SKILLS OF THE FUTURE AT A GLANCE

JUNE 2018

Canada’s Energy Workforce in Transition:

SKILLS OF THE FUTURE AT A GLANCE Three significant trends are having an impact on workforce requirements, occupations and skills that will be required over the next five years.

Regulatory changes and workforce shifts Canada’s oil and gas industry is adapting to proposed regulatory changes as governments respond to concerns about the environmental and social impacts of resource development. IAA

New Climate Strategy

The proposed Impact Assessment Act (IAA) includes a new,

The federal and most provincial governments have agreed

early planning phase with expanded Indigenous and public

to a framework addressing climate change issues, with a

input into a project and the impact assessment. It also

goal to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

requires a review of environmental effects as well as potential

Shifts in occupations and skills as a result:

changes in health, social and economic conditions if the project is approved. Shifts in occupations and skills will be: • Increased need for stakeholder communications and consultation. • Requirement for Indigenous expertise in ecological knowledge, such as land and resource use, political process and heritage sites. • Expertise in helping Indigenous communities create economic development plans and building business

• Requirement for expertise in compliance and regulations. • Expanded requirement for measurement, mitigation and reporting skills. • Skills related to renewable energy installation and operations. • Knowledge of electrical regulations and power grid expertise. • Skills related to methane mitigation.

and workforce skills. • Increased need for professionals such as biologists and related technologists. • Expertise in managing safety systems, safety communications and emergency response.

CareersinOilandGas.com

CANADA’S ENERGY WORKFORCE IN TRANSITION: SKILLS OF THE FUTURE AT A GLANCE

Government programs that will spur activity over the next three to five years The Alberta Energy Diversification Act will provide up to $2 billion in tax credits to encourage construction of new petrochemical facilities, facilities to capture natural gas liquids, as well as for petrochemical feedstock manufacturing, such as ethane, methane and butane. The legislation is expected to support an estimated 8,000 construction jobs and hundreds of operations jobs. The Alberta government is loaning the Orphan Well Association $235 million to speed the abandonment and reclamation of the province’s orphan wells and sites, those that are left with no one to pay for clean-up, often due to bankruptcy. This effort will increase demand for service rig personnel, well cementing and environmental services.

How does the new IAA review process work? Step 1: Early Planning

1. Impact Assessment Cooperation Plan • Indigenous Engagement and Partnership Plan • Public Participation Plan 2. Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines 3. Permitting Plan

Deliverable

*Regional and strategic assessments would be proactively conducted outside of individual project reviews. This will help inform project assessments, manage cumulative impacts, and support decision-making.

Step 2: Impact Statement

Step 3: Impact Assessment

Step 4: Decision-Making

· Proponent prepares draft Impact Statement · Agency reviews for conformity with Impact Statement Guidelines and posts on the Registry for public comment

Agency assesses Impact Statement and prepares Impact Assessment Report

Minister of ECCC determines public interest

Impact Statement

Public participation & transparency

------ OR ------

Assessment by Review Panel or Joint Review Panel

Assessment Report

Cooperation with jurisdictions

------ OR ------

Cabinet determines public interest

Step 5: Follow-up, Monitoring and Compliance & Enforcement · Indigenous and community monitoring committees, as needed · Compliance & enforcement by the Agency and Federal Authorities or by life-cycle regulator

Decision Statement

Engagement with Indigenous Peoples

SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA



Automation and big data Canada’s oil and gas industry is looking to automation and the use of data analytics to improve operations and decision-making in order to increase its productivity and profitability and be more competitive. Existing automation efforts have largely helped the oil and gas workforce do their jobs more safely and efficiently rather than replace workers and with certain exceptions, it’s expected this trend will continue as more repetitive tasks

Impacts of automation and data analytics on occupations and skills • Increased need to collect and analyze data and

are automated, freeing up workers to focus on

to build and maintain databases.

higher value tasks.

• Increased need for software engineers, data management and analytics specialists to measure operations in real-time. • Increased need for instrumentation technologists as sensors are applied to more field equipment and machinery. • Technological literacy skills required for field workers in a digital environment. • Demand for technology-based competencies, creative problem solving and the ability to manage change. • Skills to analyze data in real-time in the field, conduct course corrections and innovate. • Increased demand for IT roles to support and maintain automated equipment.

Digitizing the future oil field

8

Tablet/smart glasses Engineers utilize virtual models on tablets and augmented reality data on smart glasses to perform maintenance

Delivery drones

Sensors

7

1

3a

Sensors on the rig detect abnormal temperature

2 3b

Surveillance drones

Onshore drones deliver parts from the warehouse to the oﬀshore rig

6

Drones investigate the oﬀshore rig and share photos/live videos in real-time

3D printers Parts and tools required to fix the issue are printed in real-time using 3D printers

Integrated operations center (IOC) IOC engineer receives alert and performs diagnosis via interactive 3D model

Real-time request oilfield services (OFS) IOC identifies required services and issues service request to OFS vendors; best bid is accepted in real-time

4

Real-time analytics Predictive data analytics determine maintenance needs based on surveillance data; integrated supply chain orders parts

Smart devices

5

Engineers receive alerts and incident details on their smart watches/mobile devices and prepare for service

SOURCE: PWC



Manufacturing process improvement As development of Canada’s oil and natural gas resources mature, the industry is applying advanced manufacturing processes to standardize and replicate activities in order to create additional efficiencies, cut costs and improve productivity. The goal is to equip, drill and complete identical or similar multi-well pads repeatedly, and implement improvements into future development.

Impacts of the manufacturing process on occupations and skills • Increased need for geotechnical, engineering and supply chain expertise. • Expertise required in well pad planning, operations sequencing, construction, materials handling and logistics.

• Shifting work for electrical and instrumentation installations from remote areas into lower cost urban environments, due to increased modularization. • More skills required in project management to manage the growing complexity of operations.

• Enhanced management and multi-tasking skills

• Negotiating skills for service salespeople to match

required for drilling and completion engineers

their customers’ newer and more sophisticated

and other specialists working multiple projects

supply chain and procurement systems.

concurrently, from a central location. • Expertise in building water hubs with pipelines to well pads, water treatment and recycling facilities.

• Increased need for service technicians, mechanics and other maintenance personnel to keep equipment functioning.

• Declining need for engineers as facilities are replicated in multiple locations.

Balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability is eliminating some jobs, broadening the skills required and adding occupations not traditionally considered oil and gas jobs. Along with all of this comes challenges and opportunities for Canadians working in the oil and gas industry and for those who are looking to become part of it.

The information presented in this fact sheet are highlights from the report, A Workforce in Transition: Oil and Gas Skills of the Future. To find this and other reports from PetroLMI, visit CareersinOilandGas.com/publications.

Photos courtesy of: Cenovus Energy Inc, Syncrude Canada Ltd., TransCanada Corporation, WRDC

This project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program © PetroLMI June 2018

All rights reserved. The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of PetroLMI and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.