Oil Comp Engr
38 Years Experience
Houston, TX
Female, 60
I recently retired from a major integrated oil company after 38 years. I have degrees in Civil and Petroleum Engineering. I worked with safety, health and environmental management systems and operations in the upstream (finding and producing oil and gas) and downstream (refining, chemicals and distributions) areas. I travelled all over world, enduring good & bad business cycles and good and bad managers.
I suggest you read the posts at the beginning. I've already answered this question
Share Answer: 
That's a somewhat subjective question, but if you want to measure it on a basis of the total carbon footprint, then clearly oil sands production creates the largest carbon footprint. To extract oil from oil sands requires a very large amount of energy to separate the petroleum from the reservoir rock. That energy is typically generated by burning fossil fuel (either oil or natural gas). The ratio of energy obtained for every unit of energy input is referred to as the Energy Returned on Investment (EROI). For conventional oil production, the ratio is about 25 to 1. For oil sands mining, it is about 5 to 1. This is why oil sands mining is only economical when the price of oil is relatively high. So, from the standpoint of carbon footprint, I would consider it the worst. In terms of net impact to the environment, with proper regulation and oversight, industry can and has been able to responsibly extract petroleum and return the environment to a suitable state in a relatively reasonable period of time. So, I can't really rate all other methods as to which is "best". It is highly dependent on local conditions, local regulations and the integrity and internal standards of the company doing the work.
Share Answer: 
When I started out, I spent about 25% of my time at the rig or out in the field. Currently, I'm gone about 10% of the time. I have had some jobs where I worked a regular 9 to 5 day in the office for months and months on end, so had a lot of time with my family. It really depends on the business cycle and what area of the business you specialize in. When I was a reservoir engineer, I almost never travelled. As a drilling engineer, expect to travel quite a bit more.
Share Answer: 
I can't really make a prediction on that. Nobody knows what oil prices will be like.
Share Answer: 
Security / Bodyguard
Have you ever had to disarm an attacker?
Sitcom Writer
Is reality TV here to stay?
Suicide Hotline Manager
Has anyone killed themselves during a call?
Please check out earlier posts. I've already addressed that question.
Share Answer: 
If you are still in school, the number one thing you could do would be to land an internship working for an oil and gas company. That will give you some practical experience. You could also take some courses in Petroleum engineering and geology. The basic problem solving skills you have learned as a chemical engineer will serve you well as a petroleum engineer. Based on the current market conditions, however, the competition is very intense for petroleum engineering jobs. You need to have great grades, good leadership experience (president of a technical society, a sorority or fraternity), good people skills and solid recommendations from professors.
Share Answer: 
I certainly don't use ALL of the math I learned every day when I do Petroleum engineering work, however, I can say that all the math I learned serves as the foundation for many of the software programs and simulations in reservoir modeling and drilling engineering design work that I have done. In order to trust the software that you use, you do need to understand what goes on behind the scenes. I will have to say that one of my favorite classes in college was Systems Science and Mathematics. The course was composed entirely of real world problems and the various mathematical methods used to solve each kind of problem.
Share Answer: 
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
