TEXT 1

A Day in the Life of the Women of O&G

by Jaime Kammerzell
From Rigzone Contributor. Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Although far fewer women work in the oil and gas (O&G) industry compared to men, many women
find rewarding careers in the industry. Five women were asked the same questions regarding
their career choices in the oil and gas industry.
Question 1: Why did you choose the oil and gas industry?
Woman 1: Cool technology, applying science and money.
Woman 2: It seemed interesting and the pay was good.
Woman 3: They offered me a job! I couldn’t turn down the great starting salary and a chance to
live in New Orleans.
Woman 4: I did not really choose the oil and gas industry as much as it chose me.
Woman 5: I chose the oil and gas industry because of the challenging projects, and I want to be
part of our country’s energy solution.
Question 2: How did you get your start in the oil and gas industry?
Woman 1: I went to a university that all major oil companies recruit. I received a summer
internship with Texaco before my last year of my Master’s degree.
Woman 2: I was recruited at a Texas Tech Engineering Job Fair.
Woman 3: At the time, campus recruiters came to the geosciences department of my university
annually and they sponsored scholarships for graduate students to help complete their research.
Even though my Master’s thesis was more geared toward environmental studies, as a recipient
of one of these scholarships, my graduate advisor strongly
encouraged me to participate when the time came for O&G Industry interviews.
Woman 4: I was working for a company in another state where oil and gas was not its primary
business. When the company sold its division in the state where I was working, they offered me
a position at the company’s headquarters in Houston managing the aftermarket sales for the
company’s largest region. Aftermarket sales supported the on-highway, construction, industrial,
agricultural and the oil and gas markets. After one year, the company asked me to take the
position of managing their marine and offshore power products division. I held that position for
three years. I left that company to join a new startup company where I hold the position of
president.
Woman 5: My first job in the oil and gas industry was an internship with Mobil Oil Corp., in New
Orleans.
I worked with a lot of smart, focused and talented geoscientists and engineers.

Question 3: Describe your typical day.

Woman 1: Tough one to describe a typical day. I generally read email, go to a couple of meetings
and work with the field’s earth model or look at seismic.
Woman 2: I talk with clients, help prepare bids and work on getting projects out the door. My days
are never the same, which is what I love about the job I have.

Woman 3: I usually work from 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (although the official day is shorter). We call
the field every morning for an update on operations, security, construction, facilities and
production engineering activities. I work with my team leads on short-term and long-term projects
to enhance production (a lot of emails and Powerpoint). I usually have 2-3 meetings per day to
discuss/prioritize/review ongoing or upcoming work (production optimization, simulation
modeling, drilling plans, geologic interpretation, workovers, etc.). Beyond our team, I also
participate in a number of broader business initiatives and leadership teams.

Woman 4: A typical day is a hectic day for me. My day usually starts well before 8 a.m. with phone
calls and emails with our facility in Norway, as well as other business relationships abroad. At the
office, I am involved in the daily business operations and also stay closely involved in the projects
and the sales efforts. On any given day I am working on budgets and finance, attending project
meetings, attending engineering meetings, reviewing drawings and technical specifications,
meeting with clientes and prospective clients, reviewing sales proposals, evaluating new business
opportunities and making a lot of decisions.

Woman 5: On most days I work on my computer to complete my projects. I interpret logs, create
maps, research local and regional geology or write documents. I go to project meetings almost
every day. I typically work only during business hours, but there are times when I get calls at night
or on weekends from a rig or other geologists for assistance with a technical problem.

TEXT 2
How To Start A Career In The Oil And Gas Industry:
What Employers Say
By Katie Weir
From Talent Acquisition Specialist, Campus
Talisman Energy

How to start your career, step by step

Fix up your resumé – take it to your career centre at your university and they’ll help you.
Write a compelling cover letter that speaks to your best qualities – save the pretentious
language for your English papers.
Join a professional association and attend
their events – if you feel uncomfortable attending alone, try volunteering at them. By having a
job to do, it gives you an excuse to interact with the attendees, and an easy way to start up a
conversation the next time you see them.
Do your research – I can’t stress this enough. I want students to apply to Talisman, not because
we have open jobs, but because they actually have na interest in what we’re doing, and want to
be a part of it.
Be confident, but stay humble – it’s importante to communicate your abilities effectively, but it’s
also important to be conscious of the phrase: “sense of entitlement.” This generation entering the
workforce has already been branded with the word “entitlement,”so students will need to fight
against this bias from the very beginning of any relationship with people in the industry – be aware
that you will need to roll up yoursleeves and work hard for the first couple years, and you will be
rewarded in the end.

TEXT 3

An Introduction to the Oil Patch

So you’re thinking about a field job in the oil industry. If you haven’t been involved in the oil patch
before, you probably have no idea how vast it is, or where to start your job search. Many sites will
try to convince you that you can get a job on an offshore rig making $10,000 a month without any
experience or training at all, and while this is possible, it’s not at all likely. Actually, it can be tough
to find a job in any field of the oil industry without some experience or training. First, you should
realize that the oil industry isn’t just drilling rigs, pumpjacks, and gas stations. The oil industry is
a lot like the military in that it employs people in nearly every profession. There are positions such
as roughneck or airgun operator, that are very specific to the oil industry; but there are also
welders, medics, chemists, biologists, environmentalists, cooks, computer programmers,
engineers, and a thousand more positions that are absolutely essential to the industry. You don’t
have to have experience specifically in the oil industry in order to have relevant experience. The
oil patch is a little bit different from most other industries. You’ll soon lose the idea of a weekend
as you now know it... The patch runs seven days a week, and in many cases, 24 hours a day.
You’ll be expected to work every day in all weather conditions, for weeks or even months at a
time. The oil industry is also very production oriented; you’ll make more money welding in the oil
patch than in another industry, but you’ll work longer and harder for that bigger paycheck. There
are a few prerequisites if you want a field job in the oil patch:
• You must be in reasonably good physical condition, and be able to lift at least 50 lbs. regularly.
• For most positions, you must have a valid driver’s license.
• You must have suitable clothing for extended outdoor work and in most cases, hard toed safety
boots.
• You should not have any medical condition which would make it unsafe for you to operate
machinery.
• You don’t need to live in the city where you employer is located, but in most cases you will have
to provide your own transportation to and from your home from the employer’s location (point-of-
hire). If you live a long way from any area with oil and gas activity, you will have a very difficult
time finding na entry level job in this industry. You must be willing and able to work hard for long
hours. This industry is all about production, and if you don’t produce, you’re not an asset to the
company.
• You must be drug-free. Most companies conduct pre-employment drug screenings and random
testing of employees. If your test show signs of illegal drugs in your system, you will not be hired.
Most oil work requires you to live away from home, in motels or camps near the jobs. Your travel,
accommodations, and meals will usually be paid by your employer while you’re working. Most
companies also provide all required safety supplies, such as hard hats and reflective safety vests.
You are required to supply your own work clothes, boots, gloves, etc. Before you leave for your
first job, be sure you have appropriate clothing to spend 14 hours outside... frostbite isn’t fun,
neither is heat stroke. Much of the work in the oil industry is very physically demanding, especially
in the entry level positions. There is no upper age limit, but you should be willing and able to work
hard for long hours, lift 50 lbs regularly, and be in relatively good physical condition. If you have
back or other health problems that prevent strenuous activity, you may want to reconsider this
line of work. Most companies require employees to be at least 18 years old. A recent hearing test
and/or medical evaluation may be required. Many oilfield companies also require a
preemployment drug and alcohol screening. You should know that though you can make a lot of
money in a month in the oil patch, you can also make no Money in a month. Most oilfield work
isn’t very stable, and you’ll occasionally find yourself laid-off on short notice due to a shortage of
work... and called back on even shorter notice. Many people in Canada work in the oil industry
during the winter while it’s busy, then take the spring and summer off, or work non-oilfield summer
jobs. Offshore and overseas rigs usually operate yearround, offering a much more stable work
environment; but there are very few positions on these rigs that are available without any
experience. If you’re interested in working on one of these rigs, you may want to start with a
catering job. All major offshore and overseas projects employ catering staff to provide meals for
the rig crew. These positions are often available without experience, and rig managers will often
hire catering staff onto the rig crew if they need an extra hand, or if a member of the rig crew gets
injured or leaves. It’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and showing interest in
working on the rig.

TEXT 4
Brazil Oil Boom Boosts Job Market

By Amy Skalmusky, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Spearheaded by record investment in the petroleum and natural
gas industry, Brazil’s job market continues to grow at a breakneck pace. Billion dólar investments
by the government and private companies have created a positive landscape for job seekers, with
no sign of abating. “The demand for professionals will continue to increase. I believe we will see
an even larger demand in two to three years due to project maintenance and expansion,” said
Rafael Faria, Head of Business Recruiting in Oil & Gas for a global recruiting corporation. With
investments of US$224 billion over the next four years by the major Brazilian oil and gas company,
as well as investments by almost all major multinational oil companies in the exploration of new
oil and gas fields, qualified workers are a hot commodity. An estimate from the federal government
estimates that the new Brazilian oil fields will require 250,000 new professionals through 2016.
Among the professionals most in demand are operations managers, logistics managers, Project
managers, contract managers and engineers. According to Faria, one of the most challenging
positions to fill is the Contract Manager, which requires a good amount of experience in dealing
with the large oil companies and their complex rules and regulations. “Human Resource
managers are at wits end,” said Rose Santos, Human Resource Manager at na international
organization specialized in deepwater engineering services for the oil industry. “Everyone is
fighting for the best professiprofessionals. Engineers are getting hired right out of college.” Most
universities offer an undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering, and it has become the most
sought-after course, passing medicine. But not only managers are in high demand, skilled workers
to build, maintain, repair and perform technical installations on the drill rigs, platforms, ships and
other offshore and onshore structures are essential. Training courses and programs are trying to
keep up with the demand. SENAI (Professional training school) has doubled the number of
professional training courses in the last four years. PROMINP, Programa de Mobilização da
Indústria de Petróleo e Gás Natural, a training program developed in 2003 in conjunction with a
major oil company to train ‘blue collar’ workers, plans to turn out 212,000 professionals by 2014.
Some companies opt to search beyond Brazil’s borders to find professionals. Many of the
multinational companies that previously had only a single representative in Brazil, are looking to
extend their presence and have to import talent. Work visas can be a challenge to obtain though,
and permanente visas also involve significant immigration procedures. While many companies
tend to import professionals from their home base, according to Santos, it is common practice to
try to replace them with Brazilians within two to three years, due to the high costs. Faria agrees,
“Hiring foreigners can cost up to three times the salary paid to a Brazilian. The cost includes
school for their children, moving expenses, room and board and a car.” For foreigners considering
a relocation to try their luck in Brazil’s heated job market, it is important to do the research and
evaluate carefully. “Maybe in three to five years it may be worth it for middle managers, but it will
depend on the Exchange rate and changes in governmental policy, which I don’t see on the
horizon,” said Faria.
 TEXT 5
Deepwater Oil Finds Spur NYK to Invest in New Vessels
A raft of giant oil strikes in global deepwaters is prompting Japanese shipping company NIPPON
YUSEN KABUSHIKI KAISHA (NYK Line) to invest more in floating production vessels that it can
offer for lease, a senior executive said. NYK Line says Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) will be its
biggest customer in the near term, as Brazil’s state-owned oil company targets first production
from large oil finds in the subsalt region. Good news flowing from drilling campaigns in Brazil’s
deep water continued Tuesday when Petrobras said its Guara prospect in the Santos Basin holds
between 1.1 billion and 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Other big discoveries in the area include
Tupi, which was the Western Hemisphere’s largest discovery in more than 30 years. The oil lies
under more than 2,000 meters of water and a further 5,000 meters under sand, rock and a shifting
layer of salt.
Fewer Rivals
In June, NYK and three Japanese partners invested in Etesco Drilling Services LLC, which will
lease drill ships to Petrobras. A drill ship is already on order and due for delivery in January 2012.
It will be leased to Petrobras for a maximum 20 years for drilling in Brazil’s subsalt region. Hitoshi
Nagasawa, managing officer of NYK Line, said NYK isn’t involved in operating the drill ship in this
project, and is merely an investor. “However, we’ll learn from our experience partnering
companies, as our ultimate goal is to operate (floating vessels) on our own,” he said. NYK is one
of Japan’s two major crude oil and liquefied natural gas carrier companies, and has a track record
in loading and offloading these products. It is also joint operator of a drilling vessel owned by the
Japanese government. NYK aims to make operating and leasing floating vessels the third pillar
of its business after LNG shipping and very large crude carriers, or VLCCs. At present,
Petrobras’s ambitious drilling plans in deepwater will ensure the Brazilian company remains its
largest customer in the near term, Nagasawa said. But the company is studying several more
projects involving floating vessels, said Nagasawa. He declined to give specifics, but said: “We
will partner with and invest in other companies if we think the project is good. But we won’t do a
project alone, because the investment is too large for one company.” NYK is also seeking other
projects than drill ships. These include floating production, storage and offloading vessels, or
FPSOs, floating storage and offloading vessels, or FSOs, and floating storage and regasification
units, or FSRUs. NYK posted a net profit of Y56 billion for the fiscal year ended March 2009,
roughly down by half from a year earlier. The earnings decline was due in part to weakening
demand for shipping in the second half and higher costs due to a strong yen. The container
shipping sector was among the most attractive to new entrants until the global economy started
to turn down in fall 2008, with the intensifying competition contributing to weaker margins. But the
business of leasing and operating floating vessels for use in deep-water areas has more barriers
to entry because it requires deeper technological knowledge and higher investment, Nagasawa
said.

TEXT6
The next oil giant?
Mar 19th 2009

From the Economist Intelligence Unit ViewsWire

Financing hurdles
At the time of the Tupi discovery, oil prices were close to US$100/b, but since then they have
fallen to around US$40/b. Weak prospects for a significant pick-up in the medium term have
raised questions about whether investors will see the project as financially viable. The drying up
of international financing, significantly lower oil prices and the technological and geological
challenges related to the development of the new oil finds make long-term cost calculations
difficult. Because of this, Petrobras decided to delay the announcement of its five-year strategic
plan by four months. It was finally made public in February 2008 and included very ambitious
financial goals. The revised plan for 2009-13 is based on an average oil price of US$42/b and
calls for investments of around US$174.4bn, a 55% increase from the US$112.4bn stated in its
2008-12 investment plan. Petrobras has gone some way towards securing financing for this year’s
outlays. The company has raised US$10.5bn of the US$28.6bn it needs. Of the remaining
US$18.1bn, it is set to receive US$11.9bn from the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Econômico e Social (BNDES, Brazil’s national development bank) in the form of a 30-year
US$11.9bn loan, with an additional US$5bn bridge loan expected from a consortium of
international banks. Petrobras would need to raise a further US$10bn to cover its investments in
2010. Growing difficulties in accessing international capital markets could scupper these plans
or—at the very least—sharply raise the cost of borrowing. The brief easing of credit conditions in
January allowed Petrobras to issue a 10-year, US$1.5bn bond on the eurobond market. But low
risk appetite on the part of foreign investors, recent currency-derivatives losses and continued
uncertainty regarding the value of the Real mean that large Brazilian companies are increasingly
likely to rely on local banks for credit at high premium spreads.
What role for private capital?
While the role of the state oil company is not in question, the level and manner of participation by
the private sector is not as clear. Brazil opened its hydrocarbons sector to private investors at the
end of the 1990s. Since then, it has held annual bidding rounds that have become a model of
transparency and have attracted large numbers of private participants. However, Brazil’s new oil
and gas potential has raised doubts about the extent of that openness in the future, as the
government debates the preferred degree of private participation. Following the Tupi discovery,
the government removed 41 deepwater blocks in the sub-salt region from the ninth bidding round
for the first time since it started holding international rounds in 1998. In 2008 Brasília again
withheld offshore blocks from the 10th bidding round. Seven companies currently hold
concessions for the development of the sub-salt: Petrobras, BG, Galp, Repsol, Shell, Exxon and
Amerada Hess. A specially created government task force is studying possible changes to the
concession laws that would give Petrobras the upper hand in the development of the Tupi area.
The task force is considering options such as raising taxes and royalties on private companies
producing in the new areas. Under current concession contracts, private operators sell the oil they
produce in exchange for a relatively low government take of between 5% and 10%. They also
pay a special participation tax of 10-40% of revenue on large fields, depending on volume,
location, depth and age; this level could also be raised. A more dramatic approach under
consideration is to turn concession contracts into production-sharing agreements with Petrobras.
This would mean that private companies would have to sharetheir production with the government
after recovering costs. Any changes to the current contractual agreements would need
congressional approval. But the final decision will be in the hands of the president, Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva, based on the suggestions made by the task force. Whichever line he takes will set
the stage for hydrocarbons developments in a future oil-rich Brazil beyond the end of his
presidential term in 2010. The government hopes that by engaging in a debate early on in the
development of the south-eastern oil reserves, it will pre-empt a possible shift to resource
nationalism.
TEXT 7
Cane surpasses power dams in Brazil energy complex
Thu May 8, 2008 2:41pm EDT
By Denise Luna
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Sugar cane and canebased ethanol became a more important
energy source than hydroelectric power plants in Brazil’s overall energy complex last year, topped
only by petroleum and oil products. The government’s EPE energy planning agency said on
Thursday sugar cane had a 16 percent share in the country’s so-called energy matrix — a
combination of all sources of energy including fuels and electricity — while power dams were left
behind with a 14.7 percent share. Oil and derivatives had a 36.7 percent weighting, dropping from
37.8 percent in 2006. “It’s a historic year in that sense, it’s an irreversible trend,” EPE President
Mauricio Tolmasquim told reporters. He attributed the growing role of sugar cane to booming
demand for ethanol as a motor fuel, but expected more cane and ethanol to be used for electricity
generation as well. Brazil is a world leader in biofuels with decades of valuable expertise in using
ethanol in cars. In February 2007, the consumption of ethanol surpassed that of gasoline for the
first time in two decades. The trend is driven by a drop in ethanol prices and huge sales of flex-
fuel cars that can run on ethanol, gasoline or any mix of the two.Hydrous ethanol consumption
jumped 46 percent last year to 10.4 billion liters, while the usage of anhydrous ethanol that is
mostly blended into gasoline sold in Brazil rose nearly 20 percent to 6.2 billion liters, EPE said.
At the same time, gasoline consumption in the country dipped almost 4 percent to 18 billion liters.
Tolmasquim said it was important that Latin America’s largest country was self-sufficient in the
three main sources of energy, including oil. Brazil met its oil needs with domestic output for the
first time in 2006. It still needs to import some light crude to mix with heavy local crudes for refining,
but it also exports heavy oil. Last year’s exports totaled an average of 421,000 barrels per day
and imports stood at 418,000 bpd. All nonrenewable energy’s share fell to 53.6 percent in the
overall complex in 2007 from 55.1 percent in 2006, with coal gaining some ground on its increased
use in steelmaking. Nuclear energy’s share was just 1.4 percent. Renewables, which include
hydroelectricity, ethanol and plant-based biodiesel, gained to a 46.4 percent weighting from 44.9
percent. The use of renewable energy sources in Brazil by far surpasses the world’s average of
around 13 percent, EPE said.

TEXT 8

Brazil is one of the largest producers of ethanol in the world and is the largest exporter of the fuel.
In 2006,Brazil produced 308,000 bbl/d of ethanol. It is predicted that Brazil’s etanol production
will reach 329,000 bbl/d in 2007 and 365,000 bbl/d in 2008, as over half of all cars in the country
are of the flex-fuel variety and all gasoline in Brazil contains ethanol. Ethanol in Brazil comes from
sugar cane, which prospers in the country’s tropical climate. In recent years, Brazil has tried to
increase etanol exports, especially to the United States. In 2006, Brazil exported 29,600 bbl/d of
ethanol to the United States, quadruple the amount exported to the U.S. in 2005. To help facilitate
additional exports, Petrobras announced a plan in early 2006 to build an ethanol pipeline from
Goias, an interior area at the center of Brazil’s sugarcane production, to Sao Paulo. However,
increasing domestic demand and high domestic prices may limit export growth. In addition,
Brazil’s ethanol exports face high tariffs in some markets, such as the 54 cent per gallon tariff in
the United States.
TEXT 9
Experts Try to Gauge Health Effects of Gulf Oil Spill
Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WEDNESDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) - This

Tuesday and Wednesday, a high-ranking group of expert government advisors is meeting to
outline and anticipate potential health risks from the Gulf oil spill - and find ways to minimize them.
The workshop, convened by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the request of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, will not issue any formal recommendations, but is intended to
spur debate on the ongoing spill. “We know that there are several contaminations. We know that
there are several groups of people — workers, volunteers, people living in the area,” said Dr.
Maureen Lichtveld, a panel member and professor and chair of the department of environmental
health sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New
Orleans. “We’re going to discuss what the opportunities are for exposure and what the potential
short- and long-term health effects are. That’s the essence of the workshop, to look at what we
know and what are the gaps in science,” Lichtveld explained. High on the agenda: discussions of
who is most at risk from the oil spill, which started when BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded
and sank in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, killing 11 workers. The spill has already greatly
outdistanced the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in magnitude. “Volunteers will be at the highest risk,”
one panel member, Paul Lioy of the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers
University, stated at the conference. He was referring largely to the 17,000 U.S. National Guard
members who are being deployed to help with the clean-up effort. Many lack extensive training
in the types of hazards — chemical and otherwise — that they’ll be facing, he said. That might
even include the poisonous snakes that inhabit coastal swamps, Lioy noted. Many National Guard
members are “not professionally trained. They may be lawyers, accountants, your next-door
neighbor,” he pointed out. Seamen and rescue workers, residents living in close proximity to the
disaster, people eating fish and seafood, tourists and beach-goers will also face some risk going
forward, Dr. Nalini Sathiakumar, na occupational epidemiologist and pediatrician at the University
of Alabama at Birmingham, added during the conference. Many of the ailments, including nausea,
headache and dizziness, are already evident, especially in clean-up workers, some of whom have
had to be hospitalized. “Petroleum has inherent hazards and I would say the people at greatest
risk are the ones actively working in the region right now,” added Dr. Jeff Kalina, associate medical
director of the emergency department at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “If petroleum gets
into the lungs, it can cause quite a bit of damage to the lungs [including] pneumonitis, or
inflammation of the lungs.” “There are concerns for workers near the source. They do have
protective equipment on but do they need respirators?” added Robert Emery, vice presidente for
safety, health, environment and risk management at the University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston. Physical contact with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and with solvents
can cause skin problems as well as eye irritation, said Sathiakumar, who noted that VOCs can
also cause neurological symptoms such as confusion and weakness of the extremities. “Some of
the risks are quite apparent and some we don’t know about yet,” said Kalina. “We don’t know
what’s going to happen six months or a year from now.”