Petroleum Engineers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Assess costs and estimate the production capabilities and economic value of oil and gas wells, to evaluate the economic viability of potential drilling sites.
• Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
• Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
• Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.
• Test machinery and equipment to ensure that it is safe and conforms to performance specifications.
• Confer with scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to resolve design, research, and testing problems.
• Coordinate activities of workers engaged in research, planning, and development.
• Write technical reports for engineering and management personnel.
• 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.
• Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
• Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
• Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing, or well surveys.
• Interpret drilling and testing information for personnel.
• 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.
• Conduct engineering research experiments to improve or modify mining and oil machinery and operations.
• Assign work to staff to obtain maximum utilization of personnel.
• Evaluate findings to develop, design, or test equipment or processes.
• 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.
• Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.
• Design and implement environmental controls on oil and gas operations.
• 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

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• 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.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.
• 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.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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