Petroleum Engineering
Petroleum engineers explore for and devise methods for the production of oil and natural gas. If a workable reservoir containing oil or natural gas is discovered, petroleum engineers work to achieve the maximum profitable recovery from the reservoir by determining and developing the most efficient production methods.
Because only a small proportion of the oil and gas in a reservoir will flow out under natural forces, petroleum engineers develop and use various enhanced recovery methods. These include injecting water, chemicals, or steam into an oil reservoir to force more of the oil out, and horizontal drilling or fracturing to connect more of a gas reservoir to a well. Since even the best methods in use today recover only a portion of the oil and gas in a reservoir, petroleum engineers work to find ways to increase this proportion.
Petroleum Engineer
I am Mounir, and I am a petroleum engineer. I got interested in petroleum engineering while attending four years of college in mining engineering. Several years after earning a bachelor's degree in mining engineering, I earned a master's degree in petroleum engineering.
At MMS I calculate oil and gas reserves for the Gulf of Mexico fields. My job in MMS is to estimate how many cubic feet and how many barrels of oil there are in the Gulf of Mexico.
Educational Requirements
High School — Basically a math and science curriculum, algebra, physics, chemistry, and computer science.
College — Basically science and math curriculum including geology, physics, chemistry, computer science, and all requisite petroleum engineering courses.
Career Opportunities
Petroleum engineers held over 14,000 jobs in 1992, mostly in the petroleum industry and closely allied fields. Employers include major oil companies, smaller, independent oil exploration, production, and service companies; engineering consulting firms; Government Agencies; oil field services; equipment suppliers; and independent consultants.
Most petroleum engineers work where oil and gas are found. Large numbers are employed in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and California, including offshore sites. Many American petroleum engineers work overseas in oil-producing countries.
The price of oil has a major effect on the level of employment opportunities for petroleum engineers in the United States. A high price of oil and gas makes it profitable for oil exploration firms to seek oil and gas reservoirs, and they will hire petroleum engineers to do so. To read more about petroleum engineering jobs read "Women with Careers in Engineering".
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Last update: Thursday November 29 2007
