Originally published on entrepreneurshiplife.com
The oil and gas industry has encountered hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, like many other industries, leaders have proven that, through an adaptive approach, the industry can continue to function remotely. Service providers once stationed in the oilfield have moved operations to remote offices and homes of the employees. In this article, Adam Ferrari, CEO of Ferrari Energy, discusses how leaders in the oil and gas industry have approached the increasing necessity for remote work and how remote working opportunities have made the sector more appealing to a newer, more cautious workforce.
Adoption of New Technologies
An increasing number of oil and gas companies have adopted remote working models, and the pandemic continues to reshape the energy sector and the economy at-large. With fast-tracked adoptions of remote drilling and fracking technologies, companies have been empowered to allow for dynamic working solutions that don’t require as much on-site attention.
Tasks that would have been assigned to on-site drilling specialists have been delegated to remote engineers, who carry out the work from offices or in their own homes.
The outsourcing of work to remote employees rather than on-site specialists to interpret well data and steer drills minimizes public health risks and significantly reduces costs. Industry leaders have reported that communications have been as productive as ever, as the process has become more streamlined. Powerful new technology makes remote work a less daunting task than companies may have initially bargained for.
Attraction of the New Generation
Studies show that more than half of the adult working population in the United States would prefer to work remotely. Traditionally, the oil and gas industry has not offered many remote working opportunities, as much of the processes were thought to have required on-site employees.
However, with the discovery that much of the work can be completed in a remote setting, younger individuals have become more inclined to work in the energy sector, especially oil and gas. An additional explanation to this phenomenon is that oil and gas jobs were construed as high-risk and dangerous, but without the potential for heading out into the field, more cautious individuals may be more inclined to apply.
While the oil and gas industry is cutting many traditional jobs, a new wave of tech-related job openings has come onto the market. For a highly technologically literate generation of millennials, this could mean increased opportunity, as well as needs, met for oil companies.
These younger individuals are looking for flexibility—something that has not been offered in the oil and gas industry in the past. But with companies saving money on remote employees and a willingness by the new generation of workers to stay home to complete their tasks, this change could be here to stay.
The oil and gas industry, along with the rest of the world, is going remote. What was once thought of as a very hands-on industry has proven not to be, as much of the work can be completed in a remote environment. This has opened a new wave of tech-related jobs and attracted a younger generation of applications.
About Adam Ferrari
Adam Ferrari is the founder of the mineral acquisitions company Ferrari Energy. He is a chemical engineer by degree and is an accomplished petroleum engineer by profession. He also has experience in the financial sector through his work at an investment banking firm. Under his leadership, his company has supported numerous charitable organizations, including St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Freedom Service Dogs, Denver Rescue Mission, Coats for Colorado, and Next Steps of Chicago.