One well, 30,000 times: Australia’s workforce transition to a gas factory
Carrie Grimes A , Geoffrey Cann A and Christopher Margarido ADeloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
The APPEA Journal 55(2) 486-486 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ14121
Published: 2015
Abstract
Australia’s oil and gas resources are becoming more unconventional, and the workforce management approaches to exploit these resources must also become more unconventional. The shift from conventional to unconventional resource plays, beginning with coal seam gas and now including shale resources, has had a major impact on every aspect of the upstream process. This entails the delivery of upstream gas capacity and on-going gas delivery for thousands of wells across several years, which is much more like a manufacturing process rather than one-off projects—compared to conventional gas where only a few wells are drilled per year.
Perfecting the gas factory concept is still in its early days in Australia, with more focus remaining on the work than the workforce. As equipment and infrastructure support the work to be delivered, culture and workforce structures (organisational structures, performance plans and people strategies, etc.) support the workforce that will execute the work.
The ability to establish a factory-like culture will drive a workforce with a manufacturing mindset and if supported by the right workforce structures will encourage behaviour needed to be successful in the manufacturing environment.
The companies and suppliers that are able to reinvent themselves as manufacturers, both in what they do and how they think, will realise the highest returns.
This extended abstract explores the changes needed in workforce structures through examples in oil and gas (shale developments and coal bed methane, etc.), manufacturing drawing lessons and insights for Australia’s growing unconventional oil and gas sectors.
Carrie Grimes is a senior consultant in Deloitte’s human capital practice, where she has experience across the energy and resources sector, delivering work in the US, Africa and the Asia Pacific region. Carrie has seven years of experience specialising in HR transformation, workforce planning, talent management, HR review and strategy and workforce analytics. Carrie has an MA in industrial/organisational psychology from George Mason University, and BAs in psychology and sociology from the University of Kentucky, US. |
Geoffrey Cann is the consulting national director of oil and gas at Deloitte Brisbane, where he helps energy and resources companies address their cost, productivity and social license challenges. He has 24 years of management consulting experience through engagements in Canada, Australia, the US, Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea and the Caribbean. Geoffrey has produced numerous publications, presents regularly on strategy topics and has been a guest lecturer at the MBA program at the Haskayne School of Business. He has a BCom in major information systems from McGill University, an MBA from the Ivey School of Business and is a certified management consultant. Most recently, he was consulting leader for oil and gas in Canada and led Deloitte’s strategy and operations services in Calgary. |
Christopher Margarido is an analyst at Deloitte Brisbane in strategy and operations, specialising in finance and oil and gas, with a focus on assisting energy companies to reduce their operating costs and enhance productivity. While at Deloitte, Christopher has conducted independent business reviews and provided financial advisory services in addition to assisting companies at an operational level in the CSG sector. Prior to Deloitte, he operated on-board a CSG drill rig and was also engaged with a global heavy machinery manufacturer as part of a national merger and acquisition integration. Christopher holds a BCom and an MA in accounting from Bond University. Member: Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia. |
References
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