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Building little civilizations from scratch
Dick Swan makes a living building “little civilizations” from scratch.
As a senior technical adviser for Exxon Upstream Development Co., the 1965 alumnus helps
set up the facilities and business operations needed to open new gas and oil fields for
Exxon.
Swan basically works in the “start-up” end of the upstream oil business. Once
Exxon’s exploration unit discovers a new gas/oil field, Swan’s unit becomes
involved in all facets of making the facility operational. This can include:
• Technical evaluation of the oil/gas reservoirs;
• economic evaluation (will it pay off?);
• determining the type of platform/facilities needed to develop the resource;
• detailed design, fabrication, installation, and start-up of the facility; and in
many cases,
• setting up a complete new company to operate the field to depletion.
The latter can include developing all of the business systems for the new company, as well
as developing all logistics, infrastructure and support services such as offices, housing
for employees, schools, airfields, supply bases, aviation services, marine services,
medical care, security and information services.
Exxon Upstream Development Co. (EUDC) is a new business unit for Exxon. Its goal is to
reduce cycle time in a start-up and provide a standard methodology for the process. Under
traditional start-up procedures, oil companies often need 5 to 10 years to bring a new
resource on production. EUDC’s goal is to decrease that time significantly.
“I’ve always enjoyed the pioneering, front-end work,” said the mechanical
engineering graduate, who has been with Exxon for more than three decades. “On the
front end of the project, nobody’s thought of what you can’t do yet.”
Many times, Swan’s work involves “going where no oil field has gone
before.” One of the biggest challenges rests in understanding the environment in
which the new facility will operate. This includes everything from the depth of the water
in which a well will be drilled to the political and economic situation of the host
country.
“You must gain an understanding of all the factors of a region to optimize your
execution of the project,” Swan said.
Currently Swan is working on a new development in Angola, a West African nation that has a
recent history of civil war. As EUDC plans for a field development in waters more than
1,000 meters deep, it also has to understand the culture in which the new company will
operate.
Based in Houston, Texas, Swan brings years of global field experience to Exxon’s new
endeavor. He joined Humble Oil (later to become Exxon) upon graduation in 1965. He worked
in New Orleans drilling operations for a year and then joined the U.S. Navy for a
three-year stint in the Civil Engineering Corps in Thailand.
After the service, Swan returned to New Orleans in various production engineering jobs. He
obtained his first experience in a start-up operation in Malaysia, where he spent nine
years helping develop a number of new offshore oilfields.
In 1983, Swan moved to Egypt as engineering manager, again on a start-up operation. His
next stop was Norway in 1988 where he served in various project coordination and technical
adviser roles on three major offshore developments. He returned to the United States in
1995 for a stint working with joint interest operations of fields on Alaska’s North
Slope, and he joined EUDC in September of this year.
Since EUDC is involved in setting up new facilities and business operations, often in
far-away third-world countries, experience is essential. Twenty or more years of
experience are the norm, and expertise in Swan’s work group includes several
different fields of oil and gas engineering as well as experience in operations and
technical and general management. Swan currently is developing a diversity of systems,
facilities and services, including areas such as health support, security, information
services and aviation.
Variety keeps the job interesting for Swan and that is why he has stayed in the business
for more than 30 years. “Every well is different, every field is different, even the
oil itself is different,” he explained. “No two days are ever the same in our
business and that keeps things interesting and exciting.”
 
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