Oil and Gas Audit - What are the basic skills needed for an auditor

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skrishna6668

List,
What are the basic skills needed for an auditor to perform his job effectively in oil and gas industries(with sap as background).
TQ
 
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Bill Pflanz

I guess I should reply since I seem to be the only Cover with oil and gas experience.

I assume that sap refers to the ERP/MRP planning software company. If that is what you are referring to, it may help you with understanding the inner workings of the company but not much in auditing.

You also do not say if the auditing is for a standard like ISO 9000. You may need to become trained in the standards before you worry about auditing to them. If you want to learn auditing, there are books and training courses that can be used but eventually you will need auditing experience. If you have no prior experience, it is better to learn from someone who has done auditing before.

From a technical view, oil and gas operations are very complicated. Even if you have auditing skills, you may find it difficult to do process audits without an operations or engineering background. It is not impossible without them but not necessarily an easy way to do an audit if you are inexperienced.

Bill Pflanz
 

AndyN

Moved On
Thanks, Bill for that insight.

I was thinking along the same lines, however I have no concrete examples to give the OP. I was, once, a team member on a CB audit of a major refinery in Northern England and although I understood some basics of the refining process ('cracking') the rest was over my head (literally). Not a good think to happen if you want to get an effective audit, whether internal or external.......
 
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Bill Pflanz

Our ASQ section does auditing for companies as a way of providing experience. We mix in new and experienced auditors to ensure a valid audit. The first time I audited them, I was assigned the process control standards. Since I had a chemical engineering degree and understood continuous process operations, they were very happy with my audit. The next time that I went, they specifically requested that I do certain areas because of my process knowledge even though I have never worked in the painting industry.

What they liked was the unique thinking and auditing appproach required. Unlike parts manufacturing, you cannot see the product since it is in equipment and piping. You observe the process by looking at the flows, temperatures etc. that are on the computer screens. People who have never seen this type of process before struggle when they audit.

That is my concern about auditing in the oil and gas industry. It is a continuous operation where the product is never seen. In addition, a continuous operation means that lab tests are done on samples but the product continues to be made even if it is non-conforming. The audit needs to focus on what process parameters are monitored to prevent making a lot of bad product while waiting for the next set of lab results.

Bill Pflanz
 
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skrishna6668

Thank you Bil, Coury and Andy for the excellent informations. I do have good exposure in auditing manfacturing and logistic for semi conductor industries. Not much experience in SAP auditing but have excellent experience as Enduser and also completed Material Management consultancy program.

I also very much interested in Information System and will be sitting for my CISA exam on December 08.

Recently I applied for a position of Information Technology Senior Auditor Role in Oil and Gas company. Their requirements are:
a. Degree in IT/Cisa certification
b. 3 to 5 years of IT audit experience
c. Some experience in sap auditing/extensive knowledge of sap auditing is plus.
d. ACL and Excel data analysis experience

Based on these requirements, I'm preparing myself to attempt for this role and needed some guidance from the experts.

Thank you.
 
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Bill Pflanz

Based on your description, you are applying for a position as auditor for IT. That is different from what I was describing as an auditor in operations. You will be auditing IT systems including the SAP system. You may not even need a knowledge of oil and gas operations to do that type of auditing.

I have no knowledge of what an IT auditor does. Although the title is auditor, you may be doing more of a testing function. Assuming it is an auditor position, there is always the need for training in auditing. Depending on the type of course, quality audit training may work but you would have to make sure it was not mainly focused on ISO 9000 standards.

Bill Pflanz
 
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Bud Weightman

Hi Skrishna,

The requirements for Oil & Gas auditing are a bit different that most ISO 9001 areas.

Depending upon your field of endeavor, the requirements could change a bit.

So let's assume you are discussing being a QMS auditor:

  1. Internal Autitor. There are no specific requirements other than you are independent (Q1, 8.2.2) and that you are competent and trained (Q1, 6.0). However, effectively what external auditors are looking for is some sort of standardization to Internal Auditor Qualification Requirements. I suggest looking at the American Society for Quality requirements and the Body of Knowledge for an auditor. This certification (or at a minimum training) along with some audits under a skilled and competent auditor should enable to meet the requirements.
  2. External Auditor. If your aspirations take you into the field of auditing, I would step up my comments above to adding on the additional requirements of an IRCA or RABQSA Auditor certification at a minimum. This would make you valuable to any external auditing firm.
If your need is different that what I identified above, please feel free to add some additional questions.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
I very often audit within the oil and gas industry and to be honest the basic skills I need and use are no different that when I do an audit of onion ring, computer chip, or metal manufacturing.
 
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Bud Weightman

If you are doing business under the API Monogram Program it is as I described. If you are auditing for a 2nd or 3rd party or for one of the O&G companies, you would be obliged to follow their qualification requirements. If one has aspirations to audit offshore, the requirements are/will be further changing to more comphrehensive qualification requirements as a post Macondo / Deep Water Horizon mitigation.
 
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