Vaca Muerta: engineers and geologists are the most sought-after profiles in the sector

AÑELO, Neuquén.- Abid Torrealba is 32 years old and is a chemical engineer. He comes from Caracas, but he has lived in Argentina for seven years and five years in Neuquén. She came to the country with her husband, who graduated with a postgraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). He is now working in YPF's process and control engineering department in the Loma Campana field. "The experience has been very difficult, but rewarding and very beautiful, now we drink buddy, eat roast and take wine," he says.
THE NATION, reflecting their adaptation to local customs.

Torrealba is not the typical characterization of workers in unconventional oil and gas fields –
shale oil and
shale gas– Vaca Muerta, as a woman and Venezuelan. However, like other Argentineans, Neuquén has become in the last six years an attractive pole for petroleum, process, chemical, industry, electronics and geological engineers, who see training as potential at least another 20 years.

The development of unconventional production began just seven years ago, and although there are no figures on the number of people employed in the sector, only YPF has 556 employees in the non-manufacturing region. conventional and 4392 in addition to companies that do outsourced tasks. Techint Group's petroleum company, Tecpetrol, employs 270 people. During the construction of the gas plant facilities, the number of incoming workers in the field per day reached a maximum of 4,500 per day, as indicated.

However, recruitment has not been easy for companies because, although the country has a history of more than 100 years of oil activity, the unconventional operation is very different from the conventional one, because the formation has petrophysical properties which require intensive stimulation work.

"The search for talent has been very difficult because there is a shortage of experienced profiles in the unconventional field, Argentina has always had its
the players oil companies, but until 2013, before the start of YPF's activities with Chevron, no one was experienced in this type of production, which differs from conventional production, "says Guido Caleca, human resources consultant Michael Page, and states that Logistics posts are very necessary in this activity: "It is a more generalist position, where profiles are also sought in other sectors, such as extractive industries, construction and steel, whose processes require a very important logistics. materials arrive on time and at cost. This is one of the differential points of the unconventional. "

Héctor Tamanini, a member of the Human Resources Commission of the Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas (IAPG) and a professor at the Austral University, shares this vision: "When the development of Vaca Muerta began, the companies did not know what
schist. We had to go out and get this training elsewhere, train people and let the professionals go to study and prepare for the United States, where this technology was already there. Subsequently, Argentine companies and universities began to take ownership of this knowledge and were created during the career of Petroleum Engineering's unconventional specifications. "

As the first company to start producing at Vaca Muerta, YPF has been an excellent trainer in human resources. Some of these employees then contributed to their experience to develop other projects, as was the case with Tecpetrol and Vista Oil & Gas. , the company of Miguel Galuccio, former CEO of YPF.

"Getting experienced people in drilling and subsoil in unconventional conditions is very important, and finding these resources overseas is very expensive, you have to pay in dollars to attract them at a competitive cost." People knowing that there is usually they got their apprenticeship when we were at YPF and there are very few of them at other operators, who were usually also fed by YPF "says Juan Garoby, Director of Operations from Vista Oil & Gas and former director of the state-controlled oil company.

"We are an experienced group at Vaca Muerta, but we also develop our own resources and engineers, from conventional and young people.They are trained in an unconventional way with internal training or trips to the United States. one of the most renowned specialists in the unconventional industry, with whom we talk a lot, is Bill Von Gonten, "he adds. The company created by Galuccio produces 25,000 barrels of conventional oil a day and has just announced the start of unconventional production in the Bajada del Palo Oeste block.

Understanding English has also become an almost necessary condition, as the main experiences in unconventional production are in the United States.

In the future, as more and more countries begin to develop the
schist, Argentina can export its
know howas he did in the past with his knowledge of conventional production.

Camp life

Sergio Olave was born in Cinco Saltos, Rio Negro. He graduated as a technician in chemistry and worked for 19 years in the oil industry: first in the conventional systems area, then joined the Loma Campana field as director of construction works. drilling, when YPF started its unconventional activities. In the sector, your position is called
companion now
representative of the companyto include women- and its role is to monitor the well drilling service of other companies, as this is usually an outsourced task. "The main difference with the conventional system lies in the complexity of the wells and the technology of the equipment used.Since we started Vaca Muerta, the growth was huge.We were few, with few teams and, d 'year after year, exponentially,' he recalls.

With the advancement of technology, life on the ground is less isolated than before:
trailers or containers at Vaca Muerta have internet, cable TV and better telephone connection. In addition, they have historical recreational activities: dining room, pool tables, ping-pong, football fields and gym.

However, not all deposits enjoy this comfort and permanence in the fields is still difficult, especially when the wind of Patagonia blows and winter begins. Employees who have their tasks next to the well have another work regime: they work two weeks per shift of 12 hours (the first evening and the second the day), then rest for seven days in a row.

"We need to invest more in infrastructure to prevent people from traveling long hours and not staying in the camps, which are in the middle of the field." Workers spend many days away from their families, resulting in complications for coexistence and this increases the consumption of alcohol, it is necessary to bring them closer to the family, "said Guillermo Pereyra, national senator and leader of the private oil and gas union of Río Negro, Neuquén and La Pampa . That's why we are building 1800 homes. on a plot of 50 hectares that we bought in Añelo [el pueblo más próximo a los grandes yacimientos]. We are also moving forward on a project that provides all the services facilities, such as health, education and recreation, so that the families of the workers can move there. "

At YPF, they also stress the need to avoid unnecessary employee mobilization when they can work from the company's Neuquén offices. "We work in a more flexible collaborative environment, so that in the camps, there are people who really need to be in. It does not make sense to send an employee to the site so He stays in the office all day long, especially now that it's possible with technology, "says José Aggio, vice president of human resources at YPF.

The distance between the city of Neuquén and Añelo is 101 km. A trip between the traffic and the gravel road can take two hours.

As far as wages are concerned, the oil industry still has one of the highest wages. "Wells and workplaces are removed from cities, there are positions that are needed at this location, but as the infrastructure is not ready for families, the attractiveness for moving in these areas is economical, "he says. Alejandro Servide, director of
professionals Human Resources consulting firm Randstad Argentina.

On average, an engineer receives a gross monthly salary ranging from $ 200,000 to $ 250,000, which can go up to $ 300,000. In addition, they enjoy significant benefits, ranging from three to four salaries, with annual bonuses before the reduction of income tax. The salary of a geologist is similar: between $ 180,000 and $ 200,000. Meanwhile, a factory worker earns an average of $ 35,000 per month, while if he is in the warehouse, he charges between $ 50,000 and $ 60,000, and a well operator between $ 80,000 and $ 90,000. $ 000. However, the cost of living in the oil areas is also higher, along with wages.

Women make their way

Paula Galarza was born in the American city of Buenos Aires. As a girl, she loved volcanoes and when she was tall, she studied geology at the University of La Plata. For nine months, she worked in YPF's geostation area, surrounded by four large screens in a room where she monitors boreholes in real time and gives indications that the machine could be located in the layers containing the most content organic training. His work schedule is seven consecutive work days (he stays sleeping in the camp) and seven days of rest, which he takes to return to the city of Neuquén, where he lives with his boyfriend, also a geologist, and his cats.

In the oil industry, most of the people who work are still men. The most optimistic ratio of companies shows that 20% of the total staff are women, even though their positions are mainly administrative, accounting and human resources. One of the great advances of recent years has been the installation of women's restrooms, a topic that employees have identified as the main obstacle. Mammoths were also designed for women, which was not the case before.

"The average age of employees in Neuquén is 37. Of this total, 13% are women, although this is noticeable improvement in the case of young professionals, where we reach 38%. Says Juan Thurburn, human resources manager at Tecpetrol.

Although human resource consultants also report an increase in the number of women candidates, they point out that the sector remains a predominantly male labor niche.