Do You Have Skill set to Succeed in Today’s Volatile Oil and Gas market?

Dear emerging oil-and-gas industry leaders,

What if you could develop your career in the oil-and-gas industry and become a manager or, so to say, a leader of tomorrow? How much more would you achieve? What opportunities would you seize?

What if you could be rewarded greater recognition, status, and power in your company? What if you could be rewarded with a larger office, a higher title and a raise?

How much fun would you have in making a greater contribution to your organization and the industry?

The hard truth is that the oil and gas industry is huge so it can be hard to understand which skills are crucial for your oil-and-gas career advancement.

To help students develop their careers as well as help working professionals prepare for a leadership career in the oil and gas industry, I interviewed industry experts who have worked in different parts of the industry about skills that are crucial for career success.

These insights help you get the biggest improvement in your career and in the process, you will have more fun by making a greater contribution to your company or the industry at large.

Here are key employability skills for future oil-and-gas industry leaders:

Broad Knowledge of the Oil-and-Gas Industry

Technical competence is not enough. To embrace leadership roles, you need to take time to understand unique characteristics, issues and trends of the oil-and-gas sector.

You need to understand finance, technology and regulatory issues affecting the industry and how to inspire and motivate others.

As one executive put it, “Technical competence can be a barrier to leadership career for two reasons: first being technical competence does not automatically ensure leadership competence (I have seen a capable employee promoted into a leadership position but he failed as a leader); second, leaders with technical expertise may have a difficult time letting go of their technical expertise (I have seen leaders continue to spend time on the aspect of their technical responsibilities that they should delegate).”

Digital Knowledge and Skills

To flourish – or even survive in this digital world – professionals should look beyond the traditional and conventional way of doing things, i.e. business as usual. The innovative application of technology in the industry, such as in mobile-based apps or online-based learning, has been proven successful in staying afloat in this industry.

Soon, I foresee that the oil and gas industry will change rapidly in terms of how exploration and production are being conducted. For example, the usage of Artificial Intelligence in conducting seismic survey and implementation of Machine/Deep Learning in seismic data processing and interpretation. This requires a high level of competency in digital knowledge; thus, if young professionals do not take a step forward, they will lag behind.

Leadership Skills and Self-Management Skills

Professionals must demonstrate management and leadership skills. According to research, many professionals in the industry lack leadership skills, which reflects in their lack of innovation, unwillingness to change and lack of long-term strategic planning.

Dr Abdul Halim Abdul Latiff, Head of Centre for Subsurface Imaging at the University of Technology PETRONAS in Malaysia, told me that “the top three skills needed for any oil-and-gas company are complex problem-solving skills, critical thinking and creativity. In addition, as we move towards Industrial Revolution 4.0, the university needs to put more emphasis on other soft skillset such as collaboration (communication and teamwork), decision-making and adaptation to technological changes. These skills are important to drive the industry towards the new era of oil and gas.”

Furthermore, employers need self-management skills such as punctuality and time management.

What’s Next?

The good news is that management opportunities open up for skilled professionals with broad industry knowledge and the ability to think strategically.

Technical expertise is not enough.

Becoming a leader means understanding the various aspects of the oil-and-gas business, the competitive land scope and the operating environment.