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298 The Story of Parliament


Going to the


ends of the earth British success story Gaia Earth Sciences provides expert consulting services to the global oil and gas industry


I


n the oil and gas industry, one wrong decision can cost millions. It’s no surprise, therefore,


that consulting firm Gaia Earth Sciences—long renowned for its technical excellence—is in such demand for its quality-control and assurance services. Providing technical consulting to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide, the company has grown from a single member of staff to a team of 26 situated across eight countries, and has offices in Scotland, England and Jordan. As well as over 60 clients in more than 30 countries, the company has been recognised for its global success with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. “Tere isn’t another company within our field that is as successful around the globe,” observes Director Stuart Huyton, who established the company back in 2003. Named after the Greek goddess of the Earth because of its links to earth sciences, Gaia’s petrophysics consultants have built an impressive reputation.


Expert services Te company’s key service is the quality assurance and quality control of logging—the process whereby physical properties of rocks in a well are measured and data-logged. It’s an essential step to calculate how much oil and gas is present, whether it can be produced and whether it’s economically viable to develop the field. “It’s a crucial part of the process of making an


oil well,” says Huyton. “After hiring the drilling rig and paying for the drilling operation, the logging probably comes next in terms of cost. And with rig rates hovering at around $1 million per day in some places, if the logging operation is not done efficiently, companies lose money very quickly.” As well as its technical expertise, Huyton believes that the company’s ethos is responsible for its success,


“There’s a philosophy behind how we run the business: we treat people fairly. It’s what sets us apart”


which saw the value of its exported services increase by more than 25 per cent between 2012 and 2013. “Tere’s a distinct philosophy behind how we run the business: the people who work for us have a good balance between work and life,” he says. “We treat people fairly. It’s what sets us apart.”


Supportive environment Te firm’s consultants are “invited” to take work on, which means that they are free to accept or refuse projects as they wish, and can take full control of their work schedule. With this freedom in mind, Huyton believes that enabling consultants to pursue their own interests is highly beneficial, though somewhat unusual, in the oil business. One individual, for example, chose to spend two months motorcycling around South America between projects. And while it’s rare to have more than one person


working on a project, the firm’s internal forum means that the team as a whole can provide extra advice to any individual consultant. Tis collaborative effort gives access to a greater depth of knowledge and expertise, and has helped to cultivate a supportive company environment. Gaia has numerous plans for expansion. “We start


by targeting new markets,” says Huyton, “where the consequences of inefficient or poor data acquisition are acute, such as deep-water exploration projects in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.” With the company’s existing reputation and its


unique provision of services, the industry’s demand for its talents looks set to continue—no less because of its ability to avert costly errors. — www.gaia-earth.co.uk


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