From Aberdeen (IF): Scantily-clad women promoting companies at oil shows could soon be a thing of the past.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers has been asked to take a stronger role on guidelines and practices applied at SPE’s international events and no longer allow ‘poster girls’.
The request came from participants at an international workshop on Workplace Challenges and Discrimination in the oil industry held in Aberdeen last week. The event was organised by SPE Aberdeen in co-operation with SPE Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
During the two days of discussions and debates, worrying findings emerged - among those the discrimination of women. Participants ranked the four main areas of concern regarding industry workplace challenges as: prejudice and misconception; mid-career management; technical competence versus social bias; and multi-cultural awareness.
Those attending clearly indicated that the industry worldwide still has a long way to go before it could claim it is discrimination free.
Ross Lowdon, chairman of SPE Aberdeen, said, ‘Discrimination in all its forms is not a topic often discussed, particularly in the oil and gas industry. This conference has...led to a forum for practical advice for the industry. The debate was open, passionate and very frank.
‘We have a long way to go before the industry can be seen as equal....and I look forward to the day my daughter has the same opportunities as I did to create a career for herself in our great industry.’
From Houston (BN): Amid the debate about the export of U.S. crude oil, now in plentiful supply ConocoPhillips has sent a shipload of Alaskan crude to Japan. The shipment occurred under a little-discussed exception to the ban on oil exports from here - a 1994 grant of permission to export Alaskan crude. In 1994, prices of Alaskan and California crude were declining and the exception was made to support producers and royalty collectors - including the American government - on the West Coast. Shipments ceased in 2004, though, as Alaskan production fell and the world price regime changed. COP told the Alaska Dispatch News that future shipments would depend on market conditions.
From Houston (BN): The Canada-Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has received public comment on the White Rose Extension (31/7) project proposed by Husky.
The plan calls for a concrete gravity based structure 350km east of Newfoundland-Labrador in the Jeane d’Arc Basin. The structure will provide a wellhead platform to develop the western side of the White Rose field, other parts of which have been producing since 2005. The structure will be tied back to the existing Sea Rose fpso.
The 90-day, web-based gathering of comment was the latest step in official consideration of the proposal. The board will study the report of the proposed project which must be approved by the governments of Canada and Newfoundland-Labrador.
The summary included Husky stating the project benefits and the National Ocean Industries Association questioning aspects, such as what will happen to the planned Argentia graving site after the concrete structure is launched. Husky responded saying the site would remain available for indeterminant later use.
There were arguments for hiring women and using local companies. There was a question how much gas will be produced (20 of 38 wells will be oil producers and gas will be re-injected to enhance recovery). Husky was asked if it would improve roads in the vicinity of work sites. It will not. The project, due for first oil in 2017, is one of several Husky has underway in the White Rose licence area.
Mozambique and Côte De Ivoire are both planning new releases of acreage to attract more offshore investment...A research team at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh is working on a new environmental data platform for the UK sector which will provide information on the potential impact of E&P operations on the marine world. The work is being supported by a £250K grant from NERC.