
The Committee is led by Fraser Proud, Well Integrity Engineer at Chrysaor (pictured above left at the ICoTA Europe Annual Dinner 2020).
In his day-to-day role, Fraser is responsible for ensuring the Britannia platform and subsea wells are safe to operate by organizing well integrity checks and mitigating any risks that arise. Fraser tells us more:
"I initially started as a rig engineer on a drilling rig. Coming straight from university, this was a real eye-opener. Understanding how a well is drilled and being able to see it happen gave me a great deal more knowledge than I could have obtained being in the office. After 15 months offshore, I moved into the office as a well integrity engineer which initially took some adapting. It has also been interesting seeing the transition from ConocoPhillips to Chrysoar (who bought ConocoPhillips in 2019), and it is an exciting place to be with hopefully a wide variety of roles in the future."
So what prompted Fraser to embark on a career in the energy industry?
"I studied Aero-Mechanical engineering at Strathclyde University and was never really sure what I wanted to do after university. I even had an internship at Morgan Stanley as I was fascinated with the idea of working in finance (it was not that fascinating). While at university, I was also lucky enough to complete two study abroad semesters in Atlanta and Tokyo, which broadened my horizons as I experienced very different lifestyles."
Fraser has continued to embrace new experiences and learn throughout his career. And the most important lessons he's learned?
"It's ok to ask questions. At the end of the day if you do not have experience then you can't be expected to know everything, so talk to the people who do know! I also think it is vital to get offshore experience as that is where the work happens and where the money is made, which is a point people often forget.
"I also can't stress enough the importance of doing something productive with your summers off. Sure, it is great to have a holiday for 12 weeks, but it doesn't give you much to talk about with an interviewer. You can talk about any kind of work experience in an interview even if it is not oil and gas specific. Summer internships are also a great way to figure out what kind of work you want to do. You might hate sitting in an office all week so you can then focus on gaining a more hands-on position."
Leading the Young Professional Committee is just one of the ways Fraser is involved with the association, and he sees a significant benefit in being part of the network.
"Being an ICoTA member has been great for extending my network of contacts – both within the YP community and with vendors. It's key for helping me at work as I can talk to other engineers who have had similar problems to understand how they managed them and learn what worked and didn't work for certain issues. I am looking forward to social events resuming when it is appropriate to continue to meet new people in the industry."
Want to join the ICoTA Europe YP Committee? Contact us to find out more.
And if you're aged 30 and under, you can take advantage of free ICoTA Europe membership. Visit our membership page for more information.
30 July 2020