Energy Industry Offers Limitless Opportunities for Technical Professionals

Stuart R. McGill
Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corporation

Imagine a young man or woman, embarking on a career anywhere in the world, having studied science, engineering, or math. With the right motivation, support, and ongoing education he or she can aspire to great achievements. The future is laden with opportunity—the chance to unlock secrets and discover
new realities.

But will those accomplishments be in the energy industry? Will today’s young professionals—and tomorrow’s—even consider energy as a long-term career? Those are important questions given the critical role our business plays in the global economy.

The energy industry offers limitless opportunities for engineers and scientists, backed by leading-edge technology and a research and development focus that is second to none. Technical professionals who choose energy as a career will be involved in planning, building, and managing multibillion-dollar projects around the globe, using the latest high-tech tools and working in multidisciplinary teams that maximize critical thinking
and creativity.

That is a challenge that can inspire and motivate current professionals and students. But are they hearing the message?

Technology Provides Solutions

There is no question that the global demand for energy will continue to rise over the next several decades. My company, ExxonMobil, expects that worldwide energy consumption will increase 40% by the year 2030. Oil and natural gas will continue to play a significant role in meeting that energy demand.

The prospect of meeting rising consumption can be daunting—until you consider that hydrocarbons are plentiful. Since the beginning of the hydrocarbon energy industry, just about 20% of known energy reserves have been produced, and advances in technology continue to make it possible to recover previously unattainable sources of supply cost-effectively.

In the years to come, technology will play an even more important role in the supply of affordable energy. Though reserves are plentiful, oil companies today are going into more challenging, more remote, more expensive locales to explore for and produce energy, and technology will help us succeed and keep costs manageable.

Technology is also crucial in helping us solve another problem—that of reducing the environmental impact of our exploration and production activities. Even small advancements can have major benefits in environmental performance and, ultimately, business performance.

People Make Technology Work

Of course, technology does not invent itself. It takes talented, creative people to develop the right tools and use those tools optimally in pursuit of business objectives. As demand for energy grows, so does the need for technical professionals with the mental agility to handle the increased complexity and scale of our business.

The energy engineer or scientist of the next decade and beyond must

Be willing to constantly expand his or her skills and seek new challenges.
Embrace the global nature of our business, including accepting work assignments around the world and learning to interact positively with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Recognize the importance of engaging in public dialogue to communicate the importance of science and technology to the broader community.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that the energy industry today is more vital than ever and that opportunities abound.

At ExxonMobil, for example, we employ more than 14,000 scientists and engineers. Their scientific areas of expertise include not just engineering, geoscience, chemistry, and physics, but also oceanography, paleontology, climatology, microbiology, computer science, environmental science, and medical science—supported by a research and development budget that reaches into the hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Thanks to the efforts of those skilled professionals, we are awarded an average of nearly three patents a day on new technologies developed in our laboratories, research centers, and operational facilities.

We are certainly not alone in that focus on technology and science. Across the industry, companies are seeking technical professionals who can advance the search for energy through discovery and innovation.

Widening the Talent Pool

So who are the young people who make up the future talent pool for our industry? To begin with, they are entering the workforce in all regions of the world. And they are just as likely to be women as men. Consider that in 2005, ExxonMobil hired more than 2,400 professionals worldwide. Nearly 70% of those new hires were outside the United States; 42% were women.

Yet many qualified young professionals around the world do not understand the possibilities available through careers in energy. To change this, we must invest our time and resources to enlarge the talent pool by

Nurturing an interest in science and math earlier in students’ study to ensure that they pursue the appropriate course work and internship opportunities.
Communicating the opportunities available to technical professionals in the energy industry.
Actively recruiting people from all backgrounds.

We also must make certain that young professionals understand the environment that many energy companies are actively building—one that places great importance on multidisciplinary teams and integrated approaches to solving technical problems. This is a style and culture that has great appeal to young people growing up in such an inter-connected world.

Last year, ExxonMobil invested U.S. $42 million in educational initiatives worldwide, many focused on enhancing science and math instruction and providing opportunities for women. We will continue to look for ways to improve and expand our educational focus to help ensure that energy is a “career of choice” for the brightest, most capable students.

Blending Talent, Technology

Our industry’s success in the years to come will hinge entirely on our ability to capture and develop talent and technology—and blend them in ways that benefit our -customers and markets while yielding competitive return on our investments.

To ensure that we are prepared for the challenge of meeting the world’s energy requirements, we must strengthen our commitments to the following.

Technology: We must invest in and support new technology—not only the incremental improvements that do not garner headlines, but also the giant leaps forward that require creativity, innovation, and long-term thinking. We also must continue the push toward integrated solutions, linking our engineering and geosciences professionals in a team-oriented culture so that technology works in tandem with our best thinking in a holistic, big-picture approach.

The Long Term: To ensure a steady flow of new talent, we must commit to recruiting across business-cycle booms and busts. Changing the “feast or famine” perception of the energy industry among technical professionals is a necessary step toward recruiting the best minds in science, engineering, and math.

It is important, too, that we create and nurture positive environments and corporate cultures that provide professionals with proper work/personal-life balance, and that we focus on providing careers for our people, not just jobs. These so-called soft issues provide significant benefits over the long term, reducing turnover and enhancing our attractiveness to professionals of all ages.

Training and Development: The industry needs a systematic approach to employee development—building both senior technical professionals and leaders/advocates. And training must keep pace with technology advancement to ensure that employees are up to date and able to use all available tools at their disposal.

Our technical people need challenging, technologically demanding, and personally rewarding assignments throughout their careers, commensurate with their experience and needs. This should be an ongoing focus of senior management across each energy company.

Diversity: We must encourage, hire, and support people from all walks of life. We cannot leave this to chance or happenstance; it must be a priority for each of our organizations and be monitored and measured like any business objective. A wider talent pool benefits everyone.

Just as importantly, we must educate our people about the value of diversity, ensuring that they recognize and understand the importance of a global perspective.

The Path is Clear

Talent and technology will be the driving forces of innovation and ingenuity that will propel our industry forward in the years to come. But we cannot sit back and hope that the proper pieces fall into place. We must take an active role in ensuring that our organizations have access to the people and tools that can deliver the world’s energy needs.

By supporting education in the technical sciences and creating productive, open work cultures, we can ensure that our industry remains a destination for professionals with the passion, knowledge, and vision to make a difference.

STUART R. MCGILL is Senior Vice President of Exxon Mobil Corp. A native of Australia, McGill earned a BS degree and a PhD degree in chemical engineering from Sydney U. He joined Esso Australia Ltd. in 1969 as an engineer in its Production Department and held various engineering assignments before becoming Corporate Planning Manager for Esso Australia and then Area Production Manager.

McGill has held numerous managerial and executive positions throughout his career, including Operations Division Manager for Exxon Co. USA’s Southeastern Division in New Orleans; Managing Director of Esso Production Malaysia Inc.; Director, Chairman, and Managing Director of Esso Australia Ltd.; Vice President of Exxon Co. Intl. with responsibility for Supply, Transportation, and Middle East Producer Relations; Executive Assistant to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Exxon Corp.; and CEO of Esso Holding Co. Holland Inc. and of Esso B.V. He returned to the U.S. in 1994 as Executive Vice President of Exxon Co. Intl. with responsibility for Exxon’s oil and gas activities outside the U.S. and Canada. In 1998, he was named President of Exxon Co. Intl. He was appointed President of Exxon Mobil Production Co. in 2003 and was named Senior Vice President for the corporation in 2004.