Anthony Patrick Haynes

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Anthony Patrick Haynes

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At A Glance

Licensed Body:

Energy Institute

Region:

International

Location:

Norway

First Degree:

BSc Mechanical Engineering

Job:

Financier/Investor/Chairman

Works For:

Eboroil Ltd

Pet Hates:

People not knowing what they don't know

Burning Ambition:

To go back to retirement

Superpower:

Low energy costs for everybody – the third world and everybody

Links:

www.eberoil.com

Big Picture

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A car designer

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

It was just the way events panned out. Basically in the 1970s I was at the forefront of North Sea Oil, and that meant patents and inventions

What do you love about your job and being a “scientist”?

You’re at the forefront of technology all the time

What would you change?

I’ve been working for myself since 1975. I would have liked more security

Education

What qualifications did you take at school?

I did my A’Levels in Maths, Physics, and Chemistry

Why did you choose your first degree subject?

A BSc in Mechanical Engineering at Birmingham University

Do you have a Masters or PhD? If not, was it difficult to demonstrate Masters-level equivalence in order to achieve CSci?

No, but I’ve sponsored a lot of students to do PhDs.

Job

How do you describe your job when you meet people at a party?

I am an inventor implementing novel technology in the energy industries. I basically patent things and do the fundamental research by sponsoring universities. I implement my inventions with major oil companies. I have a joint venture with Shell who’s doing all of my projects, but I’ve worked for all the big oil companies in the past (Mobile etc.) Not all my patents are energy-related however. I’ve just started on one that is related to diabetes, and when I was university I worked on the kinematics of the shoulder joint

What is ‘cutting-edge’ about your work?

I’ve never done a project twice

What are the biggest implications your work will/could have in the future?

I think we’ll have $30 oil in 2015.

Describe some of the highlights of your average day.

Some inventions I’m proud of: 1. In 1977 I installed a farm single anchor leg mooring in 23 hours…the fastest and cheapest in the North Sea. 2. In the 1970s I patented a product that allowed for motion between the rig and insulation in the North Sea. It opened up production and got applied to 30 fields

Describe briefly how your career has progressed to date.

I got a scholarship for General Motors, but I failed the medical. I ended up working for Burmah Oil, who had a financial crisis. I became an independent consultant in the industry, and have been doing that for almost 37 years. Investment interests my company has includes tar sands development in Peru, buying into plastics to diesel technology, looking at solvent extraction technology for oil shale, buying interests in existing ethanol production, developing proven hydrocarbons in the North Sea and Irish waters, electricity and H2 generation from wave energy and unidirectional currents, and looking at products from algae. I retired in 1991 due to ill health and the business has regenerated itself in spite of me only being able to work 70-80 hours per month

How is your job cross-disciplinary?

I use Maths, Physics and Chemistry as a French chef uses butter and cream i.e. everyday

What’s the most unexpected thing about your job?

I think how easy it is to invent things

Life

Would you say you have a good standard of living/ work-life balance?

My wife should be quote here. She would say that I have a hobby which is my business. I put everything second to that. She would have preferred me to have a proper job

What do your friends and family think about your job?

I think some of my friends in the business are amazed at the ideas I come up with in the middle of the night. My family think I’ve sacrificed too much

What kind of hobbies or extracurricular activities do you do to relax?

I like wine and I have a very good camera…I take photographs. I have a dog. My wife says I listen to classical music.

CSci

Why did you choose to apply for CSci and what do you value most about being a Chartered Scientist?

The Energy Institute asked me to join because so many of my ideas were fundamental science. I also became a member of the chemical society in the U.S. I wanted to be recognized worldwide

What is the value of professional bodies?

Information. Professional bodies give you access to what other people re doing. If you follow up with them, you get new ideas

How important is CPD? What do you think of the revalidation process in ensuring that CSci is a mark of current competence?

I do it every year. CPD is my arms and legs

Advice & Reflection

What words of wisdom would you give someone interested in getting into your field?

If you don’t understand why something works, then you can get a patent to solve it

How important is the mentoring process in your field and to you personally?

I’m not sure I mentor – I more badger. I have sponsored university research work and athletics for over 30 years. Currently I am going to sponsor University of Limerick to run against Cornell and Penn and Harvard and Yale in the next two years. Athletes never lie to themselves as they know in training or competition whether they could have done better; secondly when they start University they know that they have their final exams and the Olympics are three weeks apart so they plan their lives; and thirdly they are winners and every contract in business has to be won before it is performed

What would you do differently if you were starting out in your career now?

I think I’d be a car designer

What would you like people to remember about your life as a scientist?

Well, at the moment I think if I managed $30 oil in 2015 I’ll be remembered. I remember getting $10 oil in the 1990s. In Peru, I’ve got over 3 billion barrels of oil and I think we’re going to be able to produce it at $19/barrel. That will release 1.7 trillion barrels of oil into the North American market. I manage to have quite a good reputation in the North Seas

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