Contracting in the oil and gas sector opens up a world of opportunities. Crude Oil for example, is found in some of the warmest climates and most exotic places in the world. Being a contractor, you choose when and where you work, so one month you could be working in Dubai and another month, much closer to home in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. There are a wealth of projects for you to get involved in.
The global demand for oil is so high that there is a struggle to satisfy this demand, translating into a huge opportunity for contractors in this industry; not only are your skills in high demand, you can choose from a wide range of projects and increased daily rates to compensate for an increased workload.
A degree in the relevant subjects is essential, any physical, mathematical or applied sciences, as well as engineering. Postgraduate study is also a benefit if you're looking to contract in a large international company. It’s preferable that contractors have a few years experience as a permanent employee, as often you will be working on your own and other employees will not be able to aid in training you, it also builds up your skills in working in a busy environment whilst also enriching your CV in the process to attract potential clients.
Employers will be interested most importantly in your experience and what you can offer them. This means your CV needs to look as appealing as possible. It is important to show an interest in protecting natural resources and the environment while meeting the world’s demand for oil and gas.
The following will help you stand out from the crowd:
Recruitment sites are the most obvious ways of finding a contract. Depending on your range of skills, they can look for a more local contract in order to get you more experience, look into niche specific work or larger national agencies such as Orion and OilandGasJobSearch.com
Another avenue of finding a contract is going directly to a company, often they have a careers section with a contact telephone and email address for you to send through your CV and a cover letter.
If you are finding it difficult to find a point of contact, consider using LinkedIn. This is a great way to build up your network within the Oil and Gas sector and a way to make people aware of when you are looking for a new contract.
Another option is contacting companies direct. Some of the biggest companies you can look for contacts in are:
Chevron Texaco -The world’s largest integrated energy companies. They engage in every aspect of the crude oil and natural gas industry, including exploration and production, manufacturing, marketing and transportation, chemical manufacturing and sales, geothermal energy and power generation. Their workforce is approximately 60,000 employees excluding station employees. In 2009, Chevron produced 2.7million barrels of oil per day.
Technip – Is a key contributor to the development of technologies and sustainable solutions for the exploitation of the world’s energy resources. Technip operates in three segments of the world oil and gas market: Subsea, Offshore and Onshore In 2010 they had a workforce of 23,000 people in 48 countries, industrial assets on five continents and a fleet of 19 vessels.
Wormald Tyco – Offer a complete suite of services to the Oil & Gas industry, both on and offshore. Tyco offers a range of services such as: Audio Communications, Breathing air Services, Control Systems, Environmental, Fire Detection and Alarm, Fire Extinguishers and Gas Detection.
Talisman – Is a global, upstream oil and gas company with the purpose of safe, profitable growth. Talisman primary operates in North America, the North sea and Southeast Asia. The company produced 425,000 boe/d in 2009, approximately 50% oil and liquids and 50% natural gas.
ConocoPhilips – operates in more than 30 countries worldwide and employs approximately 29,000 employees. The companies four core worldwide activities include: Exploration and Productions, Refining, Marketing and Transportation and Natural Gas Gathering, Processing and Marketing.
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The average experienced oil and gas engineer earns £1,000 per day. Daily rates vary from £200 to £2,000 per day for very special Oil and Gas Consultants. This covers such a broad range of careers such as drilling work, seismic exploration, cementing to engineering consultation.
Daily rates are affected by levels of risk and your range of skills including both practical and managerial skills. As demand for oil and gas cannot be met, consultants can benefit from negotiating higher daily rates to compensate for their extra workload.
The price per barrel of Crude Oil is currently $55-60 per barrel (2019). These predictions are based on the fact the Oil and Gas industry cannot keep up with worldwide demand and as a direct result the industry is rich with opportunities for oil and gas contractors.
We've been providing expert accountancy advice and helping contractors to focus on doing what they do best since 1992.
We provide all our clients with pro-active tax advice and accountancy services all backed-up by Our Customer Promise. We are the UK's largest specialist accountants for contractors with over 15,000 contractor clients, all of whom work through their own limited company.
We provide an all-inclusive service which includes:
You’ll also be pleased to know that we have won more awards for customer service and accounting excellence than any other firm in our market including Accountancy Age Awards, Best Accountant for Contractors six years running and Best Companies Awards to name just a few.
With an online company formation facility, we have a lot of experience in forming and dealing with newly formed companies and will be happy to assist and guide new clients in all aspects of the administration and accounting requirements for their new company.
If you are thinking of contracting through your own company, read our new straightforward guide on How to Contract through your own Limited Company. You'll be surprised how little time it takes and just how easy it is.
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