Petroleum Engineers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing, or well surveys.
• Evaluate findings to develop, design, or test equipment or processes.
• Assign work to staff to obtain maximum utilization of personnel.
• Assess costs and estimate the production capabilities and economic value of oil and gas wells, to evaluate the economic viability of potential drilling sites.
• Coordinate the installation, maintenance, and operation of mining and oil field equipment.
• Supervise the removal of drilling equipment, the removal of any waste, and the safe return of land to structural stability when wells or pockets are exhausted.
• Inspect oil and gas wells to determine that installations are completed.
• Test machinery and equipment to ensure that it is safe and conforms to performance specifications.
• Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.
• Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
• Take samples to assess the amount and quality of oil, the depth at which resources lie, and the equipment needed to properly extract them.
• Design and implement environmental controls on oil and gas operations.
• Interpret drilling and testing information for personnel.
• Conduct engineering research experiments to improve or modify mining and oil machinery and operations.
• Confer with scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to resolve design, research, and testing problems.
• Coordinate the installation, maintenance, and operation of mining and oil field equipment.
• Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.
• Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
• Write technical reports for engineering and management personnel.
• Coordinate the installation, maintenance, and operation of mining and oil field equipment.
• Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
• Assist engineering and other personnel to solve operating problems.
• Design or modify mining and oil field machinery and tools, applying engineering principles.
• Coordinate activities of workers engaged in research, planning, and development.
• Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
• Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
• Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.

Skills

• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

Abilities

• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

Knowledge

• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Education

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

×

Education and Training Opportunities

Close

Pay

Washington Annual Salary

129660/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

62.34/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

80

Yearly Projected Openings

10

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Integrity
• Dependability
• Initiative
• Cooperation

Tools

• Desktop computers
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
• Scanners

Technology

• Analytical or scientific software
• Business intelligence and data analysis software
• Computer aided design CAD software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Development environment software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Financial analysis software
• Internet browser software
• Object or component oriented development software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Process mapping and design software
• Project management software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software