Some of the younger staff at CGGVeritas talk about how the company has met their career expectations. Geoscientists have opportunity to work worldwide at CGGVeritas recruitment SPECIAL career moves page 52 CGGVeritas strongly believes that its reputation for the high quality of geophysical services it delivers hinges on the skills and commitment of its people. It enables the company to offer career opportunities at its key centres including Houston, Calgary, Rio, Mexico, London, Paris, Oslo, Singapore, and Perth in 2011. Highly qualified graduates those with PhDs in the disciplines of geophysics, mathematics, physics, or telecommunications from the world s top engineering schools and universities can apply to work with one of the world s leading seismic technology companies. We look for graduates with strong technical backgrounds and excellent interpersonal skills. In return, we give them a fast-track introduction to our company and business via our GeoRise new hire training and development programmes, says Bertrand Calmon, who manages recruitment and human resources communication at CGGVeritas. This gets them involved very early in an intensive technical and professional experience of our key geophysical disciplines. With our worldwide reach we offer attractive development and progression opportunities in a multi-cultural and diverse working environment. International career opportunities are inherent to our business, yet we are also expanding local human resources by recruiting the best local talent while encouraging staff to follow challenging career paths in their own countries or regions, all with the support of a large, international company. The profiles of some of the company s young employees give an idea of some typical career opportunities at CGGVeritas:
Equality in the field Anna Leslie, 30, land acquisition adviser After graduating from Otago University in New Zealand with a B. Comm in Marketing, a BSc in Geology, and an MSc in Geophysics, Anna began her career doing field work and processing marine and land seismic data for the New Zealand research institute, GNS Science. In 2005 Anna joined CGGVeritas as a field QC working on a land crew operating in Oman. She then spent three years in the field as a QC manager working on various land crews in remote locations in Oman and the Libyan desert as well as a shallow water OBC crew in the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. responding to queries from the crews, our main offices, or our clients. If I m in the field I ll be checking the workflow and running tests on the data. I like travelling and dealing with different environments, trying to anticipate problems and optimizing the workflow. It s all about providing the best solution to meet client requirements. The most valuable lessons I have learned and experience I have gained have been on the job. My next ambition is to be the first woman in a senior management role in global land acquisition! CGGVeritas has always supported me by allowing me to challenge myself and I m sure this will continue. Geophysics is great for anybody wanting to work on the cutting edge of their field where technology is forever advancing. I think the global seismic industry is an exciting and satisfying career for women and the opportunities are endless if you apply yourself. In 2008 Anna transferred to Muscat and then Dubai as acquisition adviser, supporting and visiting crews in Egypt, Oman and Qatar. She also provided seismic survey design support for the preparation of Middle East tenders and presented land survey design and techniques at client meetings and CGGVeritas Middle East roadshows. It had always been my ambition to work in seismic acquisition operations so I was thrilled to be offered a job with CGGVeritas. It was daunting at first being a female among mostly male crews but I have always found that I am treated as an equal. The QC side of seismic operations is important to ensure that the quality of the data acquired meets client expectations. Since June 2010, I ve been based in our Paris office, supporting and attending survey startups across Africa and Europe. Part of my job involves liaising with international clients on survey design but I also teach the field aspects of programming at our CGGVeritas University. Every day is different. If I m in the office I may be Anna visiting a crew in Egypt. recruitment SPECIAL career moves page 53
Engineering makes geophysical acquisition possible Frédéric Simonnot, 29, marine research engineer After graduating from Rennes University in France with an MSc in mathematics, physics and mechanics, Frédéric spent two years studying design, manufacturing, project management and business at the Arts & Métiers Paris Tech. engineering school in order to gain a good grounding in the industrial applications of scientific expertise. In 2006 Frédéric joined CGGVeritas via its GeoRise programme. After his geophysical induction course and a short stint at its Crawley, UK processing centre, he spent 15 months alternating between periods at the company s Paris office and on board eight different vessels, working as navigator, gun mechanic, observer, and processor in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Vietnam, Myanmar, Brazil, Qatar, India, Angola, and Senegal. I was drawn to geophysics because of its mystery and how much there is still to discover. The sheer number and diversity of skills it takes to map the subsurface fascinates me. CGGVeritas lets you follow a unique development path, giving you the opportunity and confidence to take on bigger challenges. Its GeoRise programme was what attracted me in the first place because it is very international and multi-disciplinary. I learnt about geophysics and seismic processing alongside people with completely different backgrounds: reservoir specialists, navigation specialists, acquisition project leaders, land party managers, and geophysicists. But we were all together as part of a long-term partnership with the company and this commitment and flexibility to move around the different disciplines continues throughout your career. After GeoRise I spent six months as acquisition project leader in our marine mechanical support group, before working as a hydrodynamics specialist to deploy and test new acquisition equipment. As I gained more experience, I was given more responsibility, becoming field support engineering manager for the region (Europe, Africa, and the Middle East) for eight vessels and then for the worldwide fleet! In September 2010 I moved into the marine R&D department as research engineer overseeing the mechanical and hydrodynamic aspects of a number of innovative R&D projects. The marine engineering department makes geophysical acquisition possible. We bridge the gap between the geophysicists in R&D, who invent new ways of improving the subsurface image, and the acquisition team, who are focused on efficiency, reliability, and safety. Every day our team of engineers pushes back the limits of technology to find new methods and equipment to turn the geophysicist s vision into reality. In the future, I d like to play a bigger role in operations, closer to the client and the vessels, which are our production tool. I m looking forward to helping the seismic industry advance by building on my range of skills and taking on more responsibilities. recruitment SPECIAL career moves page 54 A passionate sailor, Frédéric recently crossed the Indian Ocean, drawing on the same skills he uses in his work.
A successful career change José Renato Derntl, 36, processing geophysicist José Renato at the Petrobras dedicated processing centre. As a graduate in oceanography from the Centro de Ciências Tecnológicas da Terra e do Mar - Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (CTTMar - UNIVALI) in southern Brazil, José Renato spent the first two and a half years of his career as a marine mammal observer onboard 3D seismic vessels, which just so happened to be operated by CGGVeritas. the theoretical part of the GeoRise training made me realize that I lacked many basic concepts in signal processing. I had to study hard to complete the course successfully but I didn t regret my career change as being with people from all over the world and with different backgrounds showed me how much I could learn from and contribute to the overall geophysical process. Oceanography is a very complex science. Even if you specialize in one path, you can never break away from the other branches. It s the same in geophysics where you can always benefit from other sciences such as the obvious ones, physics and math, but also geology and even oceanography as it can relate to the geological history of an oceanic basin and its structural framework. The practical part of my GeoRise programme in France included three weeks on a land seismic crew in the desert in Oman so I could see how acquisition was conducted in the field as well as practical work on 2D, 3D, marine, and land processing and a geological field trip that took us all the way across the Paris Basin from the Belgian border to the outskirts of Paris! Being in daily contact with marine acquisition aroused his interest in geophysics and prompted him to move to Rio to work for a small geology consulting company while he studied for an MSc in marine geology and geophysics at the Laboratório de Geologia Marinha Universidade Federal Fluminense (LAGEMAR/UFF). When he qualified in 2009 a recruiting agency put him in touch with a geophysical company which, again by chance, happened to be CGGVeritas and he joined its GeoRise programme in 2009. My MSc had taught me to work with oceanographic and geophysical data but I was then assigned to our UK processing centre in Crawley for several months to work on 3D time processing projects before returning to Brazil. I am now working at our 4D dedicated processing centre for Petrobras, where we are conducting pioneering 4D studies for pre-salt areas. Our dedicated centres are different from our open processing centres in that we are at the client s office all day, every day, instead of being with them at occasional meetings. The data processing work is as varied and interesting as at any processing centre and we have the advantage of being able to interact directly with clients to best understand all of their challenges. recruitment SPECIAL career moves page 55
From physics to geophysics Melanie Vu, 25, processing geophysicist At high school in Vietnam, Melanie was training to be a future physicist at the High School for Gifted Students in Physics at the Hanoi University of Science. In 2003 she won a scholarship to study bioengineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore where she was fascinated to explore how the principles of physics play roles in biological science. recruitment SPECIAL career moves page 56 In 2007, she successfully enrolled in a dual Master programme between MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and NUS (National University of Singapore) with a Singapore MIT fellowship. Her specialization in advanced materials for micro and nano systems exposed her to cutting-edge research and a solid understanding of the principles of nano physics. Finding out about geophysics by chance, Melanie was immediately attracted to its challenging mix of math, physics, and petroleum geology and its opportunity for travel and adventure. She joined CGGVeritas in February 2009 via its GeoRise programme. Another MIT alumnus told me about CGGVeritas and its specialization and commitment to be leader in its field. Its strong learning culture and passion for innovation appealed to me. I was also impressed by the loyalty of staff at the Singapore centre, some of whom have worked there for more than 20 years, which is rare in Singapore. Melanie at work in the CGGVeritas Singapore processing and imaging centre. GeoRise is a wonderful, rewarding experience which gives you a jump-start and valuable short-cuts for your career advancement. During my initial geophysical training I learnt fundamental geophysical principles from very experienced geophysicists. I also spent three weeks onboard the Viking vessel in the Gulf of Mexico learning about acquisition and on-board processing which gave me hands-on experience that still plays a vital role in my current processing centre work. My integration continued with my assignment at the CGGVeritas Houston processing centre where I learnt both the theory and practice of one of our most current and advanced technologies, reverse time migration. I was able to successfully transfer this technology to our Singapore processing centre where we successfully completed the company s first commercial tilted transverse isotropy reverse time migration (TTI-RTM) project in the APAC region in November 2010. The fact that CGGVeritas is willing to invest in its employees like this creates a bond between us and the company. I also got to know and work with many colleagues from different backgrounds, cultures, and regions. Now that we are back at work in our different centres, our friendship keeps us in touch, bringing our centres closer and the whole company well connected. My current job as processing geophysicist is fast-moving and challenging and gives me the opportunity to learn and apply the most advanced technology in our field. I also interact with clients about the data processing stage I manage and to confirm important processing parameters as well as discuss testing methodologies for key processes. Technically, I d like to become a geophysics guru who inspires my team and nurtures a culture of openness and innovation so that others feel able to turn to me when they encounter problems.
Innovation in reservoir geophysics Emanuel Flores Garcia, 31, reservoir project leader After graduating with a BSc in geophysical engineering from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico in 2002, Emanuel turned his attention to hydrocarbon reservoirs. He then spent two years as a seismic interpreter with the Static Reservoir Characterization Group and as an analyst of shallow risks for deepwater locations in the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo. From 2004 to 2006 he took a Masters in hydrocarbon exploration at the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo. An interesting technical article on seismic inversion written by CGGVeritas prompted him to contact a CGGVeritas reservoir manager, who offered him a job with the seismic reservoir characterization group at the company s Villahermosa centre. At CGGVeritas I work on seismic inversion, AVO, and pore pressure prediction projects for Pemex, the Mexican oil company. It s a stimulating work environment where I can continue to grow technically and have access to high-quality resources to improve on our work process and methodologies and do my job well. Very early on, I was given more responsibility within the group with the full support of my supervisors and manager who really helped me meet my client commitments and expectations. Since then, I ve worked on a variety of interesting reservoir projects, while always approaching each different professional challenge as a new opportunity to develop my problemsolving skills. Part of my job involves listening to client needs and proposing estimated deadlines for project completion depending on the type of project and the quality of the information we have. Once the project has been completed, I like presenting our results to the client for validation. This interaction with the client is very important and gives me immense personal satisfaction when we get positive feedback. The key word in this industry is innovation. This makes us more proactive at acquiring new knowledge, even beyond the realms of geophysics. With this we can develop our work more completely, delivering results from a wider perspective. On a professional level, I see myself in charge of a team in the company, drawing on my experience to help my team achieve their goals and move forward with new technologies. Ultimately I would like to share my experience with new hires, maybe even teaching. I d like to show young people that reservoir geophysics can apply in lots of areas of the geosciences and there s plenty of room for innovation in this field. What most interested me about geophysics was the field work and the idea of observing geological events such as volcanoes and geothermal fields. When I attended the 2002 Geophysics Congress in Villahermosa, I realized that hydrocarbon exploration offered enormous scope for a career in geology and geophysics applied to hydrocarbon reservoirs. Emanuel working on a reservoir project at the Villahermosa centre.