Petroleum Engineer

— Adapted from Parke A. Dickey by American Potential Gas Committee.

Who is a Petroleum Engineer?

Petroleum Engineers help to discover natural sources of oil and examine the same. They design, test and implement methods for oil exploration. They also work in the area of developing the latest machines and equipments which can be used in the extraction and processing of oil. When placed on the sight they operate the sophisticated machinery and equipment and also help the software engineers write the code for making operating system for these machinery. They also do financial analysis to find out the extent of extraction so that the operations remain profitable.

Petroleum Engineering is divided into two parts -

Upstream Sector - The upstream sector consists of activities like exploration, production and exploitation of oil and natural gases. After gaining a qualification in petroleum engineering, the engineers work in the exploration and production activities of petroleum and other related products. Using the latest drilling technology and geophysics for the exploration of oil reservoirs, they exploit the same for maximum output.

Downstream Sector - The downstream sector consist activities such as the refining, marketing and distributing of petroleum products. Production is not the only work carried out in a petroleum company and the job of petroleum engineer does not get over as the oil is produced, rather, it starts at this stage. Refining process is crucial for an oil product as then only it can be used. Marketing and distributing department may require a petroleum engineer to have some management degree.