Scotland’s oil industry is rarely out of the media glare but the referendum debate has turned the spotlight fully onto it. Scott McFarlane is based in Aberdeen, where he runs his own oilfield service business, but has also worked all across the globe in the industry. We spoke to him to find out more about the opportunities it still offers to job candidates.
You’ve worked in the oil industry for some years now and it’s taken you across the globe. Can you give us a rundown of your route into the industry and what you now do in it?
I’ve been in the oil industry 36 years and it is a very different beast to what it was when I came to Aberdeen. In those days there were not the same routes as there are now, as the industry was in its infancy. Back then, it was true – and still is in some respects today – that it’s not what you know but who you know. I got in through a friend of a friend, with no experience in oil and gas jobs, and was taken on as a trainee. Nowadays I have my own oilfield service company. What I supply is a very niche product, providing geologists, petro-physicists and engineers with information on their reservoir storage capacity and how it may behave under a production regime.
There’s a lot of talk about the future of Scotland’s oil industry. Living in Aberdeen and working in the industry, what mood do you generally detect as people look towards the future?
The mood in Aberdeen is a good one. There might be talk between politicians as to how much is left depending on what party you speak to. But whether it is 10 barrels or 10 billion barrels it still needs to be extracted and it’s not down to politicians fighting over scoring points that will get the oil out. The oil and gas sector will continue to look for new fields or come up with new methods of getting more out of the existing reservoirs. It’s not a nationalised industry and companies who operate in Aberdeen have to deal with governments in each and every other country in the world that they operate out of. They don’t really care about governments. It’s the shareholders who hold on to the purse strings. Working in Aberdeen can lead you abroad to where there are still vast untapped resources waiting to be discovered and Aberdeen being Europe’s oil capital is instrumental in that operation, whether there is oil and gas in the North Sea or not.
How important do you feel the general life experience gained by working in such an international industry has been to you?
I would not be the person I am today without the experience abroad which the oil industry has given to me. But don’t forget that a lot of people in the industry, myself included, have also given back many years of hard work and in many cases, the sacrifice of being away from home. It’s a two way street.
How would you weigh the importance of academic qualifications against practical experience when it comes to the oil industry?
Academic qualifications are very important. The oil and gas sector needs people who can be harvested from university graduates. Some things practical experience will never give you. You just can’t learn about advanced stress analysis in metals by picking it up. Even if you want to be an offshore chef in a floating hotel you will need to have proof you can do the job. There will be plenty of competition out there, for those who do have the proof.
In the past, you must have spent time offshore – with all the challenges that brings. Is there any advice on dealing with this that you’d offer to people who may have to work offshore in their job?
I was very young when I first went offshore at 20 years old and I found it pretty hard and would count down the days. There are some people it just works out very well for, and they can adapt to the life cycle of going back and forth. The best advice when working offshore is to make friends, work hard and enjoy your work. If you are not enjoying it then try something else.
What advice in general would you give to people looking to work in the oil industry in some way?
First of all, decide if working offshore or on rig sites is for you. Remember, there are more support staff that never see a rig. Get qualifications in whatever it is that you would enjoy doing for the rest of your working life and see if that set of skills and knowledge is required for the oil industry.
When studying, see if you can get involved with the industry in a part-time capacity. If you are doing geology, for example, see if any of the oil companies or geological analysis labs need part-time staff or are willing to have you during the summer. If you can come out of university with some contacts or experience gained during your studies then you will be streets ahead of the competition. Try to make contacts at events as well.
I would recommend that anyone wishing to get into the oil industry keeps in mind that there are more people working onshore than offshore. Onshore are all the support staff: accountants, logistics, geologists, engineers, welders, chemists, IT, electricians and medics amongst others. Moreover, it’s not just oil companies that run the industry, they can’t do it on their own. Hundreds of support companies are in place to keep everything going. From helicopter support to suppliers of food and drink to diving vessels, there is very little that is not required.
Thank you to Scott for speaking to us. If you’d be interested in pursuing a career in the oil and gas sector, then the Scottish Energy Careers Festival 2014 is the perfect place to find out more. The event is free but places are limited so register now to ensure your place.
Image supplied by Scott McFarlane.