Fifty Years of Change in the Petroleum Engineering Profession

Abstract

Without a doubt, the petroleum engineers of today are very different from those of yesteryear. They are trained differently, think differently, operate differently, and use a different tool kit from that of their predecessors. Some of the changes in the profession are obvious, such as the availability of a more sophisticated tool kit and the presence of women in every facet of the business. Other changes have been more subtle, including engineers' attitude toward their profession, improved communications skills, and the rise of information overload. Women Join the Ranks One of the most profound changes in petroleum engineering since 1957 has been the participation of female engineers in a career field that had been overwhelmingly male. Exceedingly rare 50 years ago, female engineers and managers are now common. "Our industry is still underserved by the female half of society, but it is a far cry from the 1950s and before," said James Pappas, Global Technology Director for Devon Energy and SPE's Technical Director for Production and Operations. "Now more than ever, women are needed in the workforce because the industry has never been so short on engineers. To have excluded half of the population in the past from such an important career amounts to nothing less than a huge case of short-sightedness by the industry." Many of the first wave of women entering the profession were themselves daughters of oilmen, who encouraged them to pursue careers in petroleum while simultaneously cautioning the young women that the oil patch could indeed be a difficult place for them to work and succeed. Some of the obstacles included the difficulty of accommodating both men and women on offshore rigs, and sometimes women were not welcome by the wives of men working aboard a drilling and production platform offshore. "Equality legislation during the 1970s and early 1980s did much to open doors for women and other minorities in our profession," says C.O. (Doc) Stokley, vice president of R&D for TAM International and a 42-year veteran petroleum engineer. "The result has been a much smoother path for women and other minority engineers during the past several decades." The Move to Teamwork Depending on the culture of the company, some engineers during the 1950s and 1960s began to be exposed to multiple disciplines, such as drilling, completions, workover, fracturing, production, reservoir, and other areas in an effort to broaden their knowledge and experience. But other companies believed it was better for engineers to focus on a single discipline. By the end of the 1970s, the industry was a mix of specialists and multidiscipline generalists. This period also brought closer together the exploration and production sides of the business.