From geology to data systems - meet Yuri

Yuri Kryklyvyi - Team Lead Energy Consulting at Cegal

From geology to data systems

Yuri's journey started with a master's degree in petroleum geology and a strong interest in data. It was this very combination that led him to a role in Data Management, just a few years after graduation.

I've always liked to "play with data" and it was natural to go deeper into it. I got my first real job in data management in Shell's operations in Ukraine. There I learned everything from command line tools and bash scripting to seismic data, drilling operations, data trading and regulatory requirements. It was a steep but incredibly valuable learning curve, says Yuri.

At Cegal, our roles extend beyond traditional Data Management; we are known as Data and Digitalization Consultants for a reason 😊. With many of us coming from Geology/Geophysics (Geoscience) or IT backgrounds, we engage in GG-related tasks and Python/Database coding assignments, leveraging our extensive expertise in data.

When asked about the most complex dataset he's ever worked with, Yuri smiles: "We bought 3D seismic data from a local company, which a geophysicist described as the best 'poorly processed' salt dome he'd ever seen - a promising starting point. The problem? It was so poorly handled that there was actually no salt dome at all - just chaos at every level of data quality and structure.

But much has changed in the field since then. The amount of data is increasing dramatically, and the biggest challenge now is that we often don't know which data we can trust. We don't want to throw anything away, so we end up with multiple versions of the same thing. Cloud technology and ecosystems have given us new ways to visualize and manage data, and Yuri believes that lean, AI-poweredagents could transform the lives of many professionals in the future. And what about regulations like GDPR- they will force us to take data management seriously, with a focus on structure, responsibility and control.

Cegal: An environment for breadth and depth

Many of us have a background in geoscience or IT, which means we work with both domain understanding and technical tasks such as Python scripting and database administration.
Our customers benefit from this expertise because our solutions are customized from the start - not only for today's needs, but also for future challenges. We have experience of working with most oil and gas companies in Norway, as well as several internationally. This gives us a maturity and breadth that is hard to beat.

Passion and a little self-irony

What I appreciate most about data is automation. It's incredibly satisfying when everything works seamlessly - without the need for manual intervention.

If anyone asks if there are any myths about the field, he's quick to respond: "Many people think we just store things in Excel files and label hard drives. With today's solutions from Cegal, we can communicate directly with individual objects or entire databases - and manipulate data in completely new ways.

I don't have any exotic hobbies, but yes... I like to go hiking - a bit of a cliché in Norway, perhaps 😄
And if Data Management was a movie - I wish it was sci-fi, but in reality it's probably more of a detective story with a touch of thriller. 😄