Saudi Aramco: The Future of Oil and Gas - GineersNow Petroleum Saudi Aramco, The Future of Oil & Gas Industry | Page 24

By renting power plants, oil & gas companies,
like ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources and
Anadarko, will no longer need to invest a huge
amount towards the construction and operation
of a permanent facility, and will no longer have
to grapple with substantial upfront costs. Oil
& gas companies can conveniently pay for
the rented electricity from their operational
profits, and can easily plan for their financial
allocation throughout the project, because
payment schedules are fixed and regular over a
contracted term.
Once the project is over, the rented power
plants can be rapidly demobilized by the power
provider, thus leaving no permanent power
facility not utilized or that will require further
maintenance and service.
At the height of the downturn, oil & gas
companies had to streamline operations to
survive the recession. This resulted in massive
job cuts, estimated to have affected more than
100,000 through November 2016.
On a positive note, the lay-offs have ebbed in
recent months, and encouraging numbers of
oil-related postings for oil-producing states have
started to manifest. But, despite the gradual
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Construction Leaders • April 2017
increase in manpower requirements within the
energy industry, most oil & gas companies
remain lean and conservative in recruiting new
employees.
This is another area where renting power can
prove to be advantageous. A full temporary
power service includes expert manpower to
install, operate, maintain and service the power
plants throughout the project. This means, oil
and gas companies will not need to hire, re-train
or transfer employees to manage the power
plants.
Marching on to the future
The oil & gas industry has proven time and
again that it has the ability to reinvent itself in
the face of challenging times. The tough last
couple of years have prompted the oil & gas
sector to tighten its belt in order to thrive in an
environment of repressed oil prices. Looking to
the future, the emerging oil & gas industry will
largely depend on how it reacts to its new reality.
With the appropriate business strategies and
responses to prevailing industry issues, a more
resilient sector can emerge from the rubbles of
the downturn.