What Do They Do?
In a sense, petroleum engineers make the world run. They search the far corners of the earth to find and produce oil and gas supplies. They design oil wells, storage tanks, and transportation systems. They supervise the construction and operation of oil and gas fields. Petroleum engineers are researching new technologies to allow more oil and gas to be extracted from each well. They keep the energy flowing to light and heat our homes. They fuel our transportation systems and keep our industries operating. Economical and environmentally safe production of petroleum requires a wide spectrum of knowledge. Petroleum engineers also contribute to non-energy concerns such as underground waste disposal, ground water remediation, and hydrology.
Examples of Work Projects
- Consulting with geologists and contractors to design and supervise a drilling operation
- Developing new equipment to optimize oil and gas production
- Creating computer models to simulate oil well performance
- Lobbying for environmentally safe oil recovery processes
Various Job Titles
- Process Engineer
- Project Engineer
- Production Engineer
- Instrumentation Engineer
Some Employers of Petroleum Engineers
- Petrochemical Industry
- Contracting Companies
- Power Companies
Major Areas of Specialization
- Drilling
- Environmental Remediation
- Fluid Properties/ Fluid Behavior
- Improved Crude Recovery
- Production Operations
- Reservoir Characteristics
- Reservoir Modeling
- Thermal Methods
- Well Completions and Stimulation
Interests Related to the Field
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Solving problems
- International travel
- Outdoor activities
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