gas leaders move towards a digitally enabled, low carbon future, we’re often hearing our customers ask several common questions. What transferable skill sets do our employees have? Where are the skill gaps? Which roles will we need to fill in the future? Can we retrain existing employees? What kind of company culture do we need to attract and foster top talent? And how do we use this information to inform our implementation strategy?

The answers to these critical questions, among others, are guiding industry leaders in designing the oil and gas organisations of the future. And we see three exciting trends emerging.

Trend one: A new industry culture is emerging

The sustainability challenge comes at a time when skills and capabilities are being lost from the industry as the ‘baby boomer’ generation reaches retirement age. This brings a skills shortage. But it also brings the opportunity to attract a new wave of talent into the industry. Sadly, though, their attraction isn’t a given. And Surveys show that younger people are still moving away from oil and gas.

Millennials and Gen-Z want to engage in work that directly contributes to a more sustainable world. And they need to be backed up by a culture that embraces experimentation, rewards creative solutions and ‘walks the talk’ to bring those ideas to fruition.

The oil and gas industry hasn’t always ticked this box. Practices have been well established and became difficult to disrupt. Operators have a responsibility to provide economic returns to shareholders. And fear of failure has all too often hindered innovation.

But that's changing. Shareholders today are demanding sustainable outcomes, not just economic ones. And as digital transformation becomes the strategic priority for many in the industry to enable this, the pace of change is accelerating.

Trend two: Digital is no longer the plaything of early adopters

The digital industrial revolution is unprecedented in scale and complexity. Digital technology has advanced at a breath-taking pace and is now intrinsic to our work and personal lives. And industry adoption is now breaking down barriers between the physical and digital worlds.

The industry still lags in aerospace, defence, automotive, or manufacturing. But there’s a real appetite now to rip up the rule book in the quest to meet sustainability goals. Technologies like artificial intelligence, automation, and predictive analytics are changing how we work. And as a result, fundamental constructs of the industry are being reimagined.

But there’s a note of caution here. In recent years, we’ve started to see a more diverse and inclusive workforce emerging. And that's been like rocket fuel for creativity and innovation. But a recent study by the UK Office for National Statistics found that more than 70 per cent of jobs under threat from automation are held by women. The case for digital is unquestionable. But this example shows that it requires a well-thought-out adoption strategy and expert implementation to strike harmony with other business accelerators and fully capitalise on the opportunity.

Trend three: The nature of an energy career is evolving

At first glance, the energy transition and digital transformation could seem like a threat to the existing and future oil and gas workforce. It's true, there is a skill shift happening. But the capability developed through decades of experience within the existing oil and gas workforce is critical to the success of the energy transition.

By 2025, the new energy workforce is expected to scale up by around one third from its 2017 levels. And decarbonisation of the oil and gas industry will create new and exciting ways of working. If you’re eager to utilise your transferable skills, the opportunities are vast.

If you’re feeling threatened by the emergence of digital, it’s important to consider that technology can't replace the human mind. Humans are problem solvers. It’s what we do best. Your intrinsically ‘human’ skills – critical thinking, creativity, strategy and technology management and upkeep, among many physical and technical skills – will become more important and sought after.

Businesses must undertake skills gap analysis to understand where opportunities exist. They must equip their people with the new skills they need to operate in the emerging industry context and collaborate effectively not just with each other, but also with new technologies.

Where there’s change, there’s opportunity

Given the scale and urgency of the issue, change is inevitable. As individuals, we must be adaptive and open to new challenges and ways of working. And adopt a career learning mentality to keep pace. But great rewards await those that are brave enough to embrace the net zero future.

HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO DECARBONISE THE NORTH SEA?

Opinion piece from Eoghan Quinn, Vice President, Power & New Energy, Worley

Could renewable and digital technology come together to revolutionise an ageing oil basin?

For thousands of years, humans have worked together to achieve incredible things.

When we look back at the world 12 months ago, could we have imagined finding multiple vaccines for a global pandemic that are being given to millions of people every day? It’s proof of what is possible when different industries come together to fund, develop and distribute something we desperately need to survive.

But as we begin to overcome one pressing global issue, we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. There is another pressing issue that we need to solve, and the stakes have never been higher.

The energy transition is both our greatest opportunity and our greatest threat

We may have figured out how to extract energy sources from the earth and use them to power our lives, but it’s come at a cost. The excess carbon dioxide is trapping heat in our atmosphere and having a negative effect on our planet.

However, we’ve become dependent on this energy and we’re experiencing the impact it has on our natural environment. We need to find the solutions now to transform our energy systems, while keeping the lights on and our industries fueled, but using a fraction of the carbon emissions.

What does this mean for an ageing oil basin?

The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has produced around 45 billion barrels of oil since production began in 1967, and there’s still over 20 billion barrels of oil remaining. Today, producing and extracting oil and gas is responsible for around 3.5 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, but we must reduce this figure. We’ve already made progress toward net zero via Road Map 2035, but there’s a lot left to do. Oil and gas producers are struggling to retain their social license to operate and meet their carbon reduction targets, while they supply the energy we need to maintain the day-to-day life we take for granted.

Adding new technology to old assets

With an ageing basin, it’s normal to see assets come to the end of their life, but what if instead of decommissioning assets, we can repurpose them, extend their life and upgrade them so they emit a fraction of the carbon dioxide?

The decarbonisation drive starts by benchmarking and publishing carbon metric data. This data is key to understanding how we get to net zero, by using new technologies to forecast production emissions and measure the carbon intensity of modification work. This means we can estimate how much carbon we’ll emit by carrying out modification work, weighed against how much carbon will be emitted after. This output is then used to formulate decisions that will result in the fewest carbon emissions.

We’re seeing this with the shift in normally staffed assets becoming not permanently staffed assets, as new digital technologies enable less personnel onboard. With less travel and less need for supply boats, we’re emitting less carbon dioxide, while making the UKCS safer and our journey to net zero continues.

Powering oil and gas with renewables

While net zero is one of the industry’s biggest challenges, it’s also one of the biggest enablers for both innovation and cross sector collaboration. Oil and gas production assets need to become greener, so what if we powered these facilities with renewable energy sources?

By powering assets with renewable electricity instead of traditional gas, we remove the need for gas turbines that require ongoing maintenance and there’s a growing renewables industry ready to make this happen.

But the UK supply chain needs to work together to make sure we can overcome the challenges we are facing, while having a positive environmental and economic impact. We can take the tried and tested knowledge from oil and gas and combine it with the current innovation around renewables and in doing so we can accelerate the adoption of renewable energy while decarbonising the hydrocarbon industry.

From the North Sea to the world

In order to make all of this happen, our supply chain contracting model needs to change. How we deliver projects in the future will be assessed on the proportionate value they bring to the client and the climate – low cost reliable delivery solutions will be key. We are now seeing encouragement for more green contracting models through global companies that deliver locally, supported by the North Sea Transition Deal.

If we bring together the technological capabilities of oil and gas, the availability of renewable energy resources, digital technology and the societal demand for decarbonisation, the North Sea could become an example of a collaborative decarbonisation powerhouse. We can then lead the world in the transition to low carbon solutions as we export this knowledge around the world.

Decarbonising the UKCS isn’t going to be simple and there’s a lot of pressure to get it right, but as we remain focused on delivering a more sustainable world, I’ve never had more faith that we can make it happen!