Petroleum Industry Career Choices

The petroleum industry offers a wide-range of career choices. The industry is driven by cutting-edge technology that makes it possible to recover oil and gas from areas several miles below the surface of our oceans and from remote locations far from existing roads, cities, or supplies. The technology and ingenuity that make this industry successful comes from many disciplines working together to produce the energy that powers our world.

Examples of the many different career options are:

Petroleum Engineers

Petroleum engineers search the far corners of the earth and the world's oceans to find and produce oil and gas supplies. Petroleum engineering has many different specialties, each with its own unique challenges and rewards. You can be a drilling engineer, working with geologists and contractors in designing and supervising drilling operations, many of which are multimillion-dollar ventures. You can work as a production engineer, developing processes and equipment to optimize oil and gas production. Or you can become a reservoir engineer and help determine ideal recovery processes, estimate the number of wells that can be economically drilled, and simulate future performance using sophisticated computer models. Read more.

Geologists

Geologists are employed to explore for crude oil and natural gas and to help develop reservoirs. Geologists search for oil and gas by studying rock formations and using microscopes to examine rocks fragments (cuttings) from wells that are being drilled. Geologists develop surface and subsurface maps to locate oil and gas resources. They locate rock layers cropping out on the surface of the ground and use data from existing wells to make subsurface maps of the reservoir rocks. By matching rock layers between wells, they can draw cross sections to find petroleum traps. Geologists study the physical aspects and history of the earth. They identify and examine rocks, study information collected by remote sensing instruments in satellites, conduct geological surveys, construct field maps, analyze information collected through seismic studies, and use instruments to measure the earth’s gravity and magnetic field.

Geology Scholarships and Grants - AEG for Students

Geophysicists

Often working closely with geologists, geophysicists use the principles of physics, mathematics, and chemistry to study not only the earth’s surface, but its internal composition; ground and surface waters; atmosphere; oceans; andmagnetic, electrical, and gravitational forces. Geophysicists use three methods of oil exploration: magnetic, gravity, and seismic. In magnetic exploration, a magnetometer is used to determine the strength of the earth’s magnetic field at a specific point on the earth’s surface. In gravity exploration, a gravity meter, or gravimeter, is used to determine the strength of the earth’s gravity at a specific location. The magnetometer and gravity meter are used to locate hidden, subsurface petroleum traps. In seismic exploration, sound is transmitted into the ground by an explosive, such as dynamite, or by a thumper truck. As the sound passes into the subsurface, it is reflected off subsurface rock layers and returned to the surface as echoes. The echoes are detected and recorded at the surface with microphones, called geophones, or jugs. The recordings are processed to form a picture of subsurface rock layers.

Geophysicists have been at the forefront of one of the biggest technical advances of the last decade. Seismic exploration uses advanced computer modeling to develop three-dimensional models of the subsurface that have significantly enhanced the industry's ability to locate more precisely additional oil and gas deposits. Seismic models are sometimes viewed in huge visualization theaters that make it seem as if you are “stepping into” a subsurface reservoir.

Petroleum Landman

In a job unique to North America, the petroleum landman is responsible for obtaining permission to drill a well. Beforea wellmay be drilled on private land in the United States or Canada, the land must be leased from the landowner, who owns the subsurface oil and gas. Permits must be obtained from various government agencies before a well can be drilled. The permit sets forth the requirements for the drilling company to restore the land after the well is drilled and how to properly plug and abandon nonproductive wells. The petroleum landman is responsible for the acquisition or disposition of oil, natural gas, or surface interests; negotiation, drafting, or management of agreements respecting such interests; and supervision of land administration activities respecting such interests. Petroleum landmen deal directly with farmers, ranchers, and other surface owners, and may need to research ownership records in county, state, or provincialoffices. Good communication, negotiation, and research skills, along with some legal knowledge, make a landman successful.

Drilling Engineers

The job of the drilling engineer is to design and implement a procedure to drill the well as economically as possible. The well will confirm the presence of oil or natural gas in the location selected by geologists and geophysicists. Drilling engineers work closely with the drilling contractor (the operator of the rig and its crews), service contractors, and compliance personnel, as well as the other members of his internal team. A drilling engineer must manage the complex drilling operation, including both the people and technology. Drilling a well can often cost several million dollars, and the drilling engineer has the responsibility for making certain that costs are minimized while getting all of the necessary information to evaluate the reservoir, protecting the health and safety of workers and any nearby residents, and protecting the environment.

Digital Engineers

Digital engineering jobs combine information technology (IT) with oil and gas disciplines, such as petroleum engineering, geology or geoscience. IT knowledge for a digital engineer can include: programming, networking, system architecture, and hardware. Digital engineers understand the capabilities, potential, and limitations of IT. They use this knowledge to develop high-tech systems that find and retrieve oil and gas. They also must understand oil and gas disciplines, such as petroleum engineering, to know where new technology is needed and the best way to develop and apply the technology. Some other names for this job are user support engineer, software engineer and engineering architect.

Well-Log Analyst

Usually, but not always, an engineer, a well-log analyst takes measurements during drilling or after a well is completed to evaluate the well’s production potential. Well-log analysts help take and analyze core samples. They often use sophisticated electronic, nuclear, and acoustical tools that are sent down the well on a wire-line. Information from these tools is sent up the wellbore to a computer system on the surface where engineers retrieve and interpret the data. This information helps the petroleum engineer determine if it is financially feasible to drill deeper, produce the well from explored zones of interest, or take additional measurements. Working in conjunction with geologists, reservoir engineers, and production engineers, well-log analysts help decide where the next well should be drilled.

Production Engineers

Once the well is completed, the production engineer works to analyze, interpret, and optimize the performance of individual wells. The production engineer is responsible for determining how to bring hydrocarbons to the surface. The production engineer will determine the most efficient means to develop the field considering the viscosity of the crude oil, the gas-to-oil ratio, the depth and type of formation, and the project economics. The production engineer is also responsible for developing a system of surface equipment that will separate the oil, gas, and water. As the field matures, the production engineer will be responsible for exploring additional technologies to enhance production from wells that are declining. In doing so, the production engineer will work closely with reservoir engineers and those in other disciplines to determine the optimal approach for that particular field.

Reservoir Engineers

Reservoir engineers determine the fluid and pressure distributions throughout the reservoir, the natural energy sources available, and the methods most useful in recovering the maximum amount of oil or gas from the reservoir. The reservoir engineer may develop complex computer-based mathematical programs to model the fluid flow and formation pressures. Reservoir engineers are responsible for estimating the amount of oil or gas that can be recovered from a reservoir. Making good estimates of recoverable resources is crucial to a company’s financial position since future recovery is a measure often used by bankers and financial analysts of a company's borrowing power and future worth.

Facilities Engineers

Facilities engineers design and implement all of the supplemental facilities necessary to the separation, processing, and transportation of oil and natural gas. They work with production engineers on all of the surface processing equipment for a field. They design and build natural gas processing plants to remove impurities from the gas and prepare it for transportation. They design and build pipelines to move oil, gas, and produced water around within a field, to processing or disposal facilities, and to the point of sale. They also work on large interstate transportation pipelines for oil, petroleum products, and natural gas.

Offshore platforms are designed by facility engineers. These enormous structures are built at shipyards and then must be transported to the field where they will be deployed. Offshore facilities must be designed to withstand heavy seas and hurricanes, protect the hundreds of personnel who may work there, and assure that all drilling and production operations can take place with the utmost safety. The platform design must consider the number of wells that will be needed for the field, type and volume of hydrocarbons to be processed, transportation of the oil or gas to shore, and possible future reuse or abandonment. Designing an offshore platform is one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges that a facility engineer can encounter.

Safety Engineers

Each day, hundreds of thousands of oil and gas personnel work around highly flammable materials, sometimes high above the ground or out in the middle of the ocean, yet the oil and gas industry has an enviable safety record—one of the best among industries in the US The number of engineers with primary responsibility for safety is expected to continue to grow. Something as simple as the design of a hand-railing on a stair can be crucially important when you’re on an offshore platform hundreds of miles from shore. Safety engineers often work as members of project teams, advising on proper handling of chemicals, and compliance with applicable regulations, conducting safety drills for personnel, assuring that procedures are documented, and performing myriad other tasks designed to assure the safety of industry personnel and any near-by residents.

Environmental/Regulatory Specialists

Environmental and regulatory specialists may have engineering or geology backgrounds, or they may come from one of the many environmental or science disciplines, including biology, hydrology, and marine science, or they may be lawyers. These personnel are typically part of a project team with responsibility for assuring that all environmental requirements are met. In some companies, they may be charged with developing innovative ways of managing wastes or emissions that will enhance project economics as well as environmental protections. Regulatory specialists often work closely with government oversight agencies to assure that projects are conducted to the satisfaction of the regulator. As oil and gas resources are developed in areas far from existing infrastructure, environmental specialists may have significant challenges to overcome to remain in compliance with requirements developed for areas where laboratories (for testing) and disposal sites are readily available. They may also have responsibility for working with indigenous communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In developed areas, they may have responsibility for community outreach programs.

Chemical Engineers

Individuals with chemical engineering expertise can play many different roles in the oil and natural gas industry. They may work with facility or safety engineers in designing and operating natural gas processing plants or other field facilities. They may work with drilling or production engineers to determine the optimum fluids for use in drilling or stimulation given the subsurface properties. They help production engineers determine how to keep wellbores free from contaminants and control subsurface microbes that could create unpleasant byproducts. Many chemical engineers are engaged in research—to develop a better drilling fluid, to improve carrying agents so treatment chemicals can travel further into the reservoir, to devise new ways to control treatment of wastes and emissions to improve environmental performance, to more efficiently remove impurities from natural gas, or to address other technical challenges.

Petroleum Accountants

In addition to all of the challenges that other accountants face, petroleum accountants must address the valuation of oil and gas that will be produced in the future but represent a corporate asset. In the US and many other countries, there are unique accounting regulations related to the valuation and reporting of oil and gas assets.

Energy Economists

Economists help analyze business conditions and evaluate driving forces in the external business environment. They work with the planning department to prepare price assumptions for the budgeting and planning processes. Economists are also important in estimating exchange rates and identifying critical factors that determine the growth of oil and gas consumption. They are often involved in risk assessment, asset valuation, and other strategic matters critical to a company's future.

Oil and gas companies also need all of the other personnel found in any large company—human resources and public relations staff, information technology experts, lawyers, administrative assistants, and employees in a range of other occupations. Because of their highly technical and well-paid workforce, many find that oil and gas companies are a good place to seek employment.

SPE would like to thank the experts Maguire Energy Institute, Cox Business School at Southern Methodist University for permission to use portions of the above text from its (former) website.