Most of the Geologist, Drilling Engineers, Reservoir Engineers, Completion Engineers are costs at this point in time.
They are actually very expensive (high salaries) and also replaceable. We should do away with them now and rehire or replace them when there is capital to spend on development projects in the future.
We should keep the field personnel, finance people, accountants, IT , procurement to just keep the company running till the oil prices moves up.
Just wait ... when ConocoPhillips is put on a forteen week cash management plan the only positions to be kept will be those that support that weeks work. That is what is coming ...
There is a place in the Company for everyone, and it requires balance. Trying to say one skill is better than another and we should fire an entire group of people tells me what kind of Classists (that's racists based in having a piece of paper) exist in this Company. Just because you know how a HC molecule moves through the rock, doesn't translate to meeting the complex accounting requirements of how to figure out how to pay your salary to your bank, let alone all be the complexities of actually maintaining equipment. And remember, it was an accountant that discovered shale for ConocoPhillips with his purchase of BROG, and it was a PE that sold "the biggest discovery off the coast of Africa in the last 10 years". I wonder who's decisions are really better for the true owners (stockholders) of the company. And remember if this group really is core to COP, Why did we need to borrow $29.7 billion for you to have a playground. I am pretty sure that in a few years, we can hire more smart Engineers and they can review your notes and be back up to speed quickly ... Unless of course you aren't documenting what your doing for the benefit of the company and the owners that pay your salary.
@ztc responds to @xwv: I am sorry if my post indicated ALL skilled people. What I meant is that all those that do not support production or necessary operations. If there is minimal or no planned business expansion in the next one or two years, what is the point in having a huge payroll and making losses.
It would be foolish and suicidal for the company to sack all the technical employees. You have to keep those necessary for essential services and even a select few for unexpected juicy opportunities.
The only problem in COP is that the layoffs are based on club membership and not on business needs on some occasions. This is why it is like a continuous exercise. As noted in previous post, the company is top heavy. Also some highly skilled employees that could have benefited the company tremendously were released. The logic or the way the layoffs is presently being done needs to be improved.
@ztc You are a dummy. COP. has been laying off skilled workers in previous layoffs
OOOOOOO nooooooooo! i made a mistake, i went to schools for Petroleum Engineering......now i have to switch major and f--- this industry......
SLB or Halliburton never but out as good of geo-technical product as COP, PPCo, Arco. Conoco, or Burlington. That's a fact.
@ecd I do not fully agree with you. We have Private consultants - big companies like SLB and Halliburton are also available for consulting. Then we are in a buyers market. There is an oversupply of highly skilled labor in the market looking for opportunities. It would probably be like this for the next few years.
So it is not true that technical expertise cannot be hired back when needed. But I agree with you that the company should respect the technical resource and treat them with care.
@IvcHLqs-ztc without a doubt you are the smartest mother f*cker in this site. You have it all figured out, cop should layoff all the employees with skills...
No, technical expertise can be hired back when needed. Most likely ConocoPhillips will get an upgrade ... what recent projects at ConocoPhillips have been world class (except in our own internal minds)?
These are the experts of the oil and gas industry. When the expertise and experience fly's out the door it never comes back. Mistakes that happened in the past will be repeated and the technology that is lost will have to be created again. Very expensive mistakes will happen all over again.
Should we keep the core people when there is minimal capital and no short term plan for development? Should we keep paying high salaries because we want to keep so called core people. It is all about managing the shareholders money for best returns and minimizing losses. This is the hard truth.
The guy made this comment is like an idiot. The people you mentioned are the core people running the oil &gas company. All the rest are supporting people. If all the key staff are let go, then what's the point to keep the supporting guys? And who are you gonna support?
Great, this tells volumes about current cop employees.
What about facilities engineers? Essential or no?
@qxw - Agree 1000%
Agreed, however completion engineers make excellent production engineers and can enhance production if put to work.