The offshore oil and gas industry has survived three centuries of successful work and development. Supplying the whole world with fuel, modern oil and gas companies offer very rewarding career opportunities and unique work experiences.
Along with success, the challenges come.
From the first offshore oil well no lager than a tennis court – to sophisticated equipment of nowadays.
The benefits (like high salaries and perks) of working in offshore oil and gas production are also accompanied by the challenges the employees face.
Let’s discuss the top 4 in detail.
Top Oil Consuming Countries
No wonder, the United States and China are the largest oil and gas consumers in the world. Having reached 20.45 and 13.5 million barrels per day, respectively, these numbers keep rising year-to-year.
Eventually, the market for fuel production is increasing too, and the oil rig recruiters continue looking for highly-motivated, goal-oriented, and hardworking employees.
According to Statista, top-10 oil-consuming countries are:
- The USA
- China
- India
- Japan
- Saudi Arabia
- Russia
- Brazil
- South Korea
- Canada
- Germany
Despite the alternative sources of energy are becoming more popular and cost-effective, old good oil and gas industry is developing and adjusting to the modern realia through new technologies and creative, innovative approaches.
So, opting for a job in this industry will be a great solution… in case you are ready to cope with the challenges:
Challenges Facing The Oil And Gas Industry
Challenge 1: Safety Standards
Offshore oil and gas rigs have always been notorious as extremely dangerous places to work.
Retrieving and drilling oil and gas involves working under high pressures, low temperatures and visibility – needless to say what the risks are.
So, the number one challenge facing the oil and gas industry is to maintain the highest safety standards, offer the maximum protection to the workers, as well as protect the coastal environment and marine life from possible pollution.
Challenge 2: Prices and Investments
Unlike onshore energy projects, offshore oil and gas companies are much more dependent on investments and fuel price volatility.
World geopolitical situation affects directly the prices – and it’s something the oil companies can’t influence.
However, they can maintain a high level of performance to attract investment.
Another thing, which can be done is to cut down on the operation and production cost – and the challenge is to develop the technologies able to keep the safety and material reliability at the same high level.
Human Resources Challenges
The employment market of modern offshore oil and gas companies ranges from engineer positions to HR jobs in oil and gas.
And all of them face challenges.
Challenge 3: Technological Development and Innovation
Since today’s fast-changing world makes its own rules of keeping the industries afloat, offshore oil and gas production has changed drastically in the past decade.
Specifically, these changes arose in terms of technological development, innovations, and operation styles.
Another factor resulting in the need for a new approach is the rapid growth and popularization of alternative sources of energy.
Thus,
The offshore oil rig recruiters look for creative specialists (see more on Rigjobs), who are ready to grow professionally, to adjust to completely new algorithms and evolving drilling techniques, the ones thinking outside the box.
Challenge 4: Working Under Extreme Weather Conditions
Walking on a knife-edge – this is the best description of most jobs in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Extreme weather conditions, varying strength and direction of ocean current, high waves make above- and below water tasks more challenging and complex.
These are the most crucial and up-to-date challenges confronting the offshore oil and gas industry. If you are ready to face them in exchange for a high salary, perks, diverse career opportunities, and constant professional growth, think no more and join an offshore oil and gas company.
