Career Advice Detail Africa

Energy (Renewable, oil and gas)

Overview

• South Africa has one of the world′s largest synthetic fuels industries, which accounts for nearly all of its domestic liquid fuels supply.
• South Africa has the world′s ninth largest recoverable coal reserves and holds 95 percent of Africa′s total coal reserves. Additionally, it is the fifth largest coal exporter in the world.
• South Africa is the sole importer of natural gas from Mozambique, which is used to supply Sasol′s operations at the Secunda CTL plant and power some gas-fired plants. The gas supplied to the Mossel Bay GTL plant is domestically produced offshore.
• South Africa has the second largest crude oil refinery system in Africa and imports the majority of its crude oil from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
• South Africa′s total electricity consumption has grown by about 20 percent over the last decade. The government has set out ambitious plans to expand the sector in an attempt to avoid another power crisis, which the country experienced in early 2008.

Reference: US Energy Information Administration

Types of jobs in this sector: Oil and gas jobs in South Africa are wide ranging and include engineering, drilling, design, commercial, inspection, environmental, geosciences, inspection, health and safety, financial, legal, IT and communication, HR and recruitment, administration, marine, logistics, management, medical, procurement, production, sales and marketing, scientific jobs.

Reference: Oil and gas job search

List of Energy companies: please see South African Association of Energy Services Company

Writing CVs: Same as standard generic CVs but with specific experience and qualifications to energy.

International CVs: It is important to note that a number of energy companies are international companies who have their own individual step by step recruitment requirements, hence the importance to ensure that the CV and application forms meet their individual requirements.

For example, Shell, one of the main international oil companies states the contents for CVs to them, and is in a standard or chronological order as follows:

• Personal details - Keep this section brief - your full name, address, email address and phone number are important.
• Education details - List these in reverse chronological order with your most recent experiences first. Include the name of the institutions, the dates you were there and the qualifications you obtained/will obtain. You may want to list the relevant modules, the projects and dissertations you undertook, the grades you achieved and the skills you developed.
• Career history / professional experience - Whether they’re paid, voluntary or shadowing, all experiences count. State these in reverse chronological order with dates to show how long you were there. Mention your achievements and highlight the skills you used or developed.
• Positions of responsibility/other achievements/outside interests - Including this information will show that you’re motivated to pursue activities relating to your career and that you take the initiative to develop your skills. Focus on recent examples, describing what you contributed and learnt.

Reference: Shell - tips for writing CV

Application forms: Same advise as generic information but relevant to energy.

Preparing for Interviews: Same as advise as generic information. Some energy companies have their individual recruitment process which will be stated on websites or through the recruitment process so it is best to check with them.

Reference: generic references or specific relevant individual company information