The Demographic Challenge

Hamish A.M. Wilson
Paras Ltd., UK
[email protected]

The demographic challenge in the oil industry is well-known with the average age of professional staff at around 50 or more. There are two related issues arising from this statistic; is this demographic profile a problem (i.e. loss of experience) or part of the solution (retiring people who are resistant to change)? Over the last decade there have been dramatic improvements in productivity. Now the industry is further driven to increase productivity. Yet a major barrier to the necessary continued improvements is massive industry conservatism. Productivity gains are only part of the solution. The demography challenge mainly concerns the international oil companies. Yet in Asia, Africa and Russia there are large numbers of graduates eager to enter the industry. In the UK and USA the issue regarding talent is how to attract it to the oil industry. The public has a perception that the industry is dying-out based on the premise that oil is running out. The oil industry is not going to die because we run out of oil. Yet the globe cannot afford the consequences of continued unconstrained use of hydrocarbons; i.e. the effects of climate change. The industry’s role in both providing the energy for the global economy and removing green-house gases suggests that this is anything but a dying industry. We’ve got to tell people about it! We all therefore have a collective challenge to raise the profile of the industry to attract the brightest talent to solve two of world’s greatest problems; energy and climate change.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90077©2008 GEO 2008 Middle East Conference and Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain