Juan Cottier - Geology & Why the Oil Industry Is Eating Itself

This one is a proper deep dive into the world behind the wells.

Juan Cottier joins me to break down what geology actually is, how it fits into oil and gas, and why it’s one of the most misunderstood parts of the industry.

We get into how oil is really found, the different stages from exploration through to production, and why geologists spend their careers making decisions with incomplete data.

But this goes well beyond rocks.

We talk about the disconnect between offshore and the office Why careers in oil and gas are becoming more unstable How the industry has changed over the last 30 years

And one of the biggest points in this episode:

Why the oil industry might actually be “eating itself”

Juan also shares stories from working across the world, including West Africa during civil unrest, and gives a brutally honest view on where the industry is heading.

This is one for anyone in energy who wants to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface. 00:20 Introduction 01:30 Career background 03:00 What is geology 05:30 Getting into oil and gas 07:30 Working with limited data 09:30 Oilfield lifecycle explained 11:30 Arrogance in geology 12:30 Development vs production work 14:30 Why he supports oil and gas 16:30 Global experience 18:30 Offshore life realities 20:30 Offshore vs office disconnect 22:30 Decision making on wells 24:30 Team collaboration 26:30 Career instability 29:00 Fewer young geologists 31:00 Career advice 33:00 Norway vs UK 36:00 Norway model explained 39:00 UK missed opportunity 40:30 Knowledge gap 42:00 Industry eating itself 44:00 Debt and private equity 47:00 Layoffs and cycles 49:00 Social media presence 51:00 Humour in industry 52:30 Career reflections 54:30 Family decisions 56:00 Biggest finds 57:10 End