Petroleum Engineering 101 Concepts of Engineering & Scientific Research and Design Thurgood Marshall High School Mr. McClean.

Petroleum Engineering 101Concepts of Engineering & Scientific Research and Design

Thurgood Marshall High School

Mr. McClean

History

The profession got its start in 1914 within the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). The first Petroleum Engineering degree was conferred in 1915 by the University of Pittsburgh. Since then, the profession has evolved to solve increasingly difficult situations, as much of the "low hanging fruit" of the world's oil fields have been found and depleted. Improvements in computer modeling, materials and the application of statistics, probability analysis, and new technologies like horizontal drilling and enhanced oil recovery, have drastically improved the toolbox of the petroleum engineer in recent decades.

What does it Encompass?

Economic and environmentally safe production of petroleum resources requires creative application of a wide spectrum of knowledge, including, but not limited to:

Mathematics

Physics

Geology

Chemistry

Petroleum engineering overlaps with many of the engineering disciplines, such as: mechanical, chemical, and civil.

Petroleum engineers divide themselves into several types:

Reservoir engineers use technology and expertise to pinpoint and efficiently allocate usable fossil fuel reservoirs underground for oil and gas companies.

Drilling engineers design and implement procedures to drill wells as safely and economically as possible. They work closely with the drilling contractor, service contractors, and compliance personnel, as well as with geologists and other technical specialists.

Production engineers, including subsurface engineers, handle the daily management of oil and gas production operations and help to maximize profitability by increasing revenue and lowering operating expenses

What do Petroleum Engineers Do?

The typical petroleum engineer works in the field. First, he/she scouts prospective fields that have a strong chance of having oil or gas underground. Then, he/she takes samples from the site and determines the amount and quality of the oil, how deep the oil is, and the equipment that will be needed to pump it out. The petroleum engineer then oversees construction and operations at the site and plans accordingly. Finally, when the oil well is exhausted, he/she supervises the cleaning up of drilling equipment and the safe return of the land to structural stability. He/she also oversees the removal of any waste (hazardous or otherwise) left at the oil site.

What do Petroleum Engineers Do?

These stages of work can be quick three month jobs or extended to as long as several years. Patience, sound judgment, and maturity are all required features for the successful petroleum engineer. Self-confidence is also crucial, as on site decisions have to be made quickly and surely. A Petroleum engineer must be able to handle failure. Speculative oil drilling is somewhere between a science and an art; expect to frequently plan rigs that prove barren or that yield only limited amounts of oil. Despite the frustrations that go with the petroleum industry, petroleum engineers seem to enjoy being out in the field where they can get their hands dirty. One big satisfaction for many that were surveyed was that they work with both their minds and their hands.

Advanced Super Vector Machines

Petroleum engineers increasingly use advanced computers, not only in analysis of exploration data and simulation of reservoir behavior, but also in automation of oilfield production and drilling operations. Petroleum companies own many of the world’s supercomputers.

Vector computers are being used in petroleum engineering to simulate the flow of oil and gas in a reservoir. In exploration for oil and gas, supercomputers are being used to store, classify, and interpret huge amounts of geophysical seismic data.

ChallengesPetroleum engineers have a future full of challenges and opportunities. They must develop and apply new technology to recover hydrocarbons from oil shale, tar sands, and offshore oil and gas fields. They must also devise new techniques to recover oil left in the ground after application of conventional producing techniques.

What’s are Hydrocarbons?

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds that are made of only hydrogen and carbon atoms. They are found in many places, including crude oil and natural gas.

The majority of hydrocarbons found on earth naturally occur in crude oil, where decomposed organic matter provides an abundance of carbon and hydrogen which, when bonded, can connect to form limitless chains.

TravelSince many petroleum companies conduct worldwide operations, petroleum engineers have the opportunity for assignments all over the world. Petroleum engineers must solve the variety of technological, political, and economic problems encountered in these assignments. These exciting challenges combine to offer a petroleum engineer a most rewarding career.

What to ExpectIn order to maximize hydrocarbon recovery, petroleum engineers must be involved in all stages of petroleum development and production. Such a broad range of responsibilities guarantees a multi-disciplinary working environment that requires expertise in a wide range of areas including petrophysics, drilling and product operations, reservoir engineering, production geology, production technology, and field development economics.

Petroleum engineers can expect varied experiences

when working in the petroleum industry.

As their careers progress, petroleum engineers must also expand in other areas of their work, such as liaising with geoscientists and other engineers; and predicting production potential with commercial managers. They are also responsible for creating detailed development plans of reservoir performance using mathematical models to ensure maximum economic recovery. Permanent global mobility is also necessary.

What to Expect

Petroleum engineers are involved in all phases of oil exploration, from choosing prospective sites through taking down the drilling rig after extracting the oil. This can mean travel, long stays in unusual (and sometimes inhospitable) locations and often with uncertain working conditions.

What to Expect

Society of Petroleum Engineers

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is the largest professional society for petroleum engineers and publishes much information concerning the industry. Petroleum engineering education is available at 17 universities in the United States and many more throughout the world - primarily in oil producing regions - and some oil companies have considerable in-house petroleum engineering training classes.

Society of Petroleum Engineers10777 Westheimer Rd #1075Houston, TX 77042

Petroleum Engineer SalaryPetroleum engineering has historically been one of the highest paid engineering disciplines, although there is a tendency for mass layoffs when oil prices decline. In a June 4th, 2007 article, Forbes.com reported that petroleum engineering was the 24th best paying job in the United States. The 2010 National Association of Colleges and Employers survey showed petroleum engineers as the highest paid 2010 graduates at an average $125,220 annual salary. For individuals with experience, salaries can go from $170,000 to $260,000 annually. They make an average of $112,000 a year and about $53.75 per hour.

References

• http://www.pge.utexas.edu/about/petroleum

• http://www.petroleumengineer.at/petroleum-engineer/pe-extended-overview.html