Hey budding engineer! Want to work for Total, Chevron, BP and even OPEC? Become a petroleum engineer. However, the oil world is a tough business to get into right now. Should you even get involved during the oil slow-down that is happening due to the push for renewable energies?
OPEC is currently holding talks to debate the oil crisis looming over the world as oil prices continue to plummet. A French analyst, Abhishek Deshpande talking to the Wall Street Journal said: “If oil prices go back to $100, then demand goes down the drain. OPEC should be worried.” OPEC now has an oversupply of oil and doesn’t know what do with it, with petroleum engineers still making their money (having to engineer the output limits of oil) but the oil in question not being sold. OPEC is seeing a lack of investment into the industry on unprecedented levels.
Uptal Gosh, CEO and president of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies would encourage students to strive to be petroleum engineers.
“To be a petroleum engineer you need to have knowledge of disciplines like computer science, instrumentation and control and safety, health and environment management among others. Petroleum engineers, especially those working in the upstream sector, need to be as sensitive towards the environment would be. In your quest to find oil, you should not harm the environment,” said Gosh, speaking to the Hindustan Times.
Payscale says a petroleum engineer can make up to $98 an hour. Interested yet? IF you do happen to be interested, then so are many other graduates who are queueing up to get into an industry that is seeing job cuts due to the crisis. The Society of Petroleum Engineers in the United States reported that in 2014, 95% of graduates with their bachelor’s in petroleum engineering found work. The following year (2015) only 64% of graduates found work. What will the results be in 2016? Time will tell. Is it a good time to get into petroleum engineering?