TALENT SHORTAGE MAY HAMPER LONG TERM GROWTH STRATEGY, SAYS PETRONAS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Bernama) -- National oil companies (NOCs) are facing
the stark reality of talent shortage which may hamper long term growth strategy
if left unresolved, Petronas Vice President, Corporate Strategy Planning, Md
Arif Mahmood said Tuesday.

The impact of the talent shortage could be far reaching, even to the extent
of stalling the oil and gas boom, he said at the 15th Asia Oil and Gas
Conference here.

He said according to the International Energy Agency, about US$5 trillion
in new investments in the oil sector would be needed over the next 25 years.

More than 400 major projects are expected to come on stream by 2012
according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) and there are plans to
construct 180 new offshore rigs.

On average, he said a typical new offshore drilling operation, requires a
combination of 200 land-based and offshore workers.

He said some strategic minded NOCs are proactive in building a new pool of
qualified candidates for their workforce in the coming decades.

For example, Saudi Aramco's annual training budget is almost US$500 million
and it has built the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology.

In the case of Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company, it has established
its own University and has to date, sponsored over 20,000 scholars at a cost of
more than US$400 million.

-- BERNAMA