Motivated by project-based work

Kjetil Hantveit compares consultant life to that of a paratrooper and is excited by new challenges. He is now on assignment as Modification Manager at Technology Centre Mongstad.

"I imagine that paratroopers are dropped in a new environment and have to handle the challenges that arise. This is kind of what it is like to be a consultant; we enter a company and a project, and we do not know the “terrain” and surroundings. This is really exciting," says Kjetil Hantveit who is currently on assignment as Modification Manager at Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM). Here he manages projects and modifications on the technology centre, all the way from the planning phase to execution and completion.

"I have always liked project-based work with a clear start and end. There is something about getting an assignment with a certain economical and time-based frame – its kind of like a competition," he further explains.

Originally, Hantveit was looking at a career as an electrician, but went on to take a paramedic education and worked as this for three years. He later entered a more project-based work in the oil and gas industry, first as overseer for the electrical field on Melkøya, and then on to work on assignments for other companies both on and offshore.

"Working offshore is a lot of fun, and we have a great deal of time off between our work periods, but I have to say that I prefer the regular daytime workday with the opportunity to partake in my children’s hobbies,” he says. 

"With a daytime job it was also possible to move to the farm where I grew up on Hantveit in Sogn og Fjordane and combine farming with the assignment for Omega at TCM," he explains. 

Familiar with Mongstad

The assignment at TCM started in 2014, but Hantveit was already familiar with Mongstad as a workplace due to a previous assignment where we worked on building the cogeneration plant via another firm. Through his current assignment for Omega at TCM he got to experience the industry in another perspective than he had previously worked with.

"We are under Equinor’s regime for demands and specifications, but at the same time, we are on the outside of the core in the oil and gas industry. We mainly work with capture and some release of CO2, what is called Carbon Capture and Storage (CSS)," he explains. 

"TCM is a great workplace with the possibility for development and impact on decisions. As the largest test center for CO2 capture in the world we are in constant development, both industrially and commercially, and we see a lot of international interest and visits," he says and adds that they cooperate with companies in China and USA.

"The team I work with is a seemingly small group where the majority are consultants like me from Omega. It is a great team with skilled people that always deliver 100 percent, and I feel that we accomplish a lot despite the number of team members. As we are a small group we have a wide span of responsibilities and roles where we take care of every step from studies, planning, procurement, and completion. There is a high quality on the work being performed and a good implementation capacity, thanks to great colleagues with solid knowledge and experiences," Hantveit explains further. 

With the assignment at TCM, the farm and family life he gets to fill up his days, but that does not stand in the way of also having some time to nurture his interest for boats.

"I am a great deal on the sea myself and operate as co-owner in a couple of companies that run boat transportation. A day spent on the boat, no matter what the weather is like, is the best way to relax for me," Hantveit sums up.