Listado de la etiqueta: oil and gas

RGU Secures Funding to Help Develop Oil, Gas Workforce in Mexico

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Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen has been awarded funding to create a skills development framework for the oil and gas sector in Mexico. 

The framework will provide recommendations on how to address the potential skills gap in the Mexican oil and gas industry over the next 15 years, both at graduate and vocational level. The university secured the funding, which will be delivered by the British Embassy in Mexico, from the British Government’s Prosperity Fund. 

As part of the development plan, RGU will advise the Ministry of Energy in Mexico (SENER) on appropriate delivery models to train and further develop the Mexican workforce, and to secure a pipeline of future talent.

Work on the development plan has already begun and the framework will be presented to the Mexican Government in December, an RGU spokesperson told Rigzone. In its plan, RGU is undertaking a review of what the UK has done to develop its skilled workforce and is using that information to advise the Mexican Government.

Although Mexico has a long-standing track record as one of the leading hydrocarbon producing countries in the world, it is estimated that it will require more than 135,000 additional skilled people in the oil and gas industry over the next 15 years in order to meet production targets set by the government. 

“The Energy Reform in Mexico presents huge opportunities for the Mexican oil and gas sector,” said Professor Paul de Leeuw, director of RGU’s Oil & Gas Institute.

“RGU is delighted to undertake this important review on behalf of the FCO and to advise the Mexican Government on skills development options for Mexico,” he added.

«As part of the Energy Reform, SENER has developed a coordinated strategic human resource program for the energy sector, seeking to rapidly build capacity to respond to the needs of the transformed energy sector,” said Leonardo Beltran, SENER’s undersecretary for planning and energy transition.

“The partnership with the UK and particularly with RGU will support the development of capacity building of Mexico’s oil and gas sector,” he added.

“We aim to build a strong partnership that promotes an open, robustly-regulated Mexican energy sector with significant British collaboration. The UK is a global centre of energy excellence and we hope our experience can contribute to the successful implementation of Mexico’s new energy markets,” said the British Ambassador to Mexico, Duncan Taylor.

The project builds on the relationship RGU has been developing with SENER following the visit from the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto and his delegation to the university in March 2015, and builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which RGU signed with SENER in September 2015.

This project is funded by the British Embassy in Mexico as part of its Prosperity Fund energy program. This program seeks to support Mexico’s economic development and create commercial opportunities in the energy sector. Through the Prosperity Fund, the British Government has supported Mexico to shape its energy legislation based on international best practices.

Copyright: Rig Zone

Offshore Safety Improves Across UKCS Oil, Gas Operations

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Offshore safety across oil and gas operations on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) continued to improve in 2015, according to the 2016 Oil & Gas UK Health & Safety Report published August 1.

There were no reported fatalities and reportable injury rates were lower than other industries such as manufacturing, construction, retail and education. The lost time injury frequency rate on the UKCS was also below the European average and lower than Norway, Denmark and Ireland.

The category of dangerous occurrences – which captures oil and gas releases, fires or explosions, dropped objects and weather damage – was down overall too, with an almost 30 percent fall between 2013 and 2015. Within that category, the total number of oil and gas releases rose slightly by 9 percent, with the majority of these classified as minor, while major releases remained the same.

A rise in minor releases could partially reflect that more and more operators are using technology that helps detect the smallest of escapes. New reporting criteria also came into place in the second half of 2015 and now includes releases that were not deemed reportable under previous legislation.

In March 2015 the Forties Echo platform in the North Sea was shut after being hit by a supply vessel, which resulted in 15 workers being transferred to the nearby Forties Bravo platform. In July 2015, oil and gas industry skills organization OPITO reported a 250 percent rise in the number of North Sea energy firms investing in systems which assess and develop workforce competence and safety.

“I am pleased to say there were no reported fatalities on the UK Continental Shelf in 2015. Health and Safety Executive statistics in our report show that the industry non-fatal injury rate and the over-seven-day and specified injuries rates also decreased,” said Mick Borwell, health, safety and environment policy director at Oil & Gas UK.

“That picture of personal safety improvement was echoed in the smaller annual benchmarking exercise that we carry out ourselves. We looked at 28 production operators and found a continuing downward trend in the average frequency of reportable injuries and dangerous occurrences,” he added.

“This is a testing time for the industry and our commitment to safety has, at times, been questioned. However, our report demonstrates that safe operations continue to be intrinsic to how we go about our activities on the UK Continental Shelf, regardless of the oil price. It shows that the UK sector is focusing in the right areas and overall is heading in the right direction. The report is also a reminder that there is no place for compromise or complacency and that safety must remain at the top of our agenda,” Borwell concluded.

Copyright: Rig Zone

Mexico Plans Next Bidding Round For Energy Opening By End-July

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The next bidding round in the opening of Mexico’s oil and gas sector will be called by the end of July and consist of 15 shallow water blocks for exploration and extraction in the Gulf of Mexico, Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said.

Coldwell announced the round, denominated 2.1, at an event in the northern city of Monterrey on Wednesday.

The following round, or 2.2, would be called by the end of the summer and comprise 14 onshore blocks for exploration and production in the gas-rich Burgos basin in the north of the country as well as in southeast Mexico, Coldwell added.

Mexico ended the oil and gas monopoly of national oil company Pemex at the end of 2013 to open up the industry to more private sector investment. However, the auctions of oil and gas blocks have been complicated by a sharp drop in crude prices.

Crude futures on Wednesday hit their highest levels in 2016, beyond $50 per barrel. Coldwell said it was very hard to forecast whether the recovery in prices would last

Copy right: Rig Zone

Success through more efficient use of technology – DEA at EAGE 2016 in Vienna

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From 30 May to 02 June, DEA is presenting recent projects and technology highlights at Europe’s most important technology event of the oil and gas industry, the 78th EAGE Conference and Exhibition.

“In exploration and production of oil and gas, sustained quest for technical solutions and the constant search for efficiency-enhancing concepts are daily business”, says Manfred Böckmann, Senior Vice President Exploration DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG.

These measures are a prerequisite for a continuing assurance of our high safety and environmental standards on the one hand and the economic viability of the projects on the other. In times of low oil prices, this is becoming increasingly important and the EAGE offers an ideal platform for the essential exchange of ideas and the discussion of new approaches, together with the experts of other E&P companies, the service industry and the representatives of science”, Böckmann adds.

At DEA’s booth (Stand No. 2230, Hall B), the visitors can experience live presentations of case studies from international DEA projects and are invited to discuss current industry topics with the DEA experts during the coming days.

DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG is an international operator in the field of exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas based in Hamburg. Its focus is on safe, sustainable and environmental conscious exploitation of oil and gas. DEA has 117 years of experience working along the whole upstream value chain as operator or project partner. With a staff force of 1,400 employees DEA has shares in production facilities and concessions in, among others, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Egypt and Algeria. Moreover, in Germany, DEA also operates large subsurface storage facilities for natural gas.

Copyright: Your Oil and Gas News