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Blind Date Provides Long
And Satisfying Relationship
PESA News Resources recently met
up with John Stanton: Managing
Director, Energy, RPS Australia Asia
Pacific, who has a 30+ year history in the
petroleum exploration industry, to talk
about his career.
His experience and knowledge is extensive
and there aren’t many people in the industry
better known and liked. He’s loved being part
of the industry and it appears his only regret
is his golf handicap. What is it? True to the
explorer in him: “it’s a work in progress.”
Going back to the beginning John, what’s your
background, and what helped you map out
your career?
I spent most of my teenage life in Hong Kong.
This was the 60s and Hong K ong was a much
quieter place than it is today. At the age of 18 I
returned to the UK to further my education and
get a degree. Initially attending an electrical
engineering course, I quickly realised that my
heart wasn’t in it. I knew I wanted to have a
degree qualification so I applied to Lanchester,
which was offering a BSc in Applied Physics.
When I graduated I realised that I had spent a
very pleasant three years playing rugby, golf,
drinking beer and studying but I still had no
idea what I was going to do. I remember to
this day ordering a pint of bitter with my last
20 pounds and feeling daunted by the prospect
of getting a job.
I needed money to live, so I worked in a
lemonade factory in London, while I applied for
more ‘career-orientated’ positions. One such job
advertised by GSI, a leading seismic company
at the time, wanted young graduates to train
as “seismic data processors”. My interview went
well; I outlined my education, my experience
and there was a point at which the int erviewer
linked my overseas experience with my
education and offered me a job. I was a trainee
electronic instrument engineer on board a
seismic vessel in Australia and had to be ready
to fly in five days. That was the beginning.
What attracted you into the industry?
Like a lot of people I k now, especially in the oil
and gas service industry, I fell into the industry
rather than seeking it out. It was more of a
“blind date” which resulted in a very long and
satisfying relationship.
What do you think it takes to succeed in the
petroleum sector?
I truly believe that we are all blessed working
in the industry that we do. It is an industry
that has demanded the highest technical
specification from “silicon valley” year on year.
It has some of the highest technical achievers
in the world. It has operational diversities
from frozen tundra, ice, swamp, desert, jungle,
shallow water, ultra deep water; all having their
own specific challenges.
To succeed in this industry you have to
dedicate a lot of time, be proactive, inventive
and safety conscious. The petroleum sector is
24/7 so you have to be prepared to respond to
changes.
What do you believe separates high-performing
companies from their less successful
counterparts?
I think that the high per forming oil and gas
companies can be viewed, simply, in two ways.
Ones that have capital and ones that haven’t.
In the ones without capital, it is all about
people. Companies strapped for cash need
good leadership to build an experienced team
with all the attributes mentioned previously.
Companies with capital can use this to farm-in
to proven assets and grow their businesses.
When looking at service companies, technology
and the acceptance of technologies play a very
important part in their success.
In Hong Kong with my mother and sister.
Playing soccer for St Alleyne School, Stone, Staffordshire.
50 | PESA News Resources | December 2012 / January 2013