Petroleum Engineering - Careers, Salary, Jobs, Scope

Why PETROLEUM ENGINEERING?

Petroleum Engineers are specialized in the methods of extracting oil and gas from the economical locations. This field of engineering is concerned with development of hydrocarbon from crude oil or hydrocarbon. These are the basic work of a Petroleum Engineer–

• They are the designer of the equipments that help to achieve the maximum profit from the procedure that is used to extract the oil.
• They find new recovery methods, like injecting water, chemicals and gases into the oil reservoir so that the oil can be forced out. They do computer-controlled drilling to effectively retrieve oil at the site.
• Their work is to calculate the amount of oil that can be extracted and the expense that will be required for the whole procedure, so that the profit can be enhanced. Therefore, they try to recover more amount of oil and also try to lower the drilling and production charges.
• They also work with the geologist, and think of the new drilling methods that can be used safely during the operation at the extraction site.

They can work in both private and public sector, according to their will. Though, private sector offers lucrative pay as compared to government companies. They have to work outdoors at the operation site. They have to take care of the safety while the extracting procedure. All the other tasks of evaluating the operation site in terms of profit are done indoors.

Petroleum Engineer has to work for long works, around 40 hours a week. Sometimes during the high profile projects the working hours can be 50-60 hours a week.

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING: Jobs and Career Opportunities

Petroleum Engineering is one of the fastest growing sectors due to the hike in the demand of oil consumption. The engineers have come a long way from just drilling a hole underground. They are the new direction to produce oil, by new and sophisticated technologies. There are many tasks available for a young graduate like reservoir engineering, production engineering and drilling engineering.

The employments rates for Petroleum engineers are expected to grow at the rate of 10%. Job prospects for the engineers are favorable because of the growth of the sector worldwide. Many career options can open up after a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, as these engineers are demanded globally. There are various job opportunities in foreign countries like US, UK, Europe, Poland, China etc. Petroleum engineers can also go in the teaching field.

These can be the job titles of the petroleum graduates:

Production Engineer

After the drilling is complete, the production engineer takes over. Responsibility of the production engineer is finding an effective method to bring hydrocarbon to the surface. Developing of the field and increasing the efficiency of the production is a very important step. Therefore, production manager and reservoir manager works together.

Average salary- Rs 2.7-3.0 lakh per year

Chief Petroleum Engineer

They plan and develop engineering activities of the company. They formulate the programs for developing the schedules and constructing pump units.

Average salary- Rs 6-7 lakh per year

Reservoir Engineer

A reservoir engineer basically ascertains the oil in place and suggests the most appropriate technology to produce the oil from the economical environment. Reservoir engineers are responsible for predicting the amount of oil and gas that can be retrieved from the reservoir. This step is crucial to predict the profit while minimizing the cost of investment. Advanced reservoir helps in simulating the computer models that could predict the performance of the recovery techniques over a period of time.

Average salary- Rs 6.6-7.0 lakh per year

Drilling Engineer

The job of a drilling engineer is to examine all the parameters of drilling and follow the one with minimum expenditure. It is one of the most expensive parts of reservoir development. The drilling engineer has to ensure safety of the workers, and the environment during the operation.

Average salary- Rs 6.5-7.5 lakh per year

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING: Salary

Career prospects are quite attractive for a petroleum engineer. There is a great demand of efficient engineers and almost every young graduate gets a job either in India and overseas.

Petroleum engineers earn around 30,000-50,000 INR per month. Experience is one of the factors which highly influence the income.

Different government sector companies have a different pay scale. ONGC Petroleum Engineer’s salary varies between 28,037-66,634 INR per month, whereas engineers working with Essar Oil gets between 50,000-70,000 INR. Graduates can expect an increase in the pay with the increasing experience.

Undoubtedly, this sector is one of the most growing sectors due to increase in demand. There is a demand for Petroleum engineer in the private sector who offer handsome packages. Remuneration in this field is mainly dependant on knowledge, skill and capability and experience. Salary of an experienced employee can be around Rs 20-40 Lac pa.

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING: Recruiters

Petroleum Engineers are recruited by oil and gas companies all over the world. Following government and private companies have vacancies from time to time. Hence, you can also apply in the following companies:

• ONGC
• Reliance Industries
• Indian Oil Corporation
• Bharat Petroleum
• Gas Authority of India
• Oil India Limited
• Hindustan Oil Exploration
• India LPG
• Essar Oil Limited
• Oil Gas India
• Kochi Refineries Limited etc.
• Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL)
• GAIL
• Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd (HOEC)

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING: Syllabus

A person studying Petroleum Engineering should study maths in high school like algebra, trigonometry, calculus and science like physics, chemistry and biology.

For entry level, the person should have a degree which includes classes, laboratory work, and field studies. Through the course of the programme the individual is taught all these subjects to give an insight to the world of Petroleum Engineer.

• Material & Energy Flow Computation
• Applied Geology
• Mechanics of Solids
• Environmental Studies
• Fluid Mechanics
• Basic Electrical Engineering
• Basic Electronics Engineering
• Introduction to Petroleum Operations
• Drilling Engineering & Well Completion
• Surveying
• Reservoir Engineering
• Production Engineering
• Heat Transfer Processes
• Natural Gas Engineering
• Applied Numerical Methods
• Chemical thermodynamics
• Industrial Management
• Material Science
• Well Log Analysis and Well Testing

Popular Colleges offering PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

There are many colleges in India that provide the bachelors as well as the master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering. Below is a list of colleges offering petroleum engineering–

Requirements for PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

Students who wish to take the undergraduate course in Petroleum Engineering or a related branch should finish their higher education from a reputed institute. They should study Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in 10+2 so that they can have a better understanding about the subjects.

Students should go for a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from a recognized university. After graduation, they can apply at the various companies or they can go for higher education.

A student with engineering in Mining, Civil, Mechanical, Geophysics, Geology, Mechanical or Chemical can also make a career in Petroleum Engineering.

These are the skills that are required to be successful in this career.

• Problem Solving Skills
• Team Working Skills
• Numerical and analytical skills
• Conceptualization skills
• Communication skills

Why should you choose PETROLEUM ENGINEERING?

Petroleum Engineering is a fascinating field as the engineer’s work is to develop new methods for the development of oil and gas for future use. Oil is one basic requirement in our lives until we find an alternative. Therefore, this career option is one of the most growing professions in developed as well as developing countries. There are varieties of options available for a graduate and a post graduate.

The salary of a graduate in petroleum engineering is quite attractive and with knowledge and experience, a person can earn great salary packages. This is one of the most promising career options which are less explored by individuals and hence, the demand is quite high.