Petroleum Engineering Education: Oil Industry Viewpoint

Abstract

Publication Rights Reserved Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines with the paper. Abstract There is a continual need in the oil industry for Petroleum Engineers to work as operational, staff and research engineers and as supervisors or managers with a technical background. This paper explores the methods of hiring and training used by the larger companies in developing engineers to fill these career opportunities. Suggestions are made by the author on "How the universities and colleges teaching Petroleum Engineering can improve the academic curriculum and educational counseling in order to better prepare their graduates for work in the oil industry." Introduction One of the primary objectives of the Petroleum Engineering schools should be to prepare students to perform engineering work which will be profitable to themselves and to the industry in which they will be working. Therefore, it is important that the students studying Petroleum Engineering and the men teaching this profession keep in mind, "What does the oil industry expect and look for in the graduate Petroleum Engineer?" In order to better understand this question, it is necessary to investigate the hiring practices and training methods employed by the larger companies in the oil industry. This is true because a large proportion of the new graduates are employed by oil companies or corporations of at least fairly large size as opposed to very small companies or self-employment. In fact, many Petroleum Engineers working for small companies or self-employed have received previous training with a larger oil company. CAREER POSSIBILITIES The career possibilities for a graduate Petroleum Engineer can be broken down into three general categories:General Operational and Staff Engineering The largest number of Petroleum Engineers are included in this group which is defined as those engineers whose work is primarily concerned with engineering problems and the operational procedures to carry their engineering work through to completion in the field.Supervisors and Managers with an Engineerin