Women Who Shine: Q&A with Sarah Roberts

Rigzone: How did your offshore experience shape your future?

Roberts: My offshore experience completely changed the course of my future.  I must admit that I had no intention of working offshore upon graduation – the idea had not even occurred to me. My intention was to go back to university to do a law conversion, with the aim of working in environmental law which would open the door to the oil and gas industry. I had gained a place to study at Leeds Metropolitan University, and after spending time after university to travel (throughout South America, Australia and a short time living in California), I had been truly bitten by the travel bug so was saving up money, doing temporary work in order to travel in South East Asia before returning to study. I was working as a “temp” in the human resources department of Baker Hughes and a lady I was working with recommended I work offshore as a mudlogger because of my geology background. I had no idea what a mudlogger was but I thought that it would be a fun way to earn some money.

I stuck to my original plan of traveling to South East Asia but instead of returning home to study, I cancelled my university place and flew to India, where I spent a further month. From there I decided that I wanted to get into directional drilling via measurement while drilling (MWD) – running electronic tools housed in drill collars which take various measurements from the down-hole environment. One evening in a pub I met a guy that worked at Schlumberger who informed me that the company was hiring, so I passed on my CV and with offshore experience already, I went straight to their second round of interviews and a couple of days later I landed a job offer. I began my career in earnest with Schlumberger in Paris before being assigned to Angola, West Africa, where I spent two years working in a challenging and exciting location with people from over 30 different countries. 

Rigzone: What interested you the most about this industry?

Roberts: I grew up in Aberdeenshire where everyone knows someone who is employed in the energy industry. Couple that with my “mum” who worked for a super major. I learned a lot through her about the oil and gas business – she took me to all kinds of places that focused on the sector and met interesting people that had a hand in the industry. Those experiences shaped my thinking into always knowing that this is where my future would lie. I never considered working for another industry – it didn't cross my mind.

I had a brief fling with the arts and thought I would be a singer or an actress but my mum told me that I had to obtain an education first. If I still entertained those thoughts, at least my education would be established and in place. Once the arts idea passed, I then really focused on my mother’s experience and saw how the industry allowed her to travel, how she met really interesting people and that started my love affair with this industry.


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