NORTH SEA EMPLOYMENT MARKET BUOYANT

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1 Oil & Gas recruitment news from the Faststream Recruitment Group. line NORTH SEA EMPLOYMENT MARKET BUOYANT We have already seen one phase of pay rises kicking in this month, and we expect there to be another round of pay rises before Christmas ASIAN BOOM BOOSTS SINGAPORE The past six months has seen a strong upswing in hiring. NAVAL ARCHITECTS MISSING OPPORTUNITIES There is more need than ever before for naval architects in the oil and gas sector, but many professionals are simply unaware of the opportunities offered by the industry. Also: - Faststream arrives in Houston - Rig movers wanted - Faststream Group news

2 Oil & Gas recruitment news from the Faststream Recruitment Group. line Welcome to our first edition of Streamline, the oil and gas recruitment newsletter from the Faststream Recruitment Group. I m very pleased to be introducing everyone to the first in what will be a regular (bi-monthly) newsletter to our clients and candidates. Our objective of Streamline is simple to provide the market with fresh, focused and up-to-date news about the latest trends in oil and gas recruitment. With the sector riding a huge wave of expansion, the challenge is to find experienced, qualified personnel to fill a range of positions both on and offshore. Our teams of oil and gas recruiters are split into specialist markets; from downhole completions to discipline engineering and asset integrity specialists, our teams span across niche vertical markets where the right people to fill these roles are not freely available. Oil and gas is a huge part of the Faststream Groups growth plans over the next 3 years. I m excited to announce that the latest stage of our expansion within the sector will be in April 2012 with the launch of two new regional offices in Houston and Perth. Having people on the ground in key oil and gas hubs around the world is an important part of working more closely with new and existing clients. Adding Houston and Perth to our growing office network means that we now have a truly global coverage spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australasia. I hope you enjoy this edition. For those of you who don t know, Faststream Recruitment was established back in 1999 in Southampton, UK. 12 years on and the Faststream Group employs over 115 people across the world recruiting from graduate to senior executive level in the oil and gas sector. Mark Charman Chief Executive Officer Faststream Recruitment Group

3 North Sea employment market buoyant We have already seen one phase of pay rises kicking in this month, and we expect there to be another round of pay rises before Christmas Oil exploration activity in the North Sea may have fallen by half last year to only 15 wells, the lowest level since the mid-1960s, but the packed aisles at Aberdeen s Offshore Europe 2011 in September told a very different story. Despite the impact of unexpected UK tax levies, the North Sea jobs market is booming as more experienced people are needed to extract the remaining and increasingly difficult to reach hydrocarbons. Faststream s UK team has doubled in size to meet this demand for people. The UK s Department of Energy and Climate Change calculates that up to 24bn more barrels of oil are still expected to be discovered over the next 30 years, but finding the people to extract this oil is another matter. For many, the North Sea is seen as a training ground before moving onto other posts elsewhere in the world and companies struggle to retain experienced talent. Much of the work undertaken by Engineering, Procurement and Construction companies (EPCs) in the North Sea is handled by contractors, but it is the same small pool of people who are switching from company to company. This pool has an older profile, with the average age of a contractor on our books standing at 50 years. One area of particular demand is people with PDMS skills where clients require experience and not just a qualification. This means that even those who have gained a qualification in PDMS aren t able to gain a contract readily. EPC clients are focusing on those with at least two years of experience using the software, making the market tough to get in to. Companies are naturally unwilling to offer contractors training, knowing that people will move from EPC to EPC. With demand for contractors outstripping supply, we expect to see rates rise by 6-8 per hour before the end of the year. We have already seen one phase of pay rises kicking in this month, and we expect there to be another round of pay rises before Christmas As is the nature of contracting, people will freely move from company to company for smaller reasons than that of a permanent member of staff. In some cases the reason for contractors moving on can be the smallest of hourly pay rate rise meaning we expect to see even more competition for talent between the major EPCs. The increasingly tight UK visa restrictions are making it particularly hard to find new talent with few non-eu nationals able to fill the gaps. The North Sea is always a tough sell, particularly to non-uk nationals, but it does offer workers a continuity of work. Speaking: Shaun Dunman Oil & Gas Manager, EMEA shaun.dunman@faststream.com

4 Asian boom boosts Singapore Asia, and Singapore in particular, continue to be a world class driving force in all areas of the offshore oil and gas sector. Despite not having its own natural resources, the city state of Singapore has developed a comprehensive oil and gas ecosystem, including oil majors, drilling operators, specialised equipment manufacturers, service providers and offshore engineering companies. All of these companies are currently hiring. The past six months has seen a strong upswing in hiring. On the back of higher energy prices, many downstream projects which were put on hold during 2010 are now re-starting. New fields are being developed at a time when an ageing population of rigs is due for upgrade and refurbishment. Many EPCs, drilling outfits and service companies are overloaded with work and are having to farm projects out to second and third tier contractors who all need people to service these contracts. Downstream, we are seeing more refineries opening in the region and more commercial openings than ever before. But it is not just the rigs which are aging, the workforce is too. The pool of experienced talent, both worldwide and locally, able to manage the demand for Asian hydrocarbons is dwindling at a time when more companies are expanding their operations. Chinese investors have been quick to wake up to the opportunities in the oil and gas sector on their doorstep. Many of these investors have a background in the marine sector and are privately owned outfits.

5 A number of commercial offices with Chinese backing are being opened in Singapore and the hunt is on to man these offices. With the marine sector facing challenging times, it is likely that we will see more of these types of investor move into the oil and gas sector this year. A number of commercial offices with Chinese backing are being opened in Singapore and the hunt is on to man these operations. Typically 10 to 15 senior people are required per office and the investors are willing to pay well to secure the best talent. But it is not just the Chinese who are setting up offices. Established European players are also busy setting up new shops and are also competing for senior people, particularly in business development roles. In a fast growing sector, companies are falling over each other to compete for a slice of the Asian oil and gas market. Faststream s growing oil and gas team is seeing a real demand for local hires. The expat housing, travel and education packages for all but the most niche roles are largely gone. Whilst local packages are of course less costly for the employers, we have seen a 15 to 20% wage rise over the past 12 months. In the downstream sector, a business development manager can expect a salary of between S$10-12K per month, whilst a Singapore based business development manager in the subsea sector can expect to command a salary of circa S$15-18K per month. Local employees with oil and gas experience are very aware of their worth in the market and are typically staying in a role for no more than two years before moving on. Speaking: Jason Tay Oil & Gas Manager, Asia-Pacific jason.tay@faststream.com

6 Faststream arrives in Houston The launch in Houston comes off the back of increasing demand from existing and new clients to have a base in the region. Faststream is excited to announce the launch of a Houston office as its hub for oil and gas recruitment throughout the Americas. The launch in Houston comes off the back of increasing demand from existing and new clients to have a base in the region. With many of our clients headquartered in Houston it makes perfect sense to service them with people on the ground, says Tamara Ellis, Faststream s Vice President Americas. oil majors, energy companies, EPCs and drilling companies across a range of vertical markets. The Houston office will work in the same way as Faststream does all over the world focusing on providing a truly specialist service to clients and candidates. The Houston office will be managed by Matko Vladimir, an experienced oil and gas recruiter. Faststream plan to grow the Houston team with both recruitment and oil and gas industry professionals. Faststream is well established in North America with the company s America s headquarters having been based in Fort Lauderdale since Whilst the Fort Lauderdale office will continue to service the maritime sector, Houston will focus purely on oil and gas recruitment. Tamara Ellis added: We ll be working with Speaking: Tamara Ellis Vice President Americas tamara.ellis@faststream.com

7 Most naval architect graduates themselves will readily admit to being drawn to the profession from a love of all things maritime, particularly yachting. Many want to design beautiful yachts, not large oil and gas assets. Naval architects missing opportunities There is more need than ever before for naval architects in the oil and gas sector, but many professionals are simply unaware of the many opportunities offered by the industry. Faststream has long had strong ties with naval architects, recruiting experienced talent across the world and involvement in graduate career development. Whilst much of our contact with naval architects has been through the numerous traditional maritime roles, the past ten years has seen a rising call on their skills from the oil and gas sector. The increasing depths of hydrocarbon extraction has seen a huge rise in the requirement for oil tankers to be converted to floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units. When changing an asset so radically from its original purpose, it is of course vital to have naval architects at the top of their game overseeing the project to ensure stability and structural integrity. Operators, classification societies, consultancies and EPCs have a desperate need for naval architects with oil and gas experience, but there simply aren t enough of them. We believe this is due to a lack of knowledge of the career path and many opportunities that the oil and gas industry can offer a naval architect. More often than not graduates from the main universities will have spent little or no time learning about the design and conversion of FPSO s. However, it is not just the fault of the universities that many are so ill-equipped to deal with the challenges thrown up by the oil and gas sector.

8 Most naval architect graduates themselves will readily admit to being drawn to the profession from a love of all things maritime, particularly yachting. Many want to design beautiful yachts, not large oil and gas assets. This is certainly causing headaches for clients who are hoping to attract new talent. Once a naval architect heads down the route of designing in composites as a material for yachts, it s not often they will double back on their career to focus on large steel structures. Faststream is attempting to redress the balance by providing both graduates and year one and two students with an insight into the sector and the range of career opportunities open to them, explaining the opportunities beyond the world of yachts and hi-tech vessels. We are attending both graduate fairs and holding seminars at some of the leading teaching institutions in the UK and have been encouraged by the reaction of the students. It is also worth noting that a naval architect who gets into oil and gas will on average earn 20/30% more than their counterparts who focus on the marine industry. Faststream predicts an even tougher naval architect shortage over the next five years. We are always happy to speak to any naval architect considering a career in oil and gas, and provide guidance as to their career options. Speaking: Kelsey Connolly Naval Architect Specialist, EMEA kelsey.connolly@faststream.com

9 Rig movers wanted One huge area of work often overlooked by professional logisticians when looking at their career development is the field of project logistics. Within this field there is the even more specialised area of on-shore rig moves. This tightly-knit community of rig-movers measures its success in the amount of time saved in each rig move, but there are simply not enough of them to handle all the big moves currently needed throughout countries like Iraq, Qatar, Oman and Iran. The geography of these locations make rig moves a challenge and in order to maximise the efficiency of the process, companies seek to reduce time and costs by employing skilled individuals to manage the moves. In addition, there is an essential requirement for a skilled HSSE professional to be present throughout the move, so there is a trend emerging for HSSE staff to get trained in this field. The typical rig mover is aged between 40 and 50 years old, will work on a fly-in fly-out basis and can earn at least 60,000 per year. There is a battle for these logisticians skills being waged by the logistics companies and the rig owners themselves as new talent is slow to emerge in this aging sector. Big logistics providers, bruised by the global economic downturn and its effect on their larger retail accounts, are turning their eyes towards the more buoyant oil and gas market. However, they struggle to invest in both the expensive specialist equipment needed to undertake these moves and the people who are able to manage them. As a consequence, rig owners and other companies within the oil and gas industry are increasingly poaching staff from logistic providers as they are able to offer far better packages. Speaking: Simon Hibberd Logistics Specialist, EMEA simon.hibberd@faststream.com

10 Welcome to Faststream In Southampton (UK) Sam Chaffers and Rose O Flanagan join Faststream as contract Resourcers for the piping and structures sectors respectively. We re also pleased to announce the return of Simon Clements as Group Business Development Manager. Simon has been with Faststream for over five years and returns after a year s sabbatical travelling the world. In Singapore we welcome Lesley Lee who joins the growing oil and gas team in the Asia-Pacific region. This quarter will also see Ozan Cabadag move from Faststream s Singapore base to manage the new Perth office. In the Americas region Matko Vladimir joins the organisation as Business Manager for the Houston office. Contact us Faststream EMEA The Quay, 30 Channel Way, Southampton, United Kingdom, SO14 3TG T: +44 (0) E: oilandgas-uk@faststream.com Faststream Asia 10 Hoe Chiang Road, #08-01 Keppel Towers, Singapore, T: (+65) E: oilandgas-sg@faststream.com Faststream Americas 1500 Cordova Road, Suite 210, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, T: E: oilandgas-us@faststream.com Faststream Perth (launching April 2012) 45 Ventnor Avenue, West Perth, WA 6005 E: oilandgas-au@faststream.com Faststream Houston (launching April 2012) One Riverway, Suite 1710, Houston, Texas, E: oilandgas-us@faststream.com