We find that the greater part of our work is international and the majority of it is provided by former clients who consistently return to Cripps Sears.

Cripps Sears has a wealth of experience in the recruitment of executive and senior management positions in the energy sector. This includes main board and executive committee appointments; as well as other integral roles such as region, in-country, asset and technical management teams.

Oil

The global energy system is continuously evolving, but oil continues to be the fuel that meets the energy needs of most of the world’s inhabitants. Cripps Sears & Partners has a long track record in recruiting for the oil industry, originally in the upstream sector, then expanding to include the midstream and the downstream.

Upstream

Because it is the first phase in the oil sector, the upstream underpins and sets the foundation for all the processes that will follow. Upstream largely comprises exploration and production, but much more than that: identifying, researching and selecting potential petroleum deposits, evaluation of these sites, drilling exploration (and later production) wells, then operating these wells to extract hydrocarbons.

Cripps Sears has a team of specialist consultants who support companies with their recruitment right across the upstream sector, worldwide, both for the technical and operations disciplines and for the commercial and business development functions. They have completed assignments in specialisms right from petroleum engineering and geoscience, through all aspects of exploration, drilling and production, subsea elements to the related commercial and strategic business areas, and the executive functions. In addition, we have a team that is dedicated to supporting the sector that services the upstream oil companies.

Midstream

Midstream oil is a huge – and key — sector which successfully deals with one of the world’s most difficult logistical challenges. It can be defined in different ways, but Cripps Sears sees it as moving and storing the raw product which is the end result of the upstream processes before it is refined in the downstream sector.

Clients of Cripps Sears’ Midstream practice include: pipeline developers and operators, logistics companies, terminal and port developers and operators. Companies from the shipping sectors, including tanker and barge operators, are also included.

Since all those business areas connect and overlap, Cripps Sears’ Midstream practice consultants work closely with all their Energy and Infrastructure sector colleagues and with the Maritime practice, worldwide. In that way they can achieve the most thorough sector and market views and make the widest selection of quality candidates.

Downstream

Besides providing the final part in the oil story, the Downstream sector also makes a major contribution to other important industries and areas of life, such as pharmaceuticals, for example. In the downstream sector the range of raw hydrocarbons arrive at processing plants where they are purified and refined before being marketed, traded, sold and distributed. The end products are not only all types of fuels along with natural and petroleum gas, but also a whole range of speciality products, including lubricants and bitumen. Logistics and supply chain management also play a key role in this sector.

Cripps Sears’ Downstream practice consultants have conducted global searches for key hires throughout the sector. Client companies include those working in all phases of the hydrocarbon-processing industries, together with those involved in the distribution, marketing and retailing of the end products.

Maritime

The shipping industry is very much interlinked with the oil sector. Not only is it one of the main means of transporting crude oil, refined products, chemicals and natural gas, but an entire arm of the maritime industries also exists to serve and supply the oil industry with their specialist vessels and services.

Consequently, the Cripps Sears Maritime practice works very closely with their colleagues in the other Energy sector teams. The practice has supported clients with appointments in most types of maritime organisations, including shipyards, shipowners and ship managers, oil majors, trading houses, classification societies and consultancies, and our consultants have conducted global searches across technical, operational, commercial and executive disciplines.

Gas

The part played by natural gas in the global energy supply and demand picture is an increasingly important one, with the world’s gas needs on a seemingly ever upward curve. The power sector is the main user of gas worldwide, where as a fuel for generating electricity it is increasingly favoured as the least polluting hydrocarbon. A major industrial fuel, it is also much used in the residential and commercial sectors for heating, while its use as a transport fuel is a steadily growing niche market.

Cripps Sear & Partners’ Energy practice consultants support clients involved right across the gas chain, from exploration and production through project development to processing to pipelines and shipping – where they work closely with the Maritime practice – to marketing, sales and trading and distribution.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

Originally seen almost exclusively as a way of monetising otherwise stranded gas reserves, LNG is increasingly regarded as a key factor in the world’s energy supply equation. And at Cripps Sears & Partners we have an experienced unit dedicated to recruitment in the ever-growing global LNG industry. Our upstream legacy gives us insight into the key gas commercialisation decision-makers in addition to the executives who are selected to create and execute LNG strategies.

We support companies involved in the project development cycle, whether this is shore-based or floating projects, an increasingly more feasible option as technology advances have reduced scale and cost. This has allowed the entrance of new market participants, including the maritime sector.

On the commercial side, our LNG support covers sourcing supply – both projects and contractual supply agreements — LNG trading and marketing, as well as operations and shipping, where we have a specialist Maritime practice. On the Infrastructure side it includes development, design and project management of liquefaction, storage and regasification assets.

Power generation

Power generation is a hugely important element within the overall global energy picture. Cripps Sears consultants in this part of the Energy practice work closely with their colleagues in areas such as Oil, Gas and Infrastructure. By sharing information across sector boundaries they can build up their knowledge of market conditions and extend the pool of suitably qualified candidates to which they have access.

Cripps Sears consultants have carried out searches right across the power generation industry globally. The firm’s power generation clients come from companies involved with all types of power, from traditional, to plants that burn biomass and other sustainable fuels, and right on to the renewable energy sector. They include utility companies, private generators, energy distribution companies, network operators, developers, investors, trading houses, contractors and related technology supply companies.