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.
Whole novels have been written about peak oil, so I could not do it justice here. I would just say that because petroleum delivers an unbeatable amount of btu's per unit volume as compared to other energy sources and because there is a mature and highly functioning infrastructure to refine and deliver it to the market, it can continue to command high prices. The high prices fuel technological motivation to find more oil. Horizontal drilling combined with fracturing is a splendid example of how we have now economically unlocked reserves that we knew were there. Because we can drill multiple wells from one surface location, we are able to produce the oil (and gas) with a smaller impact on the environment than previously. I think more breakthroughs will come in the future so it is hard to predict when/if we will hit peak oil.
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I am surprised that you have not been able to find a job. If you are a US citizen and applying for work in the USA, you may want to ask some of the potential employers why they did not make you an offer. If you are not a US citizen, the issue could be that employers don't want to sponsor you for a green card. You say that you did well in school, but does your resume adequately reflect that? Consider getting a recommendation letter from a professor. I would definitely consider applying to a service company before too long because it will not look good on your resume to be unemployed. You might also want to contact a consulting firm that would hire you out as a contractor to E&P firms. They might take you on as a contractor and then convert you to employee after they have seen what you can do.
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The major oil companies do their own drilling for complex, higher risk wells such as those drilled in deep water or very remote locations and rank wildcat wells. I have seen some companies contract out the drilling of very simple, lower risk wells on a turn key basis to service companies but I don't think this is a very significant portion of the number of wells drilled. ultimately, the liability for safe and environmentally sound operations rests with the oil company, so it is in their best interest to be involved most of the time.
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I don't know what a PGDip is and I don't know what country you are in. I can only answer questions on conditions in the USA. Sorry.
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Claims Adjuster
Will you get disciplined if you approve too many claims?
CPR Trainer
Are you supposed to perform CPR differently on a man vs. a woman?
Cruise Ship Officer
Is the "women and children first" rule still in effect?
Okay - what makes you think I am a man? :) I doubt that a Petroleum Engineering Technology Degree / Certificate would be worthless. The important issue is the credentials / reputation of the institution granting the degree and if you can get a job in a location where you have access to classes taught at night or on weekends to pursue a bachelor's degree (if you have the energy to work full time and go to school). With a technology degree, you would likely be doing some of the same entry level work that an engineer will do when they first start working. You just won't be able to progress to the more advanced tasks. However, you will probably get a fabulous opportunity working as a technicican to really understand how the company works as you progress in your education. Some of the smartest rig superintendents and operations superintendents I have worked with have only a high school education or just a year or two of college but they are life long learners and understand everything about how a drilling rig works. If you can earn your degree while working full time (or take a break to go finish your degree) I think your hard work will earn you a lot of respect. Best of luck to you.
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The purpose of this forum is to answer questions about what it is like to work as a petroleum and/or environmental engineer, not to do people's work for them. Sorry, but you need to consult a textbook.
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Both are good choices. It really depends on what you enjoy doing. Petroleum Engineering seems offers a bit more variety because you could be a reservoir engineer, drilling engineer, subsurface engineering, etc. However, you need to research the requirements for a graduate degree in Petroleum engineering. Depending on the undergraduate courses you took, you may have to spend quite a bit of time taking undergraduate engineering courses before you are allowed to take the graduate level engineering courses.
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