BY ELISABETH FIVELAND

Faces of ConocoPhillips

Q&A 

Changing paths within a profession is not unusual. Glenn Skartveit, on the other hand, carved out a whole new career path during his offshore period at Ekofisk. Over the course of 17 years, Glenn transitioned from technical apprentice, to process technician, to law student. Today he is a legal counsel at ConocoPhillips Norway.

Glenn began working for ConocoPhillips in 2007 as a process technician apprentice at the Ekofisk field in the Norwegian North Sea. Hired permanently after two years, he served in several positions at different Ekofisk field installations. In 2012, Glenn started studying law part-time while working offshore. Law school was meant to be a step on his way to a degree in engineering. Finding law studies more interesting than expected, Glenn went all-in as a full-time student in 2015. Three years later he graduated with a master’s degree in law. When a vacant legal position in the Norway business unit was posted in 2022, he decided to apply.

Are there any common features for a process technician and legal counsel?

As a process technician you are focused on guidelines, procedures and regulations throughout the whole process, much similar to legal counsel. What I like about legal counselling is the opportunity to gain insights into the entire business, in all disciplines and functions, across the organization. I really appreciate understanding the bigger picture, and my technical background helps me build work relations more effectively.

How does your previous work experience impact your new role?

I think lawyers could benefit from technical experience, as this is helpful in providing legal advice while also understanding potential consequences. Living and working offshore requires everyone to work in joint teams to find solutions that are efficient and realistic to ensure value creation. Everyone can benefit from such a working environment.

What is different at ConocoPhillips today compared to your previous period?

At first, the generation change really came to mind. A lot of the people I worked with when I started 17 years ago have retired and a new generation of younger employees has stepped forward. The generation change is also relevant for the installations. I remember my work-life offshore, being accommodated at the Ekofisk 2/4 Q and now the Ekofisk 2/4 L has replaced this function. The subsea installations also represent more of the future offshore operations.

Any last thoughts on your unique career transition?

Yes, it’s been an interesting journey of learning, change and challenge. I am grateful for the support I had from my offshore family at Ekofisk to chase an entirely different career, and the opportunity to study while working. I am happy that I made this choice, but I would like to emphasize that my technical career provided many interesting challenges and a meaningful work-life.

At home, Glenn appreciates a work-life balance together with his girlfriend, Ida, who also studied law. An occupational hazard is the regular negotiation of household chores with revisions every other month. Glenn and Ida enjoy their time off surfing and playing disc golf and recently moved to a new home in Stavanger with ongoing renovation on the agenda.

“That means I have another round of tough negotiations ahead,” Glenn said with a smile.