Petroleum Engineers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

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

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• 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.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Education

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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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:

• Innovation
• Perseverance
• Achievement Orientation
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Cautiousness
• Integrity

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