Petroleum engineering jobs include a wide variety of specialties within the oil and gas industry. Petroleum engineers have key responsibilities in every phase of the upstream oil and gas business, from the initial stages of exploration to the final abandonment of depleted oil and gas fields. Petroleum engineering training obtained in college as well as through in-house company programs prepares engineers for the challenges presented by the rapidly changing business and technological environment of the modern oil industry.
Demand for petroleum engineers is high in today's competitive oil and gas industry. Most entry level petroleum engineers choose one of three primary petroleum engineering specialties to work in, and many of them stay in their chosen chosen specialties for their entire careers. These specialties are reservoir engineering, drilling engineering and production engineering.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineers Work to Optimize Oil and Gas Recovery
Petroleum reservoir engineering is critical to every stage of the oil and gas production process. Using data provided by geologists and geophysicists, reservoir engineers estimate potential reserves in prospective oil and gas producing areas and contribute to economic analyses of planned drilling projects.
After an oil or gas discovery is made by exploratory drilling, reservoir engineers recommend strategies for the optimum recovery of oil and gas from the new reservoir. They propose well spacing and specific drilling locations for developing the new field, and they follow up for the life of the field's production with recommendations for enhanced oil recovery methods using the latest technological innovations.
Drilling Engineers are Responsible for Safe and Efficient Drilling Operations
Drilling engineers oversee every aspect of drilling wells safely and effectively. They specify drilling equipment, drilling fluids and drilling techniques to be used for testing exploration prospects and for development of oil and gas fields when exploratory drilling finds commercial oil and gas reservoirs.
Drilling engineers use the latest advancements in drilling technology, including horizontal drilling, drilling multiple laterals from a single borehole and other techniques for minimizing costs and minimizing environmental impacts while effectively developing the oil or gas field. The drilling engineer is responsible for safe and effective drilling operations from setting up the drilling rig to cementing the final production casing in place.
Petroleum Production Engineers Oversee Operations from Completion to Abandonment
Production, or operations, engineers take over responsibility for wells after the final casing is cemented into the wellbores. They design completion procedures for bringing wells into production and specify surface equipment for separating the oil, gas and produced water prior to sale of the products.
Production engineers work with reservoir engineers to implement the overall field development plan. They monitor and supervise field operations from production of oil and gas through final abandonment of the wells and facilities. During the life of a typical oil or gas field, production engineers will be involved with well completions, surface equipment operations, enhanced recovery projects, safe and effective abandonment of depleted wells, and environmental restoration at the end of the field's economic life.
Petroleum engineering graduates are among the highest paid workers with bachelor's degrees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average new graduate with a petroleum engineering degree earned a starting salary of more than $80,000 per year in 2009. In occupational employment statistics reported in May 2009, the Bureau reports that the average salary of the 25,000 petroleum engineers employed in the United States in 2009 was close to $120,000 per year.
Workers with petroleum engineering training hold key positions of responsibility throughout the oil and gas industry. Many work their way into management positions or into jobs related to environmental quality and regulatory compliance. Whether they choose to move into these diverse positions or stay in drilling, production or reservoir engineering, petroleum engineers play key roles in supplying the world's fossil fuel needs.
John Erwin - I am an engineer by education, but I love wandering in the mountains and have a special interest in Colorado history.
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