Pillars of the Industry
An Energy Career Compass
Bob Barba, Integrated Energy Services
After graduating from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, I spent 6 years in the US Navy and decided to move on when my obligation was over. After finishing my MBA, I began to look for a job. With an Annapolis degree, 6 years of management experience, and an MBA, I had numerous job offers from a wide variety of companies. In 1981, the oil and gas business was in full swing and many firms were hiring. The process of searching for and producing oil and gas was fascinating, and it called on a lot of the skill sets that I had acquired in my career.
The job Schlumberger offered me provided a unique work environment and paid better than most of the jobs I was being offered by other industries. The position came with my own logging truck and crew of two operators. Each job was a technical and logistical challenge to accomplish successfully. I was able to work with oil and gas operators directly and received an excellent education in how a critical portion of the business ran.
Going the Extra Mile
Over the course of my career, I have found that the traffic on the extra mile is pretty thin. It is possible to survive most of the time without going the extra mile, however, your chances increase significantly if you constantly strive to be the best at what you do. The “only” constant I have observed in the industry is change, and adapting to change requires a constant effort. This involves attending a lot of conferences and staying current with new technology. When you are self-employed, this often requires a significant investment of time and money.
What Inspires Me in My Career in Oil and Gas
Lupo Guerrera, Woodside Energy
It is actually quite humbling to think about the scales that we deal with in the oil and gas industry. At the most fundamental level, we are making something dynamic that has been static for eons of time, unleashing the energy harnessed from ancient sunshine captured by trillions of simple versions of the earliest forms of life. But think, too, of the industry in its complex current configuration. It is probably the most pervasive human endeavor of our time, involving staggering quantities of human, industrial, and financial capital, across all continents and their waters. It all points to huge responsibilities for those of us who work in and aspire to have an influence in this industry. We need to respect the resources that are at our disposal and understand the potential impact of exploiting them. This continues to inspire me in my career in oil and gas. As a reservoir engineer, I am passionate about the stewardship of hydrocarbons that ancient processes have provided us, and am driven to working with others to use more efficient ways of recovering them.
