Petroleum engineering degrees are not very popular in India because
of fewer universities offering courses in petroleum engineering and less
awareness of this engineering field among the aspirants. Employment opportunities
are also not that great due to scarcity of oil in the market and low oil
prices. But job prospects are expected to rise for petroleum engineers
as the number of graduates passing out petroleum engineering would be
less than the number of jobs available. In India, almost all the job openings
are expected to arise out of the need to hire petroleum engineers in place
of those who leave due to retirement and transfer to other jobs and locations. With
a rise in oil prices, opportunities are likely to increase.
It is inevitable that most of the petroleum engineers would be employed
in places where oil and gas are located. So Opportunities in oil and gas
sector are ample in the Middle East with very high annual income packages.
Other countries and areas where much of the oil exploration and production
activity is taking place includes Africa, South America, Russia and the
north sea. In the USA; Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alaska, and California,
and certain offshore sites employ most of these engineers. But as Oil
prices are low as compared to the cost of exploration in the US, the growing
demand for petroleum is mostly met by imports. It is cheaper to purchase
needed oil from other countries, hence oil production firms may not hire
petroleum Engineers to look for oil and gas reservoirs.
Petroleum engineers are employed in jobs which are mainly concentrated
in oil and gas extraction, professional, scientific and technical services
and petroleum refining. Major oil corporations, both central and state;
and innumerable small and independent oil exploration, production, and
service companies are the employers for this profession. They may also
work for companies that produce drilling equipment, supplies and refining
processes. Those with higher degrees can opt for the research field. He/she
may join research labs as scientists or research fellow to carry out the
R&D processes. Research and development work in petroleum technology
is carried on at the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) in Dehradun.
They can also find jobs in educational institutions. One with a professional
degree in petroleum technology can find employment opportunities in government
undertakings like Indian Oil, Oil India Limited, HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum
Corporation Limited), BP (British Petroleum) and ONGC (Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation). Freshers may find opportunities in in public undertakings
as well as in corporate sector that deal with petroleum exploration and
extraction.
Petroleum engineers focus on a wide range of projects and activities.
Some focus on production challenges, identifying, testing, and implementing
methods for improving oil and gas production/ recovery. Others may focus
on safety issues, or maintenance support, identifying and planning upgrades
of equipment or systems.
The type of job a petroleum engineer has will often determine whether
how much they work indoors or outdoors. Many petroleum engineers work
on job sites, but others work in an office setting. There are strong international
travel opportunities for petroleum engineers, as it is very much a global
business. Many companies have offices and sites in multiple countries
and transfers are common.
As Petroleum, known as 'black gold' is very important for the overall
industrialization and development of any economy, this industry may have
rich prospects both at global and domestic levels in the future.
