American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015 - 142

In fact, according to a study by the
Center for Energy Workforce Development, in the next decade, 62 percent of
the energy industry will have the potential
to retire or leave their jobs. Additionally,
for positions that are considered critical
by the industry, 36 percent may need to
be replaced because of potential retirement
or attrition this year, with an additional
16 percent by 2020 (Figure 1).
Effective utilization of technology
such as land management and reporting
systems is becoming increasingly important to ensure the timely and accurate
data needed to facilitate informed business
decisions.
Throughout the industry, companies
are working proactively to address knowledge gaps, particularly within technical
and operational areas. Land is a key function within upstream operations and is
experiencing significant challenges because of these gaps.
As North American shale exploration
and extraction has grown, the land function
has become an integral part of business
development, asset acquisition, and asset
management. Now more than ever, it is
essential for onshore-focused organizations
to ensure knowledge transfer from retiring
and experienced employees to early career
talent. Table 1 outlines challenges, drivers
and impacts trending in land operations,
particularly regarding operational inefficiencies from nonstandardized and inconsistent processes.
A thorough examination of land operations, including organization, process,
policy and technology, followed by efforts
to address gaps and mitigate these impacts,
will empower organizations to maintain
a sustainable land business that is resilient
to the current and future challenges
brought on by the evolving industry and

TABLE 1
Land Operation Trends
Challenges

Drivers

Inconsistencies in business
processes
Inefficiencies in quickly
mobilizing assets to the
market
Knowledge and experience
gaps in the workforce
Misalignment of roles and
responsibilities

Lack of documentation and
guidelines
Demographic shift in the
workforce (high ratio of
early career staff to
retiring experts)
Leadership changeovers
Lack of structured training
Need for specialized skills

talent pool. After starting efforts to evaluate
and improve operations, land functions
can anticipate:
* Gaining better visibility into managing lease expiration schedules, contractual obligations, and rig utilization
obstacles;
* Establishing a common framework
that will improve decision-making efficiency, reduce redundancies, and enable
resources to focus on highest-priority
initiatives;
* Institutionalizing processes that will
mitigate the risks of losing capabilities
with a retiring workforce and lessen the
learning curve for new employees; and
* Improving process understanding
and visibility that will promote a culture
of greater participation and empowerment.
Addressing Impacts
A thorough effort to improve and optimize operations through organization,
process, policy, and technology is an effective way to address and mitigate the
impacts from the knowledge and experience gaps in land functions. The fourstep methodology provides valuable and

FIGURE 1
Percent Distribution of Civilian Labor Force by Age
100%
75 years and over

80%

65 to 74 years
60%
55 to 64 years
40%

25 to 54 years

20%

20 to 24 years
16 to 19 years

0%
1992

2002

2012

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

142 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Projected 2022

Impacts
Steep learning curves and
longer ramp-up time
Misaligned executive goals
Inefficient communications
Redundancy of efforts
because of overlapping
responsibilities
Slower time to market
Exposure to fees and
penalties

tangible results for organizations.
Organizations should begin by documenting all processes and policies through
staff interviews to capture their current
state. During these interviews, capture
risks that have potential project impact
to ensure the effort stays on time and in
scope. The result is a thoroughly vetted
set of process and subprocess flowcharts
documenting land operations and related
function responsibilities, touch points,
and key tools.
The next step is to identify "to-be"
processes, policies and procedures, and
to capture the ideal future state of the
operation (Figure 2). Key items that
should be completed in this effort are:
* Identifying and documenting best
practices, project risks, and improvement
opportunity observations;
* Analyzing issues associated with
current processes, organizational structure
and technologies;
* Documenting capabilities of personnel and outlining future capabilities
by function;
* Gathering and summarizing all
tools and training available for employees;
* Establishing a centralized portal
for finalized training, policies and procedures accessible to all land teams amid
today's multidisciplinary team structure;
and
* Setting expectations for time-tomarket and establishing data standards
for reporting.
An analysis of the gap between the
current state and proposed future state is
conducted next. Companies should evaluate gaps within every process, policy,
and procedure-including organizational
structure and technological infrastruc-



American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015

Contents
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2015 - Cover3
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