Careers in energy, offshore and shipping

Where the jobs are

• Oil and gas companies, both operators and other licensees.
• The supplier industry: engineering firms, drilling and wells, subsea equipment, yards, supply vessels and services. It accounts for a large part of the employment linked to the shelf.
• Shipping: shipowners, shipbrokers, chartering desks at trading and commodity companies, and classification societies.
• Finance: banks with energy and shipping finance, equity analysts, funds and insurance.
• The public sector: among others the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) and the Ministry of Energy.
• Consultancies and law firms, and companies in offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and electrification.

Fields of study

• Geology and geophysics: exploration, mapping reservoirs.
• Petroleum engineering: reservoir, drilling and production.
• Mechanical, process, electrical and marine engineering: plants, ships and subsea equipment.
• Logistics: supply bases, vessels, warehousing and transport to and from the fields.
• Economics and finance: project economics, analysis, trading and chartering.
• Law: contracts, licences and maritime law.
• Data and IT: data analysis, automation and digital tools.
• HSE: health, safety and environment.

Norwegian study programmes and where they are offered are listed on utdanning.no (in Norwegian).

Summer jobs, internships and graduate programmes

Many large employers recruit summer interns and graduates early, often already the autumn before. Deadlines vary between companies and from year to year, so check the career pages early and set up alerts. Smaller companies, broking houses and shipowners often recruit on a rolling basis.

• Go to company presentations and career fairs on campus. That is where you meet people who actually work there.
• A summer job is a good way to get to know an employer, and for the employer to get to know you.
• Graduate programmes let you try several departments in your first years.

How to apply

• CV: one to two pages, most recent first. Include relevant courses, projects and theses, jobs, volunteer roles (OESA too), languages and software.
• Cover letter: write it for this specific position. Why this company, and what can you contribute? One or two concrete examples beat a long list of qualities.
• Show you know the industry: know the company's fields, ships or projects. The company pages show stakes on the shelf, and an analysis you have written is something concrete to point to.
• Tests and interviews: many use numerical and logical tests and case interviews, for example a rough estimate of what a discovery is worth. The guide on how to assess a discovery is good practice.
• LinkedIn should match your CV.

Offshore: the practicalities

To work on a facility on the Norwegian shelf you usually need a valid offshore health certificate and basic safety and emergency preparedness training under Offshore Norge guideline 002. The employer will tell you what applies to the position. Offshore work is done in rotations, with periods on the facility and longer periods off.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) supervises safety and the working environment in the petroleum industry.

Use OESA

• Join: the events with companies are for members.
• Write an analysis on the analysis page. It shows you can use the data, and it is something to talk about in an interview.
• Sign up for the newsletter.

Sources

• utdanning.no – the official Norwegian portal for education and careers (in Norwegian)
• The service and supply industry – norskpetroleum.no
• Employment – norskpetroleum.no
• Offshore Norge guideline 002 on safety and emergency preparedness training (in Norwegian)
• Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil)

The guides are written by OESA students to explain concepts and how things fit together. They are not investment advice. Figures that are not definitions carry a source and a date; if you find an error, let us know at styret@oesa.no.