Exciting and challenging

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF NEPTUNE ENERGY.

Lex de Groot has over 30 years of experience in the upstream oil & gas sector in various roles, focusing mainly on the Dutch continental shelf. He has been Managing Director Netherlands of Neptune Energy since September 2018. He is a graduate of the Delft University of Technology (TUD) where he obtained a degree in Mining Engineering. Mr De Groot, you have been working in our industry for over 30 years. How did this happen? Mr De Groot: “Indeed, I have always worked for oil & gas projects in the Dutch North Sea area, with only a short switch to Qatar. I started my career in 1988 as Reservoir Engineer at Placid International Oil, the current Occidental Oil. Since this first job, I have >>

enjoyed various functions at di erent companies. In February 2018, I was Head of Reservoir Management at Engie when Neptune took over their gas fields and assets in the Dutch North Sea. In September of the same year, Neptune appointed me Managing Director. Of course, in times when the industry is at a low, one sometimes thinks about other careers, but, in the end, I always decided to stay, and without any regrets, as I love the relevance and dynamics of the sector.”

How did you get involved in the O&G industry? Mr De Groot, “When I had to decide which study to pursue, I first thought of Aerospace Engineering. When I visited an open day of the study Mining Engineering at TUD, today this is called Applied Earth Sciences, Iwas pleasantly surprised and decided to go for this study. It happened to be very attractive with many di erent angles. Next to the obvious technical aspect there is also the combination with geology for instance. A large part of the course was about petroleum engineering. I graduated at the end of the eighties, which was quite a challenging time for the oil& gas industry. Still, I was able to start at Placid Oil, and the rest is history.”

What exactly do you like about our industry? Mr De Groot, “First of all, the oil & gas industry is very relevant in our society. Look at today’s situation It was always very excited to be o shore and to be witness of the first results of an exploratory drilling campaign.

caused by the war in Ukraine, and you know how important energy and therewith our industry is. What I also like is the way how projects in our sector are set up and realised. And for me it has always been fascinating to work on something seemingly invisible. I mean, you start drilling a well, without exactly knowing what you will find. It was always very excited to be o shore and to be witness of the first results of an exploratory drilling campaign. And, even after finding oil or gas, it is not exactly known how much awell contains. One should realise that a drilling hole only has a diameter of around 15cm, and through this small hole the connection with a huge field is made with volumes that can only be predicted. So sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you are not. Apart from this, as soon as a discovery is made and the decision taken to start exploiting, an extensive process must be started which asks a lot from many people in a broad range of companies. For me, all these things make our industry very exciting and challenging.”

So far, what do you remember the most of your career? Mr De Groot, “The basis of our industry has not changed much throughout the years. Simply said, you drill a hole and collect the oil and gas that flows through it. The way of drilling and collecting data of course has changed a lot over the years to make production more e cient, and also more sustainable. In my career one of the things I mostly remember are situations that were safety related. O&G can be a dangerous industry and in the past decades I have dealt with various accidents with and without persons involved. These accidents always have a high impact on everyone, including myself. Today, it is good to see that a lot has been improved. To give a small example, in the past I stepped into a helicopter wearing just my ordinary clothes, whereas today, everyone stepping into a helicopter to go o shore must wear a survival suit. There is no question that a lot of measures, rules, and regulations have raised the level of safety at sea. Apart from this, I think that the increased safety awareness certainly has contributed to my own personal development as well, so in this way has been a positive development too.”

O&G is one of the industries that is often blamed for a negative impact on the environment. What are your thoughts about this? Mr De Groot, “Of course I understand the public opinion about fossil fuels and the urge of governments to promote the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Still, we will all be depending on oil and gas for many decades to come. Not only as a fuel but also as a raw material for many products. I think the energy transition is an inevitable necessity. However, the current situation caused by the war in Ukraine shows that we should take good care of not going too fast in saying goodbye to the good things we cannot do without in the short term. What will be important for the upcoming years is to aim for producing close to where the demand is. For the Netherlands and other European countries, the North Sea already plays and will play an important role in this. Even when I started my professional life everyone was sure of the fact that the volumes of oil and gas in the Dutch North Sea would only last for another ten years. Still, now more than 30 years later, we are here producing oil and gas to meet internal demand. The problem is that when we keep saying that the production of oil and gas will stop, it might have an eroding e ect on companies. As they do not exactly know what will happen, they might be hesitant in investing in their assets. It is obvious that this does not help in keeping the sector healthy and up to date.”

How do you look at the near future? Mr De Groot: “Looking at myself, I hope to be able to continue at Neptune Energy and build our business activities with a culture where safety is top priority. Safety not only from a physical point of view, but also mentally, as everyone working at our company, no matter who they are, what they are, and where they are from, must feel safe under all circumstances. Also, when looking ahead, I see Neptune Energy as a company that, next to continuing our E&P activities, will soon have a solid position in CCS, going beyond net zero by 2030, and possibly also in o shore green hydrogen production. In contrast to, for example o shore wind, these are typically things close to our current expertise and know-how that can help reduce global emission of CO2. Looking at the industry as a whole, it will be important for us to keep on searching for the best way to keep producing oil and gas safely and meanwhile trying to phase them out as e ciently as possible for realising a proper energy transition. Also, with the growing activities at the North Sea, for example o shore wind and aquaculture, it will be important to stay connected with all other North Sea users and stakeholders. There should be room for every sector, of course with a keen eye on the ecological e ects of everyone’s activities. And as good neighbours we all should keep each other informed about what we intend to do and how this might a ect each other’s presence at sea.”