NES GLOBAL TALENT

NES
Oil and Gas Satisfaction Survey

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CONTENTS

03 Introduction 05 The data sample 07 Job satisfaction How proud are you to work in the oil and gas industry? Is your offshore job more rewarding than an onshore job? How satised are you with your current offshore earnings? 08 Lifestyle Do you feel a closer bond with workmates? How would you rate the quality of life onboard an offshore facility? What do you like best about working offshore? What do you like least about working offshore? 09 The future Do you expect to sign up for another offshore job opportunity? Would you recommend your job to a friend? Do you predict it will become personally more or less challenging working offshore? 10 Locations Implications for global oil & gas? 11 Summary

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HOW DO OFFSHORE ENGINEERS FEEL ABOUT THEIR WORK?

The world needs energy. With escalating demand for that energy, the war for talent in oil and gas has never been stronger. NES Global Talent works with the best in the industry: those who understand new technologies as rapidly as they emerge; and those who can teach new entrants everything they need to know about running high performance projects. We support the talent strategies of the majors such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell. We support national oil campanies such as Saudi Aramco, Petrobras and Qatargas. We support global engineering procurement and construction such as Baker Hughes. Our geographical footprint mirrors theirs and, whether its on the Gorgon, Kashagan or Rumaila project, we mobilise contractors to the worlds biggest and most technically challenging developments safely and according to requirements. With environmental challenges and political unrest dominating the headlines, it would be easy to conclude that the appeal of the oil and gas industry is diminishing. We wanted to nd out how contractors actually feel about working in oil and gas so we selected the heart of the offshore community where to nd out.

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Our contractors are the life and blood of our business. Without them, we wouldnt exist its that simple!

Anecdotally, we know that oil and gas engineers enjoy working in the industry solving problems and developing new technologies, which is professionally challenging as well as nancially rewarding but we wanted to delve deeper into the way those working in the offshore industry feel about their work; to understand their motivations and to nd out their views on the future of the oil and gas industry all important aspects to understanding attraction and retention talent strategies.

We asked the talent of the contract market about what its like working in the offshore industry. We found out what they like and what they dont like and we learnt a little bit more about how offshore engineers feel about their work: an interesting insight into their world at a time when negative connotations occupy much of the discussion about the oil and gas industry. Neil Tregarthen, CEO, NES Global Talent

KEY FINDINGS: Pride: 89% said they were proud to work in the oil and gas industry. 88% of respondents would work in oil and gas, even if they werent offshore. 52% cited time at home between assignments as the best thing about working offshore. 63% expect to sign up to another offshore role when their current one ends. 65% said they would recommend their job to a friend. 54% predict that, given recent world events, working in the offshore industry will get more challenging. The most appealing destination for offshore engineers is Asia.

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THE DATA SAMPLE The survey was completed by 300 white-collar oil and gas engineers working in the offshore industry. The participants had 20+ years industry experience and were based across 39 countries worldwide. Some were based primarily onshore, but most were based on offshore installations. Job titles of those who completed the survey included: Installation Engineer; Maintenance Engineer; Project Engineer; Project Manager; Process Engineer; and Operation / Production Engineer.

QUICK STATS: Participants: Oil and gas engineers working offshore Number of respondents: 297 Locations: 39 countries throughout the world Level of seniority: 20+ years experience Positions: Installation Engineer Maintenance Engineer Project Engineer Project Manager Process Engineer Operation / Production Engineer

Specialisms: I like that NES Global Talent is showing an interest in the way I feel about my career. I know they work with engineers so they talk to us all the time, but its nice to know that they want to nd out more about the lifestyle and what makes us tick. Id like to know if there are any unusual or surprising trends, as reports like this often focus on earnings and salaries and this ones a bit different. Kerry Pritchard, Lead Piping Engineer, Amec (on assignment through NES) FPSO Jacket Subsea Topsides

Every day is different. You work hard when you work, and get long periods off in between.
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The results

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Job satisfaction
When we asked engineers how they feel about the job satisfaction that accompanies an offshore role, their sense of pride was unquestionably high with almost 30 percent of respondents awarding a full 10 points, and a heavy weighting towards that end of the scale. When thinking about opportunities offshore compared to those onshore, almost half said their role was more rewarding. Just over forty percent of those surveyed said that they were satised with their offshore earnings. When asked if they would still be working in oil and gas if they werent offshore, a massive 88 percent of those surveyed answered yes a ne endorsement for the industry.

On a scale of 1-10 how proud are you to work in the oil and gas industry? (1 being the least and 10 the most)
% 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Is your offshore job more rewarding than an onshore job?

4% 22% 9% Much less rewarding Somewhat less rewarding About the same Somewhat more rewarding Much more rewarding

38% 27%

How satised are you with your current offshore earnings?

9% 4% Dissatisfied 22% Somewhat dissatisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Satisfied Very satisfied 38%

27%

STAT:

When asked: If you were not working in an offshore position such as you are now, do you expect you would still be working in the oil and gas industry? (88% replied YES)
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Lifestyle
Teamwork and close relationships with co-workers ranked highly and were frequently cited as the best thing about working offshore by survey respondents. A mixed outlook was reported towards living conditions on the installation, with additional negative scores creating a more even spread of responses. The length of leave and associated time spent with friends and family, cited by over half of all respondents (52 percent) was by far the most popular best thing about working offshore, followed by a sense of professional satisfaction (17 percent) and the escape from the daily commute and ofce politics that can accompany traditional nine-to-ve roles (13 percent). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the isolation and time spent away from loved ones was the most frequently reported worst thing about working offshore (25 percent) with boredom & lack of entertainment (20 percent) and the chopper ride to the installation (16 percent) following closely.

Do you feel a closer bond with workmates offshore than you might in a job onshore? (1 being the least and 10 the most)
% 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How would you rate the quality of life onboard an offshore facility in terms of food, sleeping quarters and entertainment? (1 being the least and 10 the most)
% 25 20 15 10 5 0

10

What do you like best about working offshore?

13% 3% 52% 12% 3% Time off / rotation Professionally challenging / satisfying / focussed (no non-work distractions) Earnin potential / benefits Team working / collaboration Other (i.e. no traffic or commute / nice place / nooffice politics) Nothing 17%

What do you like least about working offshore?

4% 20% 25% Isolation / being away from the family Travel to installation by helicopter or boat The weather conditions 5% Threat of emergency risk Food / accommodation / conditions / lack of privacy Salary 16% 10% 4% 5% Long hours / length of time offshore Colleagues (e.g. management / leadership workplace politics) Other (e.g. boredom / lack of entertainment Nothing

11% 1%

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The future
When questioned about their expectations for the future, a massive 63 percent of respondents expected to sign up for a new offshore role upon completion of their current assignment, with just 8 percent answering no. Pleasingly, 65 percent of engineers also said that they would recommend their job to a friend an indication that the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to working offshore.

When this current assignment is concluded, would you expect to sign up for another offshore job opportunity?
Yes 29% No Unsure

63% 8%

Given ongoing pressure towards health and safety, as well as political instability in North Africa and the Middle East brings emergency evacuation planning into the spotlight, we asked offshore engineers how they thought recent events would affect them personally. Over half (54 percent) predicted that it would become personally more challenging working offshore.

Would you recommend your job to a friend?

Yes 26% No Unsure

65% would recommend their job to a friend

9%

65%

Given recent world events, do you predict it will become personally more or less challenging working offshore?
2% 19% 3% Much less challenging Slightly less challenging About the same Slightly more challenging Much more challenging 41%

35%

54% predict that working offshore will become more challenging

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Locations
We asked respondents to rate the appeal of working in different locations worldwide. Over three quarters (77 percent) rated Asia as appealing, with Australia (74 percent) and Europe (70 percent) following closely. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Africa was cited as the least appealing location, with almost half of respondents (45 percent) rating it with little or no appeal. The Middle East (33 percent) and Russia & Central Eastern Europe (27 percent) were also ranked with low appeal. These ndings suggest that Africa and the Middle East could struggle to attract the best skills as the global war for talent gathers pace. On the other hand, offshore engineers who consider these locations could expect competitive rates and favourable benets packages.

Most preferred location Asia Australia Europe South America North America & Canada Russia & Central Eastern Europe Middle East Africa Least preferred location

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SUMMARY
With environmental challenges and political unrest dominating the headlines, we wanted to nd out how the global engineering community feels about working in offshore oil and gas. We surveyed 300 senior level engineers with at least 20 years industry experience to nd out about their sense of pride and professional satisfaction, to discover their views on the offshore lifestyle and to understand what they expect from the future. The ndings show that engineers are ercely proud of their work in the offshore oil and gas industry, they feel a sense of satisfaction that cannot be matched anywhere else and they would recommend their work to others. Despite long hours, isolation and a dislike of helicopter rides, the pros of working in the industry outweigh the cons with favourable on/off rotations and the sense of professional accomplishment well worth it! KEY FINDINGS: 89% said they were proud to work in the oil and gas industry. 88% of respondents would work in oil and gas, even if they werent offshore. 52% cited time at home between assignments as the best thing about working offshore. 65% said they would recommend their job to a friend. 54% predict that, given recent world events, working in the offshore industry will get more challenging.

The most appealing destination for offshore engineers is Asia.

For the oil and gas industry, the ndings of this survey are incredibly positive. As global skills shortages worsen, it is so important that advocates of the industry can share their positive experiences with new entrants. By understanding the way the stars of the industry feel about their work, the international oil and gas community can work to retain the best talent for the biggest and most technically challenging projects globally, as it seeks to satisfy the worlds escalating demand for energy.

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