When the demand and supply shock began in the aftermath of Covid-19 last year, most oil and gas companies responded with large reductions in capital spending. This resulted in budget cutbacks on planned people and talent enhancements, a KPMG report said.
Regardless of the size of the oil and gas company, or whether it is upstream or downstream, the impact will be different on field staff than it is on employees who work in corporate offices, the report said.
“A lot of projects and investment within the oil and gas industry were put on hold for the past couple of years,” says Nikhil Nanda, operations manager at Innovations Group, a recruitment and staffing solutions company.
“There will be a large investment within the industry in 2022 for maintenance projects, as well as new projects, which will result in a large number of jobs opening up.”
Currently, the most in-demand roles in the UAE’s oil and gas industry are field jobs such as those of engineer, supervisor and operator, among others, Mr Nanda says. All these roles are in various service lines such as well testing, coil tubing, wirelines and slicklines.
“All the above roles where the crew is certified by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in that particular designation are also in demand,” he says.
Field engineers are required to have experience in specific service lines, tools and systems, as well as good client and stakeholder management skills and health, safety and environment (HSE) knowledge, he says. Field engineers with experience of two to five years are paid a monthly salary of Dh6,500 to Dh7,500, according to Innovations Group.
Meanwhile, field supervisors require experience in overseeing jobs in the field for specific service lines, have knowledge of reporting and other paperwork-related tasks, have experience in managing crews and clients and possess good HSE knowledge, Mr Nanda says.
Those with experience of six to 12 years can earn monthly salaries ranging from Dh9,000 to Dh12,000.
Field operators need to be experienced in operating equipment for specific service lines, have an ability to follow supervisors’ instructions and have good HSE knowledge. Those with experience of two to five years are paid between Dh5,000 to Dh7,000 per month, according to Mr Nanda.
“These jobs are mostly advertised on the respective company’s career page online, on LinkedIn or job portals,” he says.
IN-DEMAND JOBS AND MONTHLY SALARIES
Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Source: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2021/11/23/uae-salaries-what-are-the-most-in-demand-oil-and-gas-jobs-and-how-much-do-they-pay/