by: Noemi
Melo
I am writing this blog because I'm sure that, just like
myself, many of you didn't know that there was such a thing as a petroleum
engineer. I had no idea that there were even petroleum engineers and when I
heard about this I was so shocked because there are so many engineering jobs
not just the simple ones like mechanical engineers, civil engineers, and so on.
Petroleum engineers design and supervise the process of
getting oil and natural gas out of the ground and into storage tanks. Many of
these engineers work for oil companies, however some work for firms that sell
equipment and tools to oil companies. Others teach in colleges and universities
or they serve as consultants to industries or the government.
First the site must be well selected and then the petroleum
engineers decide how they are going to drill. They choose equipment and
supervise workers who install and operate it. If oil or gas is found, petroleum
engineers test samples of the oil-bearing rock layers. Then they test the
reservoir where the oil or gas is located to see whether the oil or gas will
flow by itself or whether it must be forced from the ground. The results of
these tests help petroleum engineers choose the best method and equipment for
the job.
Petroleum engineers must bring the oil or gas to the
surface as cheaply and safely as possible. This all depends on many things. If
salt water and oil are found together, then these engineers must find ways to
return the salt water to the ground. If the salt water is spilled, it can
damage crops and plants. Also, when petroleum engineers are involved with
offshore drilling they try to prevent costly spills that waste oil and pollute
water and the shorelines. They also supervise the early stages of natural gas
processing.
The education needed is a bachelor’s degree in petroleum
engineering. A degree in geology, geophysics, mining, or civil or mechanical
engineering, plus course work in petroleum engineering is also good. A master’s
or doctoral degree is usually necessary for a position in research or training.
Petroleum engineering sounds very interesting and
rewarding. Anyone can become a petroleum engineer, if you are interested and
want to learn more about this career go out there and research more
information. I hope this was helpful and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.
Very interesting article. I never thought about engineers for petroleum but it makes sense. There was a lot of helpful information in this post about what they do and what's required of them in terms of education.
ReplyDeleteI mostly think about engineers as people who work at construction sites. This post makes me think about all the people who works at the oil rigs. Are all of those people who work there engineers or are those guys just workers? The degree requirement helped me a little bit just in case I want to be a petroleum engineer, I at least know the requirements. It would be nice to know about how much money they make.
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