OK this is going to be a Dry Hole Plano Jim post and a JIMBO post since many have figured out who I am. Just an observation on many of the posts and I think there is a lack of oilfield basic knowledge possibly due to recent times and compartmentalization of jobs. Many people that are in the office environs don't understand the work that is done in the field at the tank battery level, fluid transfers, and midstream. Many people in the field don't know what is done in LCO or MCO support such as Land, Environmental, Legal, IT, and Geology. An integrated Oil Company works in a symphonic togetherness with many people working together and with dangerous machinery to produce a product that is sold, that comes from deep within the Earth. As career mature it is difficult to expand your vision to what another departments do or the company as a whole. Take the time to understand the company which is a sum of its many working parts. If someone says it is a 210 know that it is a 210 BBL tank, Anardo know that is a pressure relief value on the tank, throwing chain and pigtail in the days of old was used to make up drill pipe on the drilling floor, thief hatch a hatch on the top of the tank to get a sample of the oil. Other words Working Interest, royalty interest, Tight Hole, Pumpjack, BS&W, roustabout, roughneck (someone you don't want your daughter to date)
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@2gvl All the finger pointing and calling unknown posters out, just to be mean. Let people have a constructive discussion.
Or.. do you recognize yourself in their criticism?
@2gv1Ha. sounds like you’re the one who complained or overspent. The hate is real if you blame unknown posters.
@2xpg it was not 10x and you were only complaining because it wasn’t your way.
Sadly those people who propose expensive bells and whistles without any common sense or a proper engineering solution, get promoted, and they take advantage of it. According to middle management, the more money you spend, the better. I saw some crazy things get approved this year at 10x price tag, when the better solution was right in front of the eyes at a minimal cost.
I’ve worked with a lot of our engineers and some of the geos through the years and always found them to be ambitious, nice for the most part and very smart but Good Lord, they have almost no passion for the oil business or learning about it. I expect when these people finally crawl into middle management we’ll see even more eye crossing SpotFire presentations, unrepresentative KPIs and goofy initiatives. In short, more analysis of the problems but less solutions. This has got to change, The old days of simply throwing money at any and all projects and adding every conceivable bell and whistle while amping up your PMP haven’t worked.
Are there any SMEs left in the company? Looks like mostly everyone with experience and knowledge left either last year or this time around.
@mtd where are you rotating to next?
Rotated out of the company lol
Rotational opportunities, LOL.
I much appreciate the following that I had while posting on this site, most of the times I used JIMBO and sometimes DRY HOLE PLANO JIM, if it was sensitive I was anonymous. But I think people figured out my writing style and usually they were posted late at night, people would call me in the morning and ask if I wrote. I may stirred the pot several times but my posts were more of a historical overview of Pioneer and my 40 plus years working in the global oil patch; and to ease your peace towards the PACKAGE. Oil was the best career I could have ever had and the best people that I could have ever worked with. I grewup in the oil fields of Central Wyoming in the 1950s and followed my father when he would drive carrying parts to drilling rigs or production locations. At night in Wyoming the night sky was ablaze with rigs, tall flares, Cat Crackers, and old school burn pits, you could taste it, was in your eyes and mouth and on your clothing that was on the clothes line to dry. I loved the order in chaos at the rig sites, the clanging of metal the scream of the rig's draw works and the easy teasing banter of men that worked the patch. I went to college to miss Nam and started in the oil patch in 1975, left in March 2019. I worked for five oil companies in the span of my working years. Neither of my two sons wanted nothing to do with oil and selected finance and computer, they would have been 4th generation of oil, but not to be. The oil industry will live on for another 50-60 years; but it will need to change its structure to be able to survive. Companies will need to learn to do more with less, more sameness or cookie cutter of facilities, GIG employment, companies will need fortress like balance sheets, and spending money to drill will come from earnings and not bank loans. Current and future technologies will reap the benefits in cost saving doing the daily boredom. Oil may be on the cusp of a 21st century enlightenment renaissance on how they do business in the field. OIL YOU EITHER LOVE IT OR YOU HATE IT, but you are never along for the ride.
I disagree that it is dead end. I have had plenty of rotational growth opportunities at Pioneer. More than any other company. Most people just aren’t willing to be uncomfortable for a little while. Sure, it’s not fun to get out of your comfort zone for a little while, just don’t complain if you find yourself stuck.
I will say that in this environment that learning & development needs to up their game and maybe that means SMEs need to be incentivized to give classes. Example, we keep telling everyone how important Free Cash Flow, without teaching employees what that actually means, how it is calculated, and the balance of FCF and reinvestment to keep Wall Street appeased. If that is the driving goal of the company, there might be some value in giving employees some Finance classes too.
Love reading your posts Jimbo. I was in LCO, but the people I am going to miss the most are the field guys. Great people out there, interesting and, at times, very harsh lives. But, man, they kept their integrity through all the storms they faced in life. You talk to some office folks (not all, but quite a bit) and worry that anything you say will be used against you.
Moving in pioneer would be tough going forward, mostly everyone is extremely young. If you don’t mind getting stuck in the same position with no career progression for years, then it is the right place for you. If you want more development and opportunities, then you should look elsewhere.