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Albane ARSEGUEL
French citizen
Exploration & Production Branch,
Paris. Dalia Project Engineer, Angola.
Engineering Degree from Ecole Centrale de
Paris.
Albane’s eight years working on the
Group’s projects have taken her all
over the world. She has now been seconded
to a Paris-based contractor.
I took two courses during my last year at
Ecole Centrale de Paris: I took the “Ocean”
course (which is more on the industrial
side) and the “Oceanography and Environment”
one. The second course involved a traineeship
in New Caledonia working on the El Niño
phenomenon. I got in touch with the Group
when I was doing a course for my engineering
degree, which involved working at Total’s
Technologies Office. I was based at the
Paris Headquarters, but met specialists
from all over the world. That was what gave
me the travel bug, and prompted me to work
in the oil business. I applied and they
took me on.
From processes
to operations.
A standard careers in Projects involves
learning about several functions during
the first few years (a couple of years in
process engineering, a couple in operations
and a couple on a project). So my first
job was in process engineering. That gave
me a clearer picture of the function, and
of the company’s diversity.
A year later, an opportunity to work in
Bangkok, Thailand, came up. The job involved
supporting operations on Bongkot platform.
Then I spent two years designing and building
two new platforms. That involved travelling
between Thailand, Korea (where the platforms
were being built) and Paris.
From the polar
circle to Angola.
Then came a new project, Kharyaga, and a
fresh start. I was appointed that on-land
unit’s Head of Engineering and Procurement,
and based about 100 kilometres inside the
polar circle in northern Russia. The project
started with what we call the “basic”
studies, which we use to compile the call
to tender. Those studies were conducted
in London and took a year to complete. Then
I went to the United Arab Emirates for the
comprehensive studies.
The engineering and procurement part of
this project took me all over the world.
I travelled within Europe (to Italy, France
and the UK), Russia and the Middle East.
Then I supervised the construction and commissioning
in northern Russia which, at their peak,
involved 700 people, including contractor
and partner-organisation staff. There were
about 15 of us on the Total team. I was
there for the whole construction phase (four
weeks on the site and four weeks on leave),
and moved on a while after it was commissioned.
Back in Paris, I was assigned to the Dalia
project in Angola. That’s a deep-offshore
oil FPSO unit, 125 kilometres off the coast
in 1,300-metre-deep waters. And the travelling
is not about to stop: the components are
being built in Korea and some of the engineering
is being done in the Emirates.
Confidence and
competence.
I’m delighted with my career so far.
I just never stop learning, discovering
and travelling. The fact that I am a woman
raised a few questions about travelling,
children and so on when I was hired. But
I think being a woman also has its advantages,
because I often got special attention, too.
Out there in the field, there’s this
sort of deference at the start, followed
by a trial period (which got harder when
I moved into management). That was especially
the case in Russia. I wasn’t there
to fill the women quota on the team! It
takes tact and modesty to earn the team’s
trust. You have to show them you know what
you’re doing. And I’d go as
far as saying that a woman can be the voice
of reason when power struggles start taking
over in relationships between men.
Short term, I’d be tempted by projects,
especially if there is more team-management
involved.
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