Young Professionals

Two of our sections YP’s attended the SPE Beyond the Borders 2022 – Digital Solutions for The Energy Transition event in Viggiano Italy in November.

Anna Petitt our Net Zero committee chair and Yeisson Diaz our YP committee vice chair attended from the Section.

Read their testimonies of the event below.

Anna Petitt :

The main benefit for me was being able to put theoretical skills into practice; having never had the opportunity to go offshore, it was great to be able to get on a working oil site to see how everything fits together. Attending the trip, made me feel proud to be part of SPE and of Europe, I think such events are vital as it allows young professionals to network and exchange ideas which is important as we go forward with the energy transition.

Yeisson Diaz :

Have been one of the young professionals who participated in this version of the SPE Beyond the Borders in Basilicata-Italy, gave me the opportunity to exchange energy industry knowledge through group activities, real case studies and field trips; to continue growing and developing professionally while networking with other YPs from different SPE sections around Europe, and finally to experience the local culture and make new friends with the social events.

Last night, after 12 months of planning, SPE Aberdeen Young Professionals Committee held its sold-out event, ‘Last Breath – Reasoning with Life and Death at the Bottom of the North Sea’ with famed diver, Chris Lemons.

In front of a packed room at Aberdeen’s Union Kirk, Chris captivated the audience with his live retelling of the events that changed his life in 2012, the inspiration behind the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary, ‘Last Breath’. Having previously delivered the presentation all around the world, including just recently to medical professionals in Australia, it was an honour to welcome Chris back to Aberdeen on behalf of SPE Aberdeen.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the evening’s official sponsor, Marex, our host for the evening, Hamish Penman of Energy Voice, Greco Developments our drinks sponsor, all our guests who came and made the evening such a success, and of course, Chris Lemons for taking the time out of his busy schedule to deliver his incredible and powerful presentation and offering a unique insight into his story.

(l-r) Joe Sherratt, YP Committee Co-Chair, Amir Dornan, YP Committee Co-Chair, Chris Lemons, Wayne Henderson, Marex, Hamish Penman, Energy Voice

SPE Aberdeen Section Takes Part In SPE Beyond The Borders

This year, the SPE Beyond The Borders event – an initiative of Young Professionals (YPs) across various SPE sections from all around the world, whose main goals are YP development and networking – took place in Vienna and was hosted by SPE Vienna Basin Section from 30^th June until 2^nd July. This marked the initiative’s first in-person event in two years, where Mircea Calarasu, one of the Young Professionals, travelled to Vienna to represent the SPE Aberdeen Section.

The three-day event involved: (1) a tour of OMV’s Innovation & Technology Center in Gänserndorf to get an insight in the oil & gas industry and the latest technological achievements by OMV; (2) taking part in a workshop titled ‘Business Transformation & Energy Transition’ where the participants discussed and learned more about the energy prospects and challenges of the oil & gas industry during the transition to a decarbonized world; (3) attending the “European Energy Independence” technical event in Sandberg which consisted of five technical presentations focusing on themes such as the reduction in gas volumes on European market, speeding up the energy transition, diversifying the energy portfolio, and the overall impact the job market and the YPs’ skillset; (4) a visit to OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna to learn about its history and their role in the energy sector; (5) a tour of Hoerbiger’s manufacturing plant and workshops that specializes in compression valve technologies used in various industries; (6) and a city tour of Vienna to get accustomed with its history and culture.

We would like to give huge thanks to the organizers from the SPE Vienna Basin Section and to everyone else involved in making the first Beyond The Borders initiative of 2022, and the first in-person event in two years, a success!

Group photo at OPEC’s Headquarters in Vienna.

Group photo on Saturday during the city tour of Vienna.

Sirine (OMV) starting the first session of the day at OMV with a presentation about  Beyond The Borders and the agenda of the day.

Kickstarting the workshop session in the afternoon at OMV.

Each group presenting their thoughts in their respective world scenarios (group exercise) during the workshop.

Listening to the technical presentations at the “European Energy Independence” event in Sandberg, with Dr. Alkazimi (OPEC)] presenting the topic “World Oil Outlook”.

Learning about Hoerbiger’s history, starting from its founder, in the museum section of the building.

A short talk by the tour guide just before entering Hoerbiger’s manufacturing zone of the building.

Various photos taken during the city tour on Saturday, the last day of the Beyond The Borders event.

In October this year, Lalit Bhamare took over from Wonuola Scott as SPE Aberdeen Young Professionals (YPs) Chair. Wonuola led the SPE YP’s section very successfully and Lalit will continue his efforts. As a graduate in petroleum engineering, he has been involved in SPE from his undergraduate college days in India. After moving to Aberdeen, he was president of the student chapter at RGU while completing his Masters. After graduating it was a seamless transition to the SPE YP team in Aberdeen. Lalit has been a member of this team for four years volunteering in different capacities. As a team, they have organised various events over the years for students as well as YPs, such as SPE Petroleague and Emerging Engineers Forum.

Over the years, the YP Aberdeen section has organised fantastic events such as Simplified Series and Unplugged 360. Their aim this year will be to maintain this standard and attract more industry leaders to share their ideas with YPs on this engaging platform. With the market showing signs of improvement, Lalit wants to encourage YPs and students to engage more with the industry on various platforms which improve job prospects as well career progression. With this in mind, the YPs have a great line up of speakers for the Simplified Series and are also collaborating with other societies on a joint event taking place later this month on soft skill development.

Lalit recently commented: “SPE Aberdeen YP committee is a collaborative team which comes together to organise events and be a part of multi-cultural team. Volunteering in SPE Aberdeen provides an opportunity to learn many soft skills such as commitment and leadership in a fun and stimulating way. These skills go a long way in career development for anyone working in the industry. We as an SPE YP team would like to welcome new volunteers to be a part of SPE YP to collaborate with us for organising more events and make new friends along the way”. To get involved contact Lalit at yp.chair@spe-uk.org

SPE Aberdeen Section Young Professionals (YP) have had a very busy and eventful 2017 so far. They hosted events for professionals on gaining awareness of industry trends, developing technical skills, soft skills for personal development, and also had time to enjoy a social too! Becoming a well-rounded professional requires the right balance of these elements of learning and that’s the motivation behind the programme of events organised by the YP committee.

Plans for the rest of the year….

The Simplified Series team is delighted to announce that the CEO of ITF, Dr Patrick O’Brien will be presenting at their monthly event in September. This event will take place on the 13^th September due to Offshore Europe occurring the week before; Simplified Series is usually held on the first Wednesday of the month. Paddy has been attending Offshore Europe since the 1990s, and no doubt he will be in high demand! If you don’t get a chance to hear him speak, please come along to our free event on the 13th and listen to him discuss Technology Innovation in Upstream Oil and Gas.

Other interesting talks lined up from the Simplified Series include:

4^th October: Rigless – a Misnomer? Applications to Late Well Lifecycles by Steven Canny, Engineering Lead at Weatherford

1^st November: Culture Transformation & Marginal Gains – A Nexen Culture & Efficiency Case Study by Mike Backus, VP Operations at Nexen UK

Visit the events page for more details and booking links.

The Emerging Engineers Forum (EEF) will host their next event at Offshore Europe on Wednesday, 6^th of September. Plans are shaping up nicely with all hands on deck to deliver an exciting event for young engineers during the conference. They recognise the potential that technology has within the industry, therefore this will be the key theme for this year’s event. The forum will be held as part of the Inspire Programme dedicated to YP and the next generation of the industry; more details here.

The purpose of the EEF is to provide young engineers a platform to engage with senior members of the oil and gas industry who are behind emerging technologies, and discuss the integral role of the young engineers. Several companies will have the opportunity to show their commitment to the development of future talent in the oil and gas industry, and showcase their innovation and cutting-edge technologies.

These events are organised by a team of dedicated YPs and students who volunteer their time, advancing the mission of the SPE in Aberdeen. If you would like to get involved, please contact yp.chair@spe-uk.org

SPE Aberdeen Young Professionals – Review of 2016.

By Wonuola Scott, Chair YP Committee

2016 has been a particularly great year for the Young Professionals (YPs). It kicked off with rebranding and restructuring of the YP committee, as well as bringing on board a mentor figure, Barry Marshall, to help guide and steer the group. This soon brought about a solid leadership structure; a strong team with direction and more than anything else, it brought together a team of diverse professionals with a strong purpose for making impact and giving back. What particularly worked well was the willingness to work together, collaborate and play to their strengths.

The YPs organised a number of events in the course of the year. Broadly, the events are divided into three types:

Simplified Series: A free monthly knowledge sharing and networking event where an experienced professional / subject-matter expert delivers a simplified technical talk or a trending / hot topic in the oil and gas industry to YPs. Topics and speakers are carefully selected and deliberately audience-centric to ensure a balanced mix of talks.

Some 2016 Simplified Series talks include:

• Entrepreneurship: our greatest asset or current downfall
• Modern perforating techniques: the key to unlocking reservoir potential (distinguished lecturer)
• Culzean: Managing a mega project
• Brent decommissioning
• Nurturing young talent and innovation in a new oil price environment

Unplugged 360: A bi-monthly personal development event series, launched in 2016, focuses on the learning and development of soft skills that will help the YP thrive and shine  in the workplace or business situations. This perfectly complements the Simplified Series where technical knowledge tends to be the focus.

2016 Unplugged events include:

• The art of networking
• Dealing with difficult people
• Effective communication

Emerging Engineers Forum: An annual “bridge the gap” style event which aims to give YPs the opportunity to speak and engage with leaders and experts in the oil and gas industry, to discuss career development.

Other events held during the year include a movie night to see the Deepwater Horizon; Ambassador Lecture Programme (bridge event for students) and a joint institutions YP event organised with the Energy Institute, IChemE, and IMechE on the future of the North East.

These events were well attended, not just by YPs, but also by students and experienced professionals within and outside Aberdeen.

Looking ahead to 2017…

Excellence is a commitment to continuous improvement. So the resolve of the YP committee for 2017 is to see continuous improvements in how they work and what they deliver to the young membership of the SPE, even if these are small incremental gains.

A special thank you goes to the league of extraordinary volunteers who have given their time to organise and deliver these YP events:

Adam Zalewski – BP

Athira Ayveetil – RGU

Bogdan Bocaneala – OPECS

Chris Stewart – Expro

Cinthia Mijares – Add Energy

Emily Spencer – Halliburton

Francesca Twynam – Schlumberger

Lalit Bhamare – Fairfield Energy

Neha Porwal – Weatherford

Oyin Adeniji – Centrica

Philippa Anderson – RGU

Richard Cooper – TauRX Therapeutics

Sabeil Ahmed – GE Oil & Gas

Sajid Kutty – RGU

Tessa Scott – Rubicon Oilfield

Wael Awad – ConocoPhillips

Wonuola Scott, Chair YP Committee, IHS Markit

SPE Aberdeen Section is delighted that our YP Chair Scott Wonuola has been chosen to be featured in TWA magazine.

The purpose of ‘Spotlight on Young Professionals’ is to share interesting voluntary contributions and technical achievements of young professionals with their peers. Organised by the Young Member Engagement Committee we look for stories about inspiring and motivated activities performed by SPE Young Professionals (YPs). Though them we are able to highlight the examples of how hard work and keeping engaged in SPE activities can get you ahead in your career while celebrating our best and brightest members.

The chosen stories are featured in The Way Ahead™ and through SPE’s social media channels targeting YPs. Wonuola was our first ever candidate for this position as was selected as top choice of over 40 submissions from all over the world.

See the full article by clicking here.