Petroleum engineers are responsible for finding, testing and extracting fossil fuel resources that power most of the world's demand for energy. These fuels can take the form of crude oil or natural gas. Petroleum engineering is involved in the first stage of petroleum production. It does not refer to the second phase, which includes refining and distributing petroleum for consumption. Petroleum engineering is a lucrative career, but it takes skill and education.
Minimum Requirements
A career in petroleum engineering requires at the very least a bachelor's degree. Master's degrees are also common in most engineering fields. Classes include, but are not limited to, engineering, chemistry, geology, drilling engineering, thermodynamics, reservoir petrophysics and various levels of mathematics. Some employers will offer recent graduates on-the-job training or job shadowing to get a new candidate on his/her feet. There are also scholarships available for interested students from the Society of Petroleum Engineers and other petroleum industry organizations.
Possible Degree Majors
Several schools offer petroleum engineering as a major, but when it is not available, various other scientific studies will suffice. Examples include geophysics, geology, mining and other engineering degrees relevant to the petroleum industry. Schools that offer petroleum engineering degrees include the Colorado Institute of Mines, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanics College, Montana Tech, Pennsylvania State, the University of Texas and Stanford University.
Employers
Employers include oil and gas companies, contractors providing advice to the oil industry, university research departments, governmental agencies and construction and tool manufacturing industries. Many employers are based out of Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, California, Oklahoma and in oil-rich nations spanning the globe.
Job Requirements
Petroleum engineering may encompass a large variety of skills and tasks. Engineers are required to make decisions regarding the drilling process, testing of the oil and local water bodies, supervising work crews and guaranteeing a cost-effective extraction process.
Location Demands
Many petroleum engineers work on location at the drilling site. This can mean working far from home, moving on a regular basis or even living on a barge in the ocean. On the other hand, a foreign location is what attracts many petroleum engineers to this particular profession. It is field that can allow an employee to travel to oil-rich nations as far away as Africa and the Middle East.
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