Careers Focus: Oil and Gas

Careers Focus: Oil and Gas

According to the QS TopMBA.com International Recruitment Survey and Salary Report2006, last year saw an average increase of18% in MBA recruitment for companies from the industrial sector, including energy giants Shell International and BP. Business schools echo this evidence. “The energy and the petroleum industries hired from MBA programs in greater numbers in2005 and2006,” reports Stacey L. Rudnick, Director of MBA Career Services at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas. “Chevron, ConocoPhillips, TXU, Entergy and ExxonMobil have all hired multiple students from McCombs for full-time positions. This trend is especially true in energy finance.”

Energy giants join the ‘war for talent’

While many roles in the energy industry still require a technical background, energy companies have now acknowledged that the proven business aptitude of MBA graduates makes them perfect recruits for positions in their corporate finance, commodity trading, commercial analysis and business development functions. This cultural shift in the sector towards MBAs has been marked by the emergence of MBA recruitment programs. Investment banks and management consultancies have long offered such specialized programs; their appearance in the energy sector indicates that the industry is now a key player in the ‘war for talent’.

Dmitry Fadeev, an MBA who recently-graduated from the Chicago Graduate School of Business, joined BP’s global MBA program – the Helios Fellowship – last year, as a way of fast-tracking himself into the sector. “This program gives me the opportunity to work on a variety of different projects over the course of two years, to learn about the company. At present, I am based in London and monitor investment opportunities for exploration and production in the North Africa region. The company tends to place you in positions you’re not used to, to try and stretch you. It’s accelerated career development in an industry where there’s not always such a clear career path.”

Fortune Magazine revealed – in its2006 survey of MBA students – that MBAs rank Shell, BP and ExxonMobil among the top100 firms where they would most like to work.

“It’s a very exciting industry and there are plenty of challenges,” explains Fadeev. “It’s performance driven, but you’re not micro-managed. There’s a lot of flexibility and you have to manage your tasks yourself to be able to reach your goals.” Remuneration is one attraction, as pay has started to compete with other sectors. The average new MBA hire in industry receives over US$100,000 in combined salary and bonus. Another attraction is the possibility of travel. As a future leader in an energy company, an MBA will often relocate to a new region that has strategic importance for the business.

A key boom country is Russia, which is now second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of oil production. Oil and gas accounts for about60% of the nation’s exports and this strong energy market has helped boost prosperity, with the country’s GDP growing by an average of6.7% annually between1999 and2005. However, to sustain this growth for the future, both Russian and international energy firms need the highly-qualified business brains of MBAs at hand. Companies based in Russia are now ready to pay top-end salaries to MBA recruits. The QS TopMBA.com International Recruitment Survey and Salary Report discovered that the average salary of a new MBA hire in Russia rose to US$70,000 in2006. When combined together with generous relocation packages, financial incentives to move country are almost as enticing for an MBA as the intellectual challenges that come when working in a new environment. But at the same time, “companies are not ready to pay extortionate rates for an MBA degree alone. Industrial recruiters in Russia can be fairly conservative in th is respect, and place a lot of emphasis on the background of the candidate, rather than just the name of the school,” says Zoya Zaitseva, QS World MBA Tour European Manager. “Russian companies such as Lukoil and TatNeft, for example, place the highest value on MBAs with relevant work experience.”

Demand for MBA business know-how is now so high that some of Russia’s richest entrepreneurs are backing new multi-million pound business schools, such as the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management. Some of the region’s best schools already have strong links with the oil and gas industry. For instance, the St Petersburg’s International Management Institute has developed an MBA program for Gazprom, the largest Russian company and the biggest extractor of natural gas in the world. An alternative, pursued by many ambitious Russians, is distance learning or executive MBAs, that do not require permanent relocation. “I did a TRIUM Global Executive MBA at my own expense, spending most of my vacation time travelling to study destinations in New York, London and Paris,” explains Alexander Panov, now Director of Financial Planning at the joint Russia and international firm TNK-BP.

Kazakhstan’s wealth in natural resources has also made it a hotbed of growth for energy companies. It now produces over1 million barrels of crude oil per day, on average, and analysts predict that, with the development of new oil fields, this will treble by2015. Business schools are again the focal point of recruitment. The Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP) in Almaty has sponsors including ExxonMobil Kazakhstan and Petro Kazakhstan, who use their relationship with the institution to attract the best candidates each year.

Although more MBA graduates than ever are moving into the energy sector in these countries, demand outstrips supply by such a large degree that recruitment prospects look healthy for2007 and2008. An MBA degree gives a candidate the cutting-edge in this expanding industry, and it’s not just about having the certificate – the qualification is the best way for an aspiring leader to gain the skills to succeed in the energy business. “The fact that I have now got an executive MBA on my CV does not pay off on its own,” agrees Panov. “What has real value is the knowledge and experience of doing an MBA.”

Source: QS TopMBA.com

Mohannad Aljawamis
Comments
(0)