ChemE/PetE

Hi!

I'm wondering if it's worth pursuing an UG PetE route or take the UG ChemE route then specialise later to PetE at PG? I know IC only offers PG PetE and others like Manchester offer UG PetE. Also, HW is on par with IC for PetE. Given the choice, I'd rather IC if going the PG route for the reputation if I do decide to move outside oil after all.

1) The first concern is job availability. Worldwide peak production is inevitable and renewables won't be an overnight substitute either. The so called "shortage" of PetE's has pulled tons of graduates into the upstream industry in last few years, but the real shortage is for experienced pros. How saturated are openings for reservoir, production, drilling engs?

2) The second concern is job options. If taking the UG ChemE before PG PetE then at least I'll have pharma, good ol' process and oil (albeit downstream) to choose from rather than all eggs in oil for the UG PetE route.

The UG PetE route risks "no one would touch me with petroleum engineering on my resume" according to http://www.indeed.com/forum/gen/Career-Advice/Frustrated-engineers-is-my-boyfriend-only-one/t409682.

3) Both routes also allows oil/blend trading e.g. BP, Maersk etc.?

What're you're thoughts? TY.

Reply 1

HugoDuchovny

16

Original post by oiler_051

Hi!

What're you're thoughts? TY.

I graduate from the Pet. Eng course at Manchester this summer. I'm starting a job with Shell as a Reservoir Engineer from July.

1.) Yes there is a worldwide demand. And yes it's for experienced professionals.
But major operators and service companies have graduate programs for reservoir, production and drilling engineers. They're competitive, but so is investment banking.

2.) Yes if you do undergrad Chem Eng, you can do a masters in Pet. Eng and downstream opportunities.

It's absolutely untrue that nobody will "touch you with pet eng". It's one example, and it doesn't mean there's a problem with the degree. More than often it's a problem with the individual.

A lot of my senior friends who have graduated are working at major companies - BP, Shell, Total, Schlumberger. A lot of them after doing the Pet. BEng are doing/did an MSc at Imperial or Heriot Watt which they sailed through having covered a substantial part at undergrad.

Companies like BP and Shell regularly hire interns from my course. And as a matter of fact more Petroleum Engineering students at Manchester have had internships at oil companies than Chemical engineering students. The oil companies are becoming more specific about roles and role suitability.

3.) Yes both routes allow trading. A lot of major banks which invest in oil companies actually hire experienced Reservoir Engineers for risk analysis and decision making.

The point to understand is, do undergrad Pet Eng if you genuinely know and are very confident from the start that you want to work upstream as a Reservoir, Production or Drilling engineer.

Upstream petroleum engineering is very competitive, and more difficult to get into than downstream food or pharmaceuticals. I don't think it presents added risk over Chem Eng if you know what you want, where you want to be and are committed.

It's a risk for individuals who pursue it for the financial allure without really doing research into what exactly it involves, requires and demands.

Reply 2

oiler_051

OP

Wow, congrats on securing a reservoir eng post!

Thanks for going through each point Hugo. It has helped shed some light on the UK state of affairs given A&M in US is advising potential candidates to seriously consider before applying.

You mentioned that oil companies are being more selective about background, would you be able to share relative proportions of pure PetE and PG PetE that was hired as reservoir engineers in your cohort? Secondly, which universities are they alumni of in general? Finally, will you be mainly based in Aberdeen, London or even abroad despite the occasional need for travel (albeit less than production or drilling engs)?

I understand it may not be convenient to answer these openly, if you feel comfortable with sharing these, feel free to PM me. I appreciate it.

Reply 3

HugoDuchovny

16

Original post by oiler_051

Wow, congrats on securing a reservoir eng post!

Thanks for going through each point Hugo. It has helped shed some light on the UK state of affairs given A&M in US is advising potential candidates to seriously consider before applying.

You mentioned that oil companies are being more selective about background, would you be able to share relative proportions of pure PetE and PG PetE that was hired as reservoir engineers in your cohort? Secondly, which universities are they alumni of in general? Finally, will you be mainly based in Aberdeen, London or even abroad despite the occasional need for travel (albeit less than production or drilling engs)?

I understand it may not be convenient to answer these openly, if you feel comfortable with sharing these, feel free to PM me. I appreciate it.

I can't say much about the proportions because I did an undergrad Pet. Eng degree.
What I can say is I know a lot of people from my course who did the undergrad and got jobs, and I know a lot of people who did a PE Bachelors followed by a PE Masters and then got a job.

But historically, the industry is preferential towards candidates with a bachelors and a masters degree, and those with a masters stand a higher chance. Those with a bachelors and masters both in PE stand the highest chance to secure a PE job.

I'm of course speaking about the situation in the UK and assuming you're from the US can't comment much on employability there. I'd have thought A&M graduates were highly sought after by industry. In the UK PE graduates are mostly from Manchester, Imperial College, Heriot Watt and these are the main PE target hiring spots.

I'm posted in the Netherlands. It's a graduate role so I'm told the first 3 years involve a lot of training and travelling. I start in July so I'll be able to say more about it then.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4

oiler_051

OP

Original post by HugoDuchovny

I can't say much about the proportions because I did an undergrad Pet. Eng degree.
What I can say is I know a lot of people from my course who did the undergrad and got jobs, and I know a lot of people who did a PE Bachelors followed by a PE Masters and then got a job.

But historically, the industry is preferential towards candidates with a bachelors and a masters degree, and those with a masters stand a higher chance. Those with a bachelors and masters both in PE stand the highest chance to secure a PE job.

I'm of course speaking about the situation in the UK and assuming you're from the US can't comment much on employability there. I'd have thought A&M graduates were highly sought after by industry. In the UK PE graduates are mostly from Manchester, Imperial College, Heriot Watt and these are the main PE target hiring spots.

I'm posted in the Netherlands. It's a graduate role so I'm told the first 3 years involve a lot of training and travelling. I start in July so I'll be able to say more about it then.

Nope, I'm from the UK. I was just comparing the US and UK situations. In the US there is still the shale boom (enabling them to be a net exporter of natural gas over the last few years) to absorb new cohorts of graduates. Whereas I am concerned about the UK's potential oversupply of new graduates with no underlying 'boom'.

Thanks for your insight, I shall take a step of faith and apply. Please keep us posted on your views and experiences in the industry when you start in July. Enjoy and good luck!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 5

HugoDuchovny

16

Original post by oiler_051

Nope, I'm from the UK. I was just comparing the US and UK situations. In the US there is still the shale boom (enabling them to be a net exporter of natural gas over the last few years) to absorb new cohorts of graduates. Whereas I am concerned about the UK's potential oversupply of new graduates with no underlying 'boom'.

Thanks for your insight, I shall take a step of faith and apply. Please keep us posted on your views and experiences in the industry when you start in July. Enjoy and good luck!

Yes there's a shale gas boom in the USA. But that doesn't impact PE recruitment as positively as you may think. Having just completed an intensive Petroleum Economics module take it from me..

The reasons being -

-Shale gas is being developed more by smaller companies with primary interest in gas. Gas is exponentially cheaper than oil (Barrel of Oil = 100$+, 1mscf of gas is on average $3)

- The boom resulted in gas prices crashing down in the US, which actually had a serious negative financial impact on a lot of companies - Woodside Petroleum, HESS, etc. It's common sense, if a company makes a lot of money, it expands and hires more. This hasn't exactly been the case with Shale gas. Shale gas was great for the US economy, and secured it's energy self reliance. But it hasn't been exactly great for petroleum companies.

- The real valuable resource is Oil, which is why super majors - BP, Shell, Total haven't invested in shale gas as much as you'd expect. More than 90% of big company revenues comes from the oil, the gas accounts for a fraction. The gas is produced and sold because it's not possible to control what comes out of the subsurface. Usually gas just ends up arriving to the surface with oil so it has to be sold.

- So shale gas is not a reliable indicator of recruitment. The North Sea still has considerable volumes left and there is still investment going into it by super majors. Contrary to popular belief it's not the end of UK oil, nor is the industry here coming to an abrupt end. The media likes to over-exaggerate. If you speak to any relevant industry professional they'll tell you the same thing.

- You'll learn about both Oil and Gas reservoir engineering in a PE degree. But due to the economic value of Oil being the highest, Petroleum Engineering as a discipline naturally places more emphasis on oil extraction.

- The UK has no boom, but there's still enough for the next century to necessitate hiring petroleum engineers. It's why Reservoir, Production and Drilling grad schemes exist.

Lastly, understand this -

BP is a British company but has more assets globally than in the UK. Who do you think works in the global assets in Azerbaijan, Trinidad, Gulf of Mexico, USA, Russia, Iraq..etc. British Engineers work in every single asset. So what if UK has no boom.

Same with Shell, part Dutch and part British.

and Total is French.

Point being, if you're European, don't worry about their not being a boom here. The big king companies are European, and most of their employees worldwide are European.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 6

chrbro56

Similar question, I'm a chemical engineering graduate from one of the top 3 undergraduate departments for this subject. The dilemma is I work in a permanent role in downstream oil in gas and hold a place on the imperial msc petroleum engineering course... hoping to get into reservoir engineering in london/aberdeen. Your honest opinions please... if you were me what do you think your chances in getting such jobs (am open to any service companies, supermajors etc)? Or should I just be content with my current job? Thnks

Reply 7

HugoDuchovny

16

Original post by chrbro56

Similar question, I'm a chemical engineering graduate from one of the top 3 undergraduate departments for this subject. The dilemma is I work in a permanent role in downstream oil in gas and hold a place on the imperial msc petroleum engineering course... hoping to get into reservoir engineering in london/aberdeen. Your honest opinions please... if you were me what do you think your chances in getting such jobs (am open to any service companies, supermajors etc)? Or should I just be content with my current job? Thnks

With the MSc in petroleum engineering you'll have a better chance at moving to upstream reservoir engineering than without the MSc.

Reservoir engineering is highly competitive, more so than downstream engineering simply because the industry doesn't hire many every year. But if you're passionate and stand out you should have a good chance.

The MSc at imperial has been a traditional route for many years for chemical engineers interested in working upstream.

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Reply 8

chrbro56

Original post by HugoDuchovny

With the MSc in petroleum engineering you'll have a better chance at moving to upstream reservoir engineering than without the MSc.

Reservoir engineering is highly competitive, more so than downstream engineering simply because the industry doesn't hire many every year. But if you're passionate and stand out you should have a good chance.

The MSc at imperial has been a traditional route for many years for chemical engineers interested in working upstream.

Posted from TSR Mobile

In your opinion HugoDuchovny, out of reservoir, production and drilling engineering routes, how would you rank demand? Please rank demand on two separate bases, 1. from industry shortage, 2. from majority students'/graduates' preference, thanks

ChemE/PetE

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