Woodside’s general manager in Libya, Dr Michael Hession, told delegates to the Libyan International Energy Conference in Tripoli on December 6 that the company’s goal was “to do ourselves [foreign secondees] out of a job”.
“Our goal is to employ 90% Libyan staff by 2010,” he said.
Woodside now directly employs 155 people in the country, about 76% of whom are Libyan.
Since setting up offices in Tripoli in early 2004, Woodside has pursued an aggressive localisation program as it explores 10 blocks covering nearly 60,000sq.km.
The company has the third largest acreage holding of the international oil companies now operating in Libya and has intersected hydrocarbons in seven of the eight wells it has drilled.
Early in 2007, Woodside will begin drilling its four offshore blocks, won in the fourth exploration and production sharing agreement round in early 2005. Its six onshore blocks were negotiated under the third round in late 2003.
Woodside’s joint venturers in Libya are Repsol of Spain, Hellenic of Greece, Occidental of the US and Liwa of Abu Dhabi.
Woodside in Libya had a staff turn-over rate of less than 3% and 70% of its Libyan staff were under 35. But Woodside is trying to do better.
To lift its performance, Woodside in 2006 started a training scheme for university graduates, choosing 16 Libyans from across the country to work in all oil and gas disciplines with the goal of specialising in one of them after three years.
The program will be offered to a new set of graduates in 2007.
The graduates are being trained in Libya and Australia.
Woodside has also established a training centre in Tripoli and will spend A$2.5 million in 2007 on training, up 25% on 2006.
The company’s training covers 57 different programs, involving trainers from Libya, the United Kingdom, United States, France and Austria, and in 2006 totalled 3500 training days.
“Like any country, Libya’s future lies with its young people,” Dr Hession said.
He is also working on greater diversity within the Libyan work force, seeking to lift the number of women working for the company from 22%.
“Diversity of our global work force is a stated aim for Woodside and we are determined to do better, across the whole company,” he said.
Woodside also has a busy corporate social responsibility program in Libya, investing in academic exchange programs between Australian universities and Libya, as well as several community-based initiatives aimed at local charities.
