In December 2015, Nick Terrell, Managing Director of Azinor Catalyst presented a talk on the topic of ‘Surviving the Downturn’ hosted at the PESGB Offices in Croydon…

Nick initially focused his talk on the graduate employment market. He shared his experiences of being a graduate entrant into the industry in the early 2000’s when oil was in the $20’s per barrel. It was tough to land a job for much of his MSc peer group, however as the late 90’s crash recovery strengthened the job opportunities started to materialise. His advice to recent graduates looking for employment within the oil and gas business centred on using professional networks to identify and pursue opportunities. He also emphasised the importance of banging on doors and trying to get any type of experience no matter what. Future prospective employers would take into account the current market condition and so taking a TA or part-time unpaid role would not be seen as a hindrance. The market will recover it’s just a matter of time….

He then moved on to discussing the remaining potential of the UK North Sea and how his company, Azinor Catalyst, was positioning itself to take advantage of the current distressed business environment. Operating and Capital costs are coming down and the remaining potential of the basin is still significant. The industry faces major structural, capital and technical challenges, however history has shown repeatedly that the offshore E&P sector has been able to adapt and evolve.