Page 184: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2014)

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People

Spotlight

By Elaine Maslin challenging, yes, but it’s an opportunity to put that 50 years of learning, research,

PESGB reaches 50 and knowledge to good use.

Wood Review (OE: April 2014) high- But is this enough? The much-heralded As the PESGB reaches 50, lights the current exploration crisis and crew change is taking place and a new 2014 President Oonagh challenges that the industry faces. It is generation is coming through the system.

Werngren takes stock of the the wakeup call that policy makers and The question is —are we doing enough to the industry need. It lays out clearly support them and to ensure we are select-

North Sea oil & gas industry. the challenges facing the basin and the ing the visionaries amongst them?

t the start of 2014, I was fortunate way forward. It identi? es the need for The recent trends in the UK to take enough to take up the reins as stimulation of exploration and a turn- geology out of the school curriculum,

A president of the Petroleum Exploration around in production, as well as a more reduce the number of universities train-

Society of Great Britain (PESGB). I am collaborative way of working in order to ing geology teachers, and the high costs only the second woman to take this role unlock the 42 billion bbl of hydrocarbons of acquiring a degree and a masters as the society celebrates its 50th year, but that remain. mean that the selection process is poten-

I am also humbled by the great contribu- It also calls for a new regulator and tially against us. Couple that with recent tion made by my predecessors in the closer input from the UK Treasury on hiring trends of letting some computer- role and the members of the society to ? scal issues. This is the real tripartite ized system determine whether candi- advance the understanding of the basins approach we need to work together to dates are suitable for a graduate program which make up the UK Continental Shelf unlock the maximum economic potential without even interviewing them leaves (UKCS). of the North Sea. me cold.

What started with the signing of the The 6000-strong PESGB membership The good news is that PESGB takes

Continental Shelf Act 1964 by the British mirrors this trend, with geoscientists and its role of education very seriously by

Parliament on 15 May 1964, has trans- engineers learning their trades in great sponsoring 28 MSc students. This activ- formed the North Sea into a very signi? - academic institutions and transferring ity is coupled with the new UK Research cant hydrocarbon province. Today, more their knowledge and skills to the corners Council-sponsored Centre for Doctoral than 450,000 people work in the UK of the globe. As home to the main geosci- Training (CDT) oil and gas program, led on over 300 ? elds, and thousands more ence talent in the UK, it also needs to by Heriot Watt University. The CDT will have been trained both on- and offshore pick up the challenge, especially around bring over 90 new Phd positions into in the basin, transferring their skills and stimulating exploration. universities in the UK over the next three technology overseas. However, 50 years The easy plays have already been years. This is a phenomenal boost. This into its development, the UKCS faces a found—we need to branch out, to iden- is the future generation that will unlock number of challenges as global competi- tify missed pay and new play oppor- the remaining reserves and create the tion for funds, lackluster drilling results, tunities, to take on frontier basins like much needed renaissance for the UK. rising costs, and falling production call the Rockall Trough, to see beneath the My plea to the industry is to nurture for a material change. basalt and utilize the latest innovation them and give them a career that will let

Sir Ian Wood’s recently published and technology to help us. The future is them unlock their full potential.

Oonagh Werngren MBE joined industry body Oil and Gas UK as operations director in January 2013, and works primarily on the PILOT initiative to maximize economic recovery of the UKCS. Werngren is also

President of the PESGB. She has worked at Tricentrol Oil Corporation,

ARCO British, BP Exploration, and GDF Suez, on projects around the globe.

She started as a ? eld geologist, with an MSc in Stratigraphy from Birkbeck

College, mapping landslides before progressing to well-site geologist, leading exploration and development teams and optimization projects.

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