People and projects from around the PETROFAC world

PEOPLE

Smile, Organ, Beard, Yellow, Travel, Leisure

CHARLIE YOUNGMAN, OPERATIONS SUPERINTENDENT

Charlie has been with Petrofac since the very start of his career and has worked on the Hewett field throughout. He joined as an apprentice back in 2009 and, after a five-year stint on the offshore team, he rose steadily through the ranks to lead the onshore operations support team.  


My overriding feeling about Petrofac is that it’s a company committed to developing its people… Ever since I joined, it’s been non-stop. The management is always coaxing you along, giving you opportunities for development, and saying “What’s the next thing? What’s the next challenge? What’s the next opportunity?” I see it as a constant flow of development opportunities, backed up by formal programmes like the Petrofac Pathways.

You wouldn’t believe some of the stories about the early days of the Hewett field… Some of the guys have been working here since the 1980s. The industry was completely different back then, as were the offshore facilities, and the working practices. On the main platform, the accommodation unit used to be an old railway carriage, and you hear tales of people fishing from the deck and taking their catch home to their families in the helicopter.

Everything changed with the Piper Alpha disaster… This was a defining moment in the history of the North Sea industry, when the whole health and safety culture changed. The accommodation block was moved from the main facility to a new platform, connected by a link bridge. One of our caterers, a guy called Gary Fosberg, tells me he was one of the first people to cross that bridge, and the first to cook a meal in the new kitchen. He also expects to be the last person to cook there when the final meal is eventually served.   

It’s the complexity of the decommissioning project that makes it so interesting… We’ve got four separate platforms, all at different operating phases, all with different levels of risk, but with interdependencies between them. Planning the project is like a game of chess, where you’re always thinking many moves ahead.

The team here is incredible… We’ve got a lot of local people, who’ve been involved in the field for years and years. We’ve also got quite a few people from around the Petrofac world, who are much better travelled, and have experience from other projects in other regions, including a few guys who were involved in the bp Miller decommissioning. It’s very diverse but also very close.

It’ll be a strange feeling when the assets are finally removed… A lot of us have been here for years and years, and the Hewett field has represented our everyday work and our livelihoods. We’ve all had to change our mindsets, accept that things are drawing to a close, the finish line is in sight, and coming towards us quickly. I think most of us also believe that this is a time of opportunity, with a growth market in decommissioning, and also the potential of new energies. I wouldn’t be surprised if I spent the rest of my career working on decommissioning projects.

“You hear tales of people fishing from the deck and taking their catch home to their families in the helicopter.”

WORDS PETER HALLIDAY

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2022

The accommodation unit (between the yellow cranes) was an old railway carriage

Water, Vehicle, Watercraft, Fluid

If you have any comments or contributions,
contact petrofacts.editorial@petrofac.com