FEATURE ADDRESS
BY
MR. WAYNE BERTRAND
AT THE
ANNUAL DINNER/DANCE AWARD CELEBRATION
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
ON
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2006
SALUTATIONS:
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Mr. Patrick Manning, my fellow professional
colleague and Mrs Manning, President and Past President of the Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago, other
incoming and outgoing executive members, Members of other Professional Bodies within the Oil and Gas Industry,
Company Executives, Specially invited guests, other colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, a warm and pleasant good
evening to you. And thank you Derek, for that lovely if exaggerated introduction.
I have known Derek for some 30 years now and he is one of those entrepreneurial geologists who has been successful,
not only in his geological career, but also as a businessman within the services sector. I remember especially
when he first started with dogs guarding him on his prowling activities. He now has a successful security company.
Then I saw him with unusual cars, no doubt to help his prowling, he also now has a successful company offering
roadside services. But this address is not about Derek, on the prowl although it shows the versatility of a creative
geologist and don't worry, I will get to the PM in due course.
Permit me to express my appreciation to the organizing committee of this event and Executive of the Geological
Society of Trinidad and Tobago, for extending to me the honour of bringing this evening's feature address. When
one is standing within the doorway of the exit door to one's career, it sometimes becomes necessary to question
requests such as these. I may, for example assume that I'm getting an opportunity to make my last stand…so to
speak, on the profession and my career. If I assume this, I will then have no choice but to lead you down a somewhat
treacherous road, along a series of adventures and unfortunate events, which, I would characterize as my career.
But I'm saving that for my best selling autobiography. I may also assume that this privilege has been extended
to me on the basis of my wealth - of experience, that is, in the industry, my involvement with the BSc Geoscience
programme at UWI and my own insights into the profession. If that's the case, well, get yourself a drink and relax,
there's much to be said on this topic. And I invite you to speculate with me on the future and the direction of
this profession and on the opportunities for maximizing the benefits we may bring "working with you, for all
of us."
Energy is fundamental to the continued progress of humankind. "For example, by 2030, despite efforts to develop
alternative sources, nearly two-thirds of the world's energy will still be coming from oil and gas". This,
as stated in the July 2006 review of Geophysical Education in the UK, by the Geological Society of London and the
Royal Astronomical Society. A direct consequence is the growing demand that will be placed upon the industry to
supply geologists and geophysicists. However, global statistics indicates that the geological population in the
industry is ageing, while the relative number of students entering universities to read geophysical science is
declining, with more and more courses being discontinued. If current trends continue, the rate of decline in the
profession suggests that by 2030, there will be no geophysics undergraduates.
And while this news may be of particular interest to one or two of us soon to be employable and available, experience
wealthy and consultancy ready geologists, the reality is, that without an infusion of new recruits into a profession
that is already considered to be one of the most difficult recruitment challenges at present, we may, by 2030,
really and truly go the way of the dinosaurs. The bedrock questions are of course - why are we experiencing a
global decline in enrolment and interest in the profession, and what must we do about the situation. The UK review
suggests that there is a need to raise the level of awareness of geosciences in schools, to build comprehensive
curricula developing from A"Levels into Undergraduate Programmes, increase the involvement of parent learned
societies in promoting the profession and to use multiple media sources such as websites to peak interest.
Perhaps what is needed is a repackaging of the discipline, and a re-definition of the role of the geoscientist.
Geosciences embrace the core aspects of the discipline of geology and geophysics and serve as a meeting point
for several other major sciences - physics, chemistry, maths, biology, geography, astronomy, reservoir engineering,
environmental science, oceanography and meteorology. By and large, there may be a tendency on the part of students
to hold a limited view of the profession. We assume that geoscientists must choose from one or two career specializations
and that this is only within the oil and gas industry, but this is only true for the petroleum geoscientist. We
must do more at elucidating the multi-faceted roles and career options available to the geoscientist, if we are
to change our global statistics on enrolment. The Presidents of the Astronomical and Geological Societies of London
have summarized the role of geoscience as the investigation of the subsurface, exploration for raw material and
energy, safe storage of radioactive waste, monitoring nuclear test ban treaties, natural hazard assessment and
mitigation, the monitoring and treatment of the effects of climate change, the sequestration of carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere and the characterisation and protection of the world's water resources.
Within the Trinidad and Tobago context, the role of the geoscientist assumes many of these responsibilities.
A view of our local landscape reveals an extraordinary emphasis on oil and gas and the need to develop, utilize,
monitor and protect. Approximately 140,000 bbls/day oil is produced, with new oil slowly but surely being discovered.
Gas increased from 1.5 Bscf/day in 2002 to 66% more in 2003 and to about 4 Bcf/day today and continuing this upward
trend, producing more energy per day in this current scenario than oil. There are 18.8 Tscf proven gas reserves,
with potential reserves suggested at anywhere between 30 - 100 Tscfs. Pundits estimate another 40 - 50 years of
production of oil and gas. The performance and potential of the energy sector is providing a springboard for driving
and sustaining government's fiscal measures and initiatives, both current as well as to 2020.
Geoscientists in the oil and gas industry in Trinidad and Tobago will have enough to do by way of proving new oil
and gas reserves especially when we continue to sign up for more and more gas consuming plants. In this regard,
the new licencing rounds for onshore, nearshore and ultra deep, need to be completed urgently and exploration accelerated.
We therefore continue to need petroleum geoscientists, but must distinguish between quantity and quality, for while
we may have difficulty in finding employment for the many new graduates in this and other areas, there is a scarcity
of experienced committed professionals both locally and worldwide. Specific On-the-Job and other programmes are
required to transfer experience in as short a time as possible if we are to meet the needs of the energy industry.
Our experienced professionals must be committed to this and I appeal to the older members of GSTT to seek to give
rather than receive and donate some of their time to acting as mentors to those less experienced. In fact I challenge
the GSTT to undertake this as an urgent initiative.
Outside the oil and gas industry, there is ample need for focus on civil and infrastructure development, policy
development and environmental management. Associated with this would be the establishment of comprehensive quarry
management systems from identification to depletion. In the arena of civil and structural engineering, there is
a role for geological engineers to provide technical expertise for the design and construction of roads, bridges,
buildings and dams. Water resource management now being recognised as one the critical issues facing the future
of mankind provides key roles for the geoscientist in discovering, delineating, exploiting and protecting fresh
water aquifers. Simultaneous with the growing development in energy, is the need to responsibly manage the impact
of activities on the environment. Geoscientists have a role in providing data on hazards such as earthquakes,
volcanoes, tsunamis, climate change, and environmental protection. Apart from these roles, geoscientists have
a responsibility to advise on and inform government and corporate policy as we try to create that balance between
rapid profitable growth and sustainability.
As I've just articulated, there is ample work in different arenas for the geoscientist to make worthwhile contributions.
Yet we still report limited interest in the discipline. Perhaps it is that not only is there insufficient knowledge
about the profession to stimulate interest, but that also by nature, geoscientists are a curious and difficult
to find lot. A closer examination of the attributes required by the geoscientist calls for a unique mixture of
skills in the management of risk against uncertainty.
Increasingly we find that most of the "easy" and accessible hydrocarbon reserves have already been found.
New finds are now confined to frontier areas like deepwater, deeper reservoirs, remote, inaccessible and hostile
land environments and in environmentally sensitive areas. The common denominator in all of these is that exploration
effort carries a hefty price tag. Gone are the days when a dry hole like WB1 (drilled by a forever unnamned geologist)
can be shrugged off. Welcome to the world of Block 25 or Ibis deep. The geoscientist must develop multi-disciplinary
knowledge in geology, geophysics, geostatistics, reservoir engineering and petroleum engineering. The geoscientist
must be able to understand models and translate these into recommendations and actions. The edge for the geoscientist
is being able to craft unique and novel solutions to increasingly difficult situations and communicate these effectively.
As risk takers, geoscientists must be able to profile and manage risk much more intelligently now, as we move to
more frontier type geology. And since we make decisions on what we cannot see, feel or reproduce in a Lab, but
largely on inferences, the geoscientist today must be able to acquire extensive experience - loosely defined as
"getting it wrong enough times, that you know what not to do". This, together with the touch - the Midas
touch - that is, can satisfy another key attribute required by the geoscientist - luck! To this end I strongly
recommend a semi-annual bush bath.
Both the high cost and associated risks of exploration drive even the deep pocketed multinationals to share these
with the result that Joint Ventures have become the preferred vehicles for conduct of exploration. The geoscientist
must now develop commercial and negotiating skills to either lead or advise on joint venture negotiations.
Within recent times the fact that hydrocarbon reservoirs do not respect national boundaries has been brought home
to us. Cross border unitisation will require specialist geoligical skills and knowledge of best practices. The
politicians will develop the framework but the task of determination and re-determination will fall to the geoscientist
who must be aware that this is a high stakes game with the potential to have profound impacts on national fortunes.
A lot of petroleum is still found where you don't expect to find it, and geoscientists must find ways of increasing
the success ratio. One way of doing this is through the employment of technologies, another way is by utilizing
networks. From my own experience, on my first promotion at Shell Canada way back in the mid 1970's, I was given
an expense account and told that this was to be used for networking with colleagues in the industry, preferably
to take ex-Shell employees out to lunch. For me personally I have found that some of my best learnings have come
from networking and sharing. In this respect I think that a challenge for local practitioners will be how to share
knowledge and expertise that will redound to the country's benefit while staying with the confines of a company's
confidentiality and intellectual property restrictions.
If we think of opportunities for networking and exchange of best practices and learnings, not only would we focus
within Trinidad, but also regionally at our South American and Venezuelan neighbours. And as we strive to build
cross border relationships, the geoscientist of today would also have to become bilingual. For us in Trinidad,
that will mean learning Spanish. Developing new business relationships would call for skills in negotiating, joint
venturing and diplomacy, as well as understanding intent - both political and commercial. Certainly when you think
of the portfolio of skills the geoscientist must acquire, it stands to reason why the ultimate or maybe eventual
career move for the geoscientist is politics. But that's another incarnation. In the meantime, we must build
interest and opportunity for young people to embrace the profession.
Two ways we can do this are by continuing our association initiatives directed towards sharing knowledge and building
networks and by ensuring that the BSc Petroleum programme structure with respect to geosciences develops the wide
spectrum of skills required. Both initiatives are already being done. For instance the design of the UWI BSc
Petroleum Geoscience programme attempts to achieve a more holistic approach to petroleum geology, geophysics, reservoir
and petroleum engineering, prospect evaluation, HSE, and risk analysis through classroom, fieldwork and group and
individual projects that are relevant to the needs of the country and the region. The major oil companies are
fully involved and mentor students projects in their final year. In addition to oral and written communication,
emphasis is also being placed on exposing students to modern computer technologies and equipped Laboratories designed
to provide students with all that is needed to fit them for work. This programme was started in 2001 with yours
truly as its first head. The programme has successfully graduated only first and upper second class honours students
over the last 3 years. It is internationally accredited by the Geological Society of London and thus allows for
the graduates to become internationally recognised professionals (chartered geologists) within a few years. This
model is now being used by UTT in its petroleum programmes. Indeed a lot is being done to ensure that the profession
does not become fossilized.
As members of the Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago, we have a responsibility to do our part in the preservation
and development of the profession. And as we contemplate the role and function of the geoscientist, we must see
this role in the context of the continued existence and progress of humankind. Within our own context, much of
where we want to be as a nation is dependent upon the harnessing of our energy reserves, the managing of our environment
and the establishment of necessary infrastructure, and therefore the expertise and experience of the geoscientist
are significant inputs into our achievement of the goals of 2020 - developed nation status.
My own career has allowed me to undertake successfully the challenge to manage both upstream and downstream areas
and particularly joint ventures in the oil and gas business, and as I begin my final year as a permanent employee
at Petrotrin, I am committed to continuing my contribution to the profession through my involvement in guiding
the direction of the BSc and MSc Programmes in Petroleum studies at UWI or UTT or wherever and through my association
with this Society. And just in case you get the impression that this well is going to run dry, let me assure you
that there's life in this old dog still. Thanks to a wonderful career option so well known in this industry -
consultancy, I can expect to deliver on many more prospects. Failing that, there's always Politics…
My fellow colleagues in this often overlooked profession, I urge you to join me in promoting and guiding its understanding,
development and contribution. In particular, I challenge the new Executive of this 2006-2007 term, to make the
promotion of the profession and the development and mentorship of young recruits a major priority. It is time,
I believe to embrace our role in the development of our country, through our commitment to develop this profession,
and to raise the standard of our collective input to the future of this country. Ladies and Gentlemen, Geoscientists
standing on the threshold of our future, I bid you good evening and thank you!
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