Saturday Star 08-05-18 – Job Opportunities

May 20, 2008

Another week, another scan of the Saturday Star newspaper. Here’s a list of job ads in the paper:

  • Qatargas is looking for Rot Eqt Eng, Fac Eng (hey, my kind of post), Proc Eng, APC (I guess automated process control) Eng. You can apply via email here.
  • SapuraCrest is looking for a whole mess of engineers, that is (long breath) Field Opns, Struc, Pipeline, Naval/Marine, Plan, QA/QC. CVs to be submitted here no later than 31st March.
  • Schlumberger is looking for engineers. CVs to be submitted here.
  • Petrofac is looking for a deputy prod manager & senior operations engineer. CVs to be submitted here,  or fax to HR & Admin Manager +603 2300 2371 (hah, how do you know this isn’t my number?)
  • ExxonMobil is looking for a drilling engineer, though I suspect you can get more money elsewhere. Submit CVs by 31st May, 2008. 
  • And of course, IGL Process Solutions is looking for high paying work, preferably of a 6 month duration.

Happy hunting. Let me have some feedback if you find this list useful. Even better, spread the news. PayPal donations welcome.

I put in a free advert for my favourite chicken rice place, Chee Meng. Go, people, go! I’m waiting for their loyalty card to come out…

4 Comments | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Pricing for Engineering Services – Profit Sharing Model?

May 19, 2008

Here’s an idea I got from other businesses. They charge out their services according to the benefit the client receives. An example are energy conservation consultants. They get paid a portion of the energy savings realised by their client.

Imagine translating that into the oil and gas industry. Here’s an example. Say a separator is designed for 100 thousand barrels per day (kbd) of crude. Later, this turns out to be a bottleneck preventing a production increase to 105 thousand kbd (not an unrealistic value). If you use a profit sharing model (say 10% of the production increase), then this translates to 5,000 x 10% x USD50/barrel (I’m using low values here to make a point) =  USD25k a day.

You can pretty much do whatever cost analysis you want. If you think how much you charge using the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) method, how much would you get? For debottlenecking a process by changing vessel internals, prob USD500k, of which about 30% would be profit (I’m guessing nos. here).

Which profit model would you like? And if you work for a production company, you should be proud in the rate of return the company gets from you.

At another level, profit sharing is pretty much in vogue for the independent Malaysian oil and gas companies. Profits are shared by issuing stock to employees. Examples of companies that do this are Talisman and Newfield. Examples of companies that do not are ExxonMobil and Shell.

10 Comments | business opportunity, engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

IEM OGMTD Talk – Reservoir Fluids

May 17, 2008

On Saturday, 10th May 2008, I attended a morning tea talk arranged by the Oil, Gas and Mining Technical Division of the IEM, of which I am the SecTreas. The talk was entitled ‘Overview of Drilling and Completion Fluids’. The speaker was Engr. Anwarudin Saidu Mohamed, currently a Coordinator for South East Asia Region with Drilling Fluids, a division of Baker Hughes Inc.

My colleague, Hui Hin, wrote up a summary of the talk. Visit her site to read her write-up.

2 Comments | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Gaslift and Coffee Makers

May 16, 2008

Wata\'s coffee maker

Us being engineers, after the installation of the first coffee maker in my offices (my personal machine Moulinex type W70, my office), the discussion wandered round to how exactly it worked.

Wikipedia - Gas Lift diagram Digressing, gas lift as defined in Wikipedia is “one of a number of processes used to artificially lift oil or water from wells where there is insufficient reservoir pressure to produce the well. The process involves injecting gas through the tubing-casing annulus. Injected gas aerates the fluid to reduce its density; the formation pressure is then able to lift the oil column and forces the fluid out of the wellbore.”

As far as I can tell, gaslifting is the only method used in the South China Sea, at least among the Malaysian platforms. Possible reasons are that it’s cheap (gas is always produced with oil out there in the deep blue) and gas is available at higher than required pressures. This is because gas is taken from the export gas line, which is compressed to transmission specs. As this is above gaslift pressure requirements, an additional booster compressor not needed.

The method used mainly on onshore wells is lifting oil with pumps, either mechanically driven (remember the donkey pumps seen in the background in Beverly Hills Cop II?) or electrically driven submersible pumps. Both require power, which is a premium offshore, but might be as close as the local power grid onshore.

 

Regressing back to my coffee maker, I find that the cold water reservoir is about the same level as the coffee pot. Hot water has to drip through the filter on top of the pot, and produce that black gold. So, how is the water sent up about 15cm? Definitely not with a pump.You’d hear it running, and pumping a hot two phase mixture is a good way to claim warranty about every other month.

Looking round, I find an article that explains that the hot water is carried up from the cold water reservoir through a pipe by rising bubbles of water vapour (formed by boiling water at the bottom of the pipe). This, and the reduction in density due to a liquid-gas mix, is the same process as a gas lift, though cheaper, on a smaller scale and smells a whole lot nicer.

So, oil and gas engineering principles may be found as close as your nearest cuppa. 

3 Comments | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Job Opportunities in Kerteh with TCOT/PCSB

May 14, 2008

I notice that many of my readers are searching for opportunities in Kerteh, especially in the oil and gas sector. One such opportunity is with the Terengganu Crude Oil Terminal (TCOT), as the operatorship is being taken over by PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (anyone remember when they were all housed in Wisma Peladang? Anyone remember Wisma Peladang?). My original post is here.

Anyhoo, If you think you have the appropriate experience and would like to work with Malaysia’s national oil company, you may contact the PCSB PMO (I think) HR Department. Please call the HR Department at 09 866 77 22 and request for Awang Zul or Lala. I suspect PCSB is looking for technicians and engineers.

Please refer back to my blog. Maybe I’ll get a few Imperial credits out of it.

117 Comments | Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Saturday Star 08-05-11 – Job Opportunities

May 12, 2008

Another week, another scan of the Saturday Star newspaper. Here’s a list of job ads in the paper:

  • IEV is looking for an Operations Engineer. You can apply via email here.
  • Qatar Petroleum is looking for a whole mess of engineers. CVs to be submitted here, though I hear the package isn’t that impressive.
  • RasGas is looking for measurement engineering specialists, mech eng specialists and Snr rotating eqt eng. CVs to be submitted here. I believe RasGas is a JV, one of the partners being ExxonMobil.
  • Murphy Oil is looking Graduate Trainees, surprise surprise. I thought they only went for senior staff, and paid big bucks for them. Times must be a-changing. I also remember one of their senior staff saying, if you quit from Murphy, you’ll never get back in. CVs to be submitted here.
  • Here’s a new one, though I think I have heard of them before. GL Konsult (“We VALUE and Enhance TALENT!”) is looking for everyone. I would say that they are either starting operations, or are a manpower supply house. Anyway, forward a detailed resume with photo here.
  • Shell is looking for graduates. Head to their website and follow Students & Graduates → Gradutes → How to Apply → Register & Apply Now → Register.
  • And of course, IGL Process Solutions is looking for high paying work, preferably of a 6 month duration.

Happy hunting. Let me have some feedback if you find this list useful. Even better, spread the news. PayPal donations welcome.

1 Comment | business opportunity, engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Professional Engineer – CE Update

May 11, 2008

I was in Port Dickson on the 21st to 23rd March 2008, contributing to a workshop to prepare a question bank for the Competency Exam, CE (I know, this was a while ago, I just found my notes).

The proposal is that all engineers applying to sit for the Professional Assessment Examination (PAE) after April 1st, 2008 with have to take the CE. It is targeted to have the first CE in June 2008, with at least three sittings per year.

The current outline of the paper is that it will split into 2 parts, a 3 hour general paper and a 3 hour paper related to the candidate’s engineering branch.

The general paper will cover The Engineers Act and Regulations, OSHA and Environment Quality Act (EQA). The branch paper will cover Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL), and codes and standards pertaining to the engineering branch.

  • The general paper will consist of 2 sections. Section A will be 30 true/false answers, while for section B, the candidate has to answer 15 out of 20 subjective questions.
  • The branch paper will present 30 questions, out of which 20 need to be answered.

Note: I do not take responsibility if any of the above is altered. Ask your friendly IEM rep.

1 Comment | engineering, Malaysia | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Why are there no Independent Operators in Malaysia?

May 6, 2008

A question that was asked of me was, why are there no independent oil and gas operators in Malaysia? It’s an intriguing one, for those of us who used to watch Dallas on TV (remember when there were on 2 channels on air, and they didn’t run 24/7?).

Let’s get some definitions out of the way. I refer to the ever reliable Wikipedia:

Supermajors are “the six largest, non state-owned energy companies, as seen in popular financial mediums around the world.” Chances are, if you are asked to name four oil companies, one of them is your national oil company (PETRONAS to me), and the other three are either supermajors, or components of supermajors prior to consolidation. Exxon and Mobil, Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company, Abbot and Costello.

‘Seven Sisters‘ is a term coined by an Italian entrepreneur, Enrico Mattei, that refers to seven oil companies that dominated mid 20th century oil production, refining, and distribution. These were companies that were formed by the breakup Standard Oil of the US. Still huge companies.

Now things become a bit more interesting. Independent oil companies aren’t something you hear of often.

I think is that people confuse independent companies with family or privately owned companies. One definition which I have found is ‘a non-integrated company which receives nearly all of its revenues from production at the wellhead. They are exclusively in the exploration and production segment of the industry, with no downstream marketing or refining within their operations.’

This is taken straight from the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s (IPAA) 2007 Oil and Natural Gas Issues Briefing Book.

Using that definition, we do have independent producers in Malaysia. Examples are  Talisman Energy,  Lundin Oil and Newfield.

Not every non-supermajor is an independent. Murphy Oil has retail outlets, Nippon Oil Explorationis a wholly own subsidiary of Nippon Oil Corporation.

 Enough definition for ya?

5 Comments | investment, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Annual Company Meet – Swag Bag

May 2, 2008

Thought I’d start some discussions on what you can get during your annual company meet / CEO address / town hall meeting:

  • ExxonMobil Malaysia Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc (EMEPMI) staff got a iPod. Granted, it was the coincidence of the Employee forum, 45 years of Esso in Malaysia, and the award of a new 25 year PSC.
  • Talisman Malaysia Ltd staff received an MP4 player.
  • Carigali Hess received … nothing.
  • Newfield staff were treated to lunch at the Malaysia Petroleum Club. Excellent view of the KL panorama, I might add.
  • Berwanger received Jusco voucers.
  • Rumour has it the Enserve staff got Tag Heuer watches (pest control company, I believe.) . As a side note, EMEPMI staff who contributed most to promoting safety received Tissot watches.
  • Shell Global Solutions staff received a mug with the company charter on it (sigh…)
  • Poyry Energy were given t-shirts during the annual retreat.
  • Deleum received nothing. (Deleum is the listed holding company of Delcom).

 

 

4 Comments | Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

49th Annual IEM Dinner – Recording of Speeches

May 1, 2008

I have the honour of attending the above dinner, held at the Subang Sheraton on 19th April, 2008. I recorded the following two speeches:

 

Leave a Comment » | engineering, Malaysia | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »