Past Events

Gender Diversity Seminar: A major success!!

UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL IN YOUR CAREER

Another Perspective’s first seminar held in March 2011 was seen as a success across the board with lots of inspiring talks from the speakers about their experiences and the four sessions thought-out the day exceeding people’s expectations and many asking if the committee were planning another seminar for next year. The event was enjoyable and informative.  Listening to industry leaders about their experiences was educational and having the opportunity to network with the presenters and attendees was excellent.

As the inaugural event it surpassed all expectation, with a full audience with representative from both genders and varied programme. The selection of speakers was extremely varied in terms of background, career routes and experiences but all came across as extremely enthusiastically about working in the industry, regardless of issues they have faced in the past and were all extremely honest and willing to share information from their careers and lives. A summary of quotes from the speakers are stated as follows:

Nicole Gordon (Shell) and Oonagh Werngren (GDF Suez) both mentioned the importance of international experience as it helps shape your career and hard work is a key priority in the work environment. Moya Cahill (Pangeo Subsea) emphases on knowing what you want and making the right decision. Beth Gutweiler (Halliburton) illustrated how important it is to prioritize your work scope for better efficient project execution. Leigh-Ann Russell (BP) said know your limit, don’t be afraid to say no but also put in your best at work. Regarding those in dual careers in the same industry, Maria Jimenez (Senergy) advised spouses can serve as each other’s mentor and undertake constant discussion on issues affecting you or your spouse’s career for better decision making.

The seminar was very thought provoking and there were many discussions based on the subjects covered at the post-event networking session. It has given both the audience and the Another Perspective committee many things to contemplate on what to do in the future and is planned to be an annual event in Aberdeen.

Main outcome have from this event are: Work-life balance is achievable, you just need to learn how to set your boundaries and coordinate your activities with your partner. Writing down your goals will give you a better view and a mental plan, which will lead you to success. The event gave us insight of behavioural performances at the workplace that provided tips on how to work with people with different perspectives. Every one of us has a voice and if you work hard and deliver, your voice will be heard, so don’t be afraid to raise your voice and ask for better conditions at your workplace, social life and family life.

The event was focused on soft skills, which are been neglected by the industry for years, but nowadays, people are realizing that they are as important as technical skills because it will give you the foundation to interact with others in a more positive way. We heard stories from very successful people, which have combined technical and soft skills to promote themselves. This was an excellent opportunity to reflect back in what we have achieved in our careers and the way forward.

At the end of the event, Another Perspective provided the delegates with a very useful set of learning tools to use as ammunition in their careers.

Another Perspective moves forward

Another Perspective – The new Aberdeen CGSD sub-committee formed to help bring a better gender balance to SPE and the oil and gas industry –held its inaugural meeting in April 2009 to agree a way forward.The event sponsored by Senergy and attended by women and men representing a range of companies and disciplines, included a round table introduction and scene-setting presentation, followed by an informal discussion of awareness-raising activities and volunteers to facilitate them.“As with the get-together, the meeting benefited from the positive,thoughtful, collaborative and enthusiastic contribution of all attendees”says AP Chair Maria Trujillo. Maria will present the new committee’s forward plan to the CGSD Committee and SPE Board this month.

Another Perspective Launches in Aberdeen

An inspirational talk on the challenges and opportunities for women in the oil and gas industry launched the new SPE Aberdeen Another Perspective sub-committee, in November 2009.

Held in the grand granite-and-marble surroundings of Aberdeen Art Gallery, the launch event was attended by a broad cross-section of Aberdeen members, who listened with interest as Oonagh Werngren, Head of Technology for BP’s North Sea business, shared her personal perspective on how to achieve a rewarding career – advice that applied equally to the significant number of men in the audience.

AP Desk Calender 2010

A 2010 desk calendar was produced by Another Perspective titled “A year of Gender Diversity” which showcased different scenarios of wAP Desk Calender 2010

Note on AP's Technical Presentation

SPE Aberdeen’s Another Perspective Committee’s busy programme of activities continued in early April 2010 with our first Technical Presentation, by Maria A Jimenez, Production Technologist, Senergy. She gave an interesting presentation on The Role of Coupled Geomechanics – Fluid Flow Reservoir Modelling for Water Injection Performance Prediction’, which outlined the importance of considering the influence of the reservoir stress state over the injectivity when modelling water injection processes. She showed an example of professionalism and technical excellence and her presentation was well-received by the audience and there was great show of interest in the subject, which although it has existed for many years in the industry, is still not standard practice.

The evening event was held at the Douglas Hotel, attracting around 40 people from different backgrounds, including Reservoir, Drilling and Production Engineers, Geologists, Geophysics and students from the Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen. The presentation was opened by Jeb Tyrie, of Focus Energy Limited and former Chairman of the Aberdeen SPE Section, who highlighted the importance of involvement in SPE and the platform it provides for members to interact with other engineers and geoscientists.

Another Perspective once more has proved its commitment to the energy sector by bringing gender balance and providing mentoring and networking opportunities for those already working in the industry.

2010 Devex Young Professional Workshop

First of its kind, in collaboration with SPE Another Perspective, PESGB, AFES, and SPE YP , the Devex Young Professional workshop was held in May 2010. The topic for the day was "Making the Unconventional Energy Resource Conventional" which proved to be a success, also attended where a group of high caliber panelist: Fazrie Wahid: Chief Production Engineer, Schlumberger (North Sea Geomarket), Andrew Gunning: Operations Manager, CBM, Centrica Energy and Dr Mehran Sohrabi, HW University, who contributed earnestly to the discussions.
The aim of the workshop was to discuss the science and technology that will enable the discovery and economic production of unconventional resources within a framework of social and environmental responsibilities and also to create an awareness and platform for the young professionals on how to tackle the issue and put steps in place for the future.