BP looks to replenish workforce with Alaska-trained young people

A common worry heard around Alaska’s oil patch in recent years is the advancing age of the workforce, with many experienced hands at or near retirement.

BP, which operates the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field and lots of other North Slope properties, appears to be working hard to inject some youth into its operations.

The company’s “Alaska Hire 2010 Report,” just released, is chock full of fresh young faces who have landed spots with BP as either new employees or interns.

The report says the company is keen to recruit Alaskans, especially those coming out of the University of Alaska.

“In 2009, the University of Alaska system was BP’s number one school for college recruitment of engineering graduates,” John Minge, president of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., writes in the new report.

The report lays out lots of data on its recruiting efforts.

“Over the last five years, BP has provided internships for 107 University of Alaska students and has extended full-time job offers to 101 students,” the report says. “In 2010, BP hosted 15 university graduate summer interns and 14 operator interns from the geosciences, business and engineering fields, and hired 25 new entry level operators.”

The Alaska Process Industry Careers Consortium, or APICC, also has been a significant contributor to BP’s workforce, the report says.

“In 2010, BP hired 10 summer interns and nine full-time technicians from the APICC program,” the report says. “Internships provide students valuable hands-on experience in oil and gas production plants.”

In terms of workforce residency, the report says more than 82 percent of BP Alaska’s 2,000 employees “call Alaska home.”

The report also lays out figures on BP’s Alaska purchasing.

“BP spent more than $1.9 billion with Alaska companies in 2009,” the report says. “In fact, more than 77 percent of all BP’s purchases were made with Alaska-based firms. These expenditures ranged from large-scale projects such as the Liberty development to the purchase of goods and services for daily operations. Alaska’s contractors have demonstrated their capabilities on many large-scale oil and gas industry projects.”

The 12-page report is available at (907) 564-5143 or alaska.bp.com.

—Wesley Loy