Editing Petroleum engineering

{{Short description|Extracting crude oil and natural gas}}
{{For|petroleum refinery engineering|Process engineering}}

[[File:Contour map software screen snapshot of isopach map for 8500ft deep OIL reservoir with a Fault line.jpg|thumb| Example of a map used by reservoir engineers to determine where to drill a well. This screenshot is of a structure map generated by contour map software for an 8500 ft deep gas and [[oil reservoir]] in the Earth field, [[Vermilion Parish]], Erath, Louisiana. The left-to-right gap near the top of the [[contour map]] indicates a [[fault line]]. This fault line is between the blue/green contour lines and the purple/red/yellow contour lines. The thin red circular contour line in the middle of the map indicates the top of the oil reservoir. Because gas floats above oil, the thin red contour line marks the gas/oil contact zone.]]

'''Petroleum engineering''' is a field of [[engineering]] concerned with the activities related to the production of [[hydrocarbons]], which can be either [[crude oil]] or [[natural gas]].<ref name="pet eng 2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/petroleum-engineers.htm#tab-2|title=Petroleum Engineers: Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|website=www.bls.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2018-02-06}}</ref> Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the [[Upstream (oil industry)|''upstream'']] sector of the oil and gas industry. [[Hydrocarbon exploration|Exploration]], by [[earth science|earth scientists]], and petroleum engineering are the oil and gas industry's two main subsurface disciplines, which focus on maximizing economic recovery of hydrocarbons from subsurface reservoirs. [[Petroleum geology]] and [[geophysics]] focus on provision of a static description of the hydrocarbon reservoir rock, while petroleum engineering focuses on estimation of the recoverable volume of this resource using a detailed understanding of the physical behavior of oil, water and gas within porous rock at very high pressure.

The combined efforts of [[geologist]]s and petroleum engineers throughout the life of a hydrocarbon accumulation determine the way in which a reservoir is developed and depleted, and usually they have the highest impact on field economics. Petroleum engineering requires a good knowledge of many other related disciplines, such as geophysics, petroleum geology, [[formation evaluation]] ([[well logging]]), [[drilling]], [[economics]], [[reservoir simulation]], [[reservoir engineering]], well engineering, [[artificial lift]] systems, completions and [[petroleum production engineering]].

Recruitment to the industry has historically been from the disciplines of [[physics]], [[mechanical engineering]], [[chemical engineering]] and [[mining engineering]]. Subsequent development training has usually been done within oil companies.

== Overview ==
The profession got its start in 1914 within the [[American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers|American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers]] (AIME). The first Petroleum Engineering degree was conferred in 1915 by the [[University of Pittsburgh]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Petroleum Engineering|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/454409/petroleum-engineering#toc64689|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref> Since then, the profession has evolved to solve increasingly difficult situations. 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. Automation,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/topics/?topic=14|title=Drilling Automation|date=December 14, 2017|website=Journal of Petroleum Technology}}</ref> sensors,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=2295|title=JPT Flow Sensor Technology Seeks to Replace the Coriolis Meter|website=www.spe.org|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref> and robots<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=2313|title=JPT Competing Companies Building Robots to Place Receivers|website=www.spe.org|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=3209|title=JPT Robot Removes Operators From Extreme Environments|website=www.spe.org|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref> are being used to propel the industry to more efficiency and safety.

Deep-water, arctic and desert conditions are usually contended with. High temperature and high pressure (HTHP) environments have become increasingly commonplace in operations and require the petroleum engineer to be savvy in topics as wide-ranging as thermo-hydraulics, geomechanics, and intelligent systems.

The [[Society of Petroleum Engineers]] (SPE) is the largest [[professional society]] for petroleum engineers and publishes much technical information and other resources to support the oil and gas industry. It provides free online education (webinars), mentoring, and access to SPE Connect, an exclusive platform for members to discuss technical issues, best practices, and other topics. SPE members also are able to access the SPE Competency Management Tool to find knowledge and skill strengths and opportunities for growth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spe.org/memberbasics/documents/ResourceGuide.pdf|title=SPE Member Resource Guide|website=Society of Petroleum Engineers|access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref> SPE publishes peer-reviewed journals, books, and magazines.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spe.org/publications/|title=Publications {{!}} The Society of Petroleum Engineers|website=www.spe.org|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref> SPE members receive a complimentary subscription to the ''Journal of Petroleum Technology'' and discounts on SPE's other publications.<ref name="spe benefits">{{Cite web|url=http://www.spe.org/members/benefits.php|title=Professional Membership Benefits {{!}} Society of Petroleum Engineers|website=www.spe.org|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref> SPE members also receive discounts on registration fees for SPE organized events and training courses.<ref name="spe benefits"/> SPE provides scholarships and fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students.

According to the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, petroleum engineers are required to have a bachelor's degree in engineering, generally a degree focused on petroleum engineering is preferred, but degrees in mechanical, chemical, and civil engineering are satisfactory as well.<ref name="pet eng">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/petroleum-engineers.htm|title=Petroleum Engineers: Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|website=www.bls.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2018-02-06}}</ref> Petroleum engineering education is available at many universities in the [[United States]] and throughout the world - primarily in oil producing regions. ''U.S. News & World Report'' maintains a list of the Best Undergraduate Petroleum Engineering Programs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-petroleum|title=Best Undergraduate Petroleum Engineering Programs (Doctorate)|date=February 6, 2018|website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> SPE and some private companies offer training courses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peice.com/index.aspx|title=PEICE – Practical Professional Career Training for the Oil & Gas Industry|website=www.peice.com|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.petroskills.com/|title=PetroSkills Oil and Gas Training {{!}} World's Petroleum Training|website=www.petroskills.com|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oilandgastraining.com/oilandgastraining/default.aspx?cookieCheck=true|title=Online Training, Online Courses, Web-based Learning Management System - Learning Management Express(LMX) - NexLearn|website=www.oilandgastraining.com|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref> Some oil companies have considerable in-house petroleum engineering training classes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.greeleytribune.com/news/energy-pipeline/energy-pipeline-noble-energys-outdoor-training-facility-brings-industry-to-communitys-fingertips/|title=Energy Pipeline: Noble Energy's outdoor training facility brings industry to community's fingertips|access-date=2017-12-14|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slb.com/resources/next.aspx|title=Oil and Gas Training & Career Development {{!}} Schlumberger|website=www.slb.com|access-date=2017-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218160349/http://www.slb.com/resources/next.aspx|archive-date=2017-12-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Petroleum engineering salaries ===
Petroleum engineering has historically been one of the highest-paid engineering disciplines, although there is a tendency for mass layoffs when oil prices decline and waves of hiring as prices rise. In 2020, the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the median pay for petroleum engineers was US$137,330, or roughly $66.02 per hour.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Petroleum Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|url=https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/petroleum-engineers.htm|access-date=2021-04-28|website=www.bls.gov|language=en-us}}</ref> The same summary projects there will be 3% job growth in this field from 2019 to 2029.<ref name=":3" />

SPE annually conducts a [[salary survey]]. In 2017, SPE reported that the average SPE professional member reported earning US$194,649 (including salary and bonus).<ref name="spe salary survey1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.spe.org/industry/oil-and-gas-salary-survey/|title=Oil and Gas Pay {{!}} Salary Survey {{!}} Society of Petroleum Engineers|website=www.spe.org|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref>  The average base pay reported in 2016 was $143,006.<ref name="spe salary survey1" /> Base pay and other compensation was on average was highest in the United States where the base pay was US$174,283. Drilling and production engineers tended to make the best base pay, US$160,026 for drilling engineers and US$158,964 for production engineers. Average base pay ranged from US$96,382-174,283.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.spe.org/industry/docs/2017-Salary-Survey-Highlight-Report.pdf|title=2017 SPE Membership Salary Survey Highlight Report-November 2017|date=January 3, 2018|website=Society of Petroleum Engineers|access-date=January 3, 2018}}</ref> There are still significant gender pay gaps, plus or minus 5% of the US average pay gap which was 18% difference in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Highlights of women's earnings in 2017 : BLS Reports: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|url=https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2017/home.htm|access-date=2021-04-28|website=www.bls.gov|language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Also in 2016, ''U.S. News & World Report'' named petroleum engineering the top college major in terms of highest median annual wages of college-educated workers (age 25–59).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-05-17/top-10-college-majors-that-earn-the-highest-salaries|title=Top 10 College Majors That Earn the Highest Salaries|date=February 6, 2018|website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> The 2010 National Association of Colleges and Employers survey showed petroleum engineers as the highest paid 2010 graduates, at an average annual salary of $125,220.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naceweb.org/Press/Releases/Top-Paid_Majors_Among_College_Class_of_2010_(3-11-10).aspx |title=NACE |publisher=Naceweb.org |access-date=2011-12-18}}</ref> For individuals with experience, salaries can range from $170,000 to $260,000. They make an average of $112,000 a year and about $53.75 per hour. In a 2007 article, Forbes.com reported that petroleum engineering was the 24th best paying job in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/06/04/jobs-careers-compensation-lead-careers-cx_pm_0604jobs.html |title=America's Best- And Worst-Paying Jobs |magazine=Forbes |date= 2007-06-04|access-date=2011-12-18}}</ref>

== Sub-disciplines ==
Petroleum engineers divide themselves into several types:<ref name="pet eng 2"/>
* [[Reservoir engineers]] work to optimize production of oil and gas via proper placement, production rates, and enhanced oil recovery techniques.
* [[Drilling engineering|Drilling engineers]] manage the technical aspects of drilling exploratory, production and injection wells.
* [[Drilling fluid engineering|Drilling fluid engineers]] A mud engineer (correctly called a Drilling Fluids Engineer, but most often referred to as the "Mud Man") works on an oil well or gas well drilling rig, and is responsible ensuring the properties of the drilling fluid, also known as drilling mud, are within designed specifications.
* [[Subsurface engineer|Completion engineers]] (also known as subsurface engineers) work to design and oversee the implementation of techniques aimed at ensuring wells are drilled stably and with the maximum opportunity for oil and gas production. 
* [[Petroleum production engineering|Production engineers]] manage the interface between the reservoir and the well, including perforations, sand control, downhole flow control, and downhole monitoring equipment; evaluate [[artificial lift]] methods; and select surface equipment that separates the produced fluids (oil, natural gas, and water).
* [[Petrophysicists]] gather information about subsurface properties to build wellbore stability models and study rock properties

== Education ==
Petroleum Engineering, like most forms of engineering, requires a strong foundation in [[physics]], [[chemistry]], and [[mathematics]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Cunha|first1=Luciane B.|last2=Cunha|first2=J. C.|date=2004-01-01|title=Petroleum Engineering Education - Challenges and Changes for the Next 20 Years|url=https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SPE-90556-MS|language=en|publisher=Society of Petroleum Engineers|doi=10.2118/90556-MS|isbn=9781555631512}}</ref> Other fields pertinent to petroleum engineering include [[geology]], formation evaluation, fluid flow in porous media, well drilling technology, [[economics]], [[geostatistics]], etc.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_zxCAAAQBAJ&q=technologies+in+petroleum+engineering&pg=PR9|title=Petroleum Engineering: Principles and Practice|date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789401096010|language=en}}</ref>

=== Petroleum Geostatistics ===
[[Geostatistics]] as applied to petroleum engineering uses statistical analysis to characterize reservoirs and create flow simulations that quantify uncertainties of the location of oil and gas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chambers|first1=Richard L.|last2=Yarus|first2=Jeffrey M.|date=2006-11-01|title=Practical Geostatistics - An Armchair Overview for Petroleum Reservoir Engineers|url=https://www.onepetro.org/journal-paper/SPE-103357-JPT|journal=Journal of Petroleum Technology|language=en|volume=58|issue=11|pages=78–86|doi=10.2118/103357-JPT|issn=0149-2136|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Petroleum Geology ===
[[Petroleum geology]] is an interdisciplinary field composed of [[geophysics]], [[geochemistry]], and [[paleontology]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6HZLBAAAQBAJ&q=geology+in+petroleum+engineering&pg=PP1|title=Elements of Petroleum Geology|last1=Selley|first1=Richard C.|last2=Sonnenberg|first2=Stephen A.|date=2014-11-08|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=9780123860323|language=en}}</ref> The main focus of petroleum geology is the exploration and appraisal of reservoirs containing [[hydrocarbon]]s via technical forms of analysis.<ref name=":2" />

=== Well Drilling Technology ===
Well drilling technology is primarily the focus for drilling engineers. The two forms of well drilling are percussion and rotary drilling, rotary being the most common of the two. An important aspect of drilling is the [[drill bit]], which creates a [[borehole]] of approximately three and a half to thirty inches in diameter. The three classes of drill bits, [[roller cone bit|roller cone]], fixed cutter, and hybrid, each use teeth to break up the rock.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ma|first1=Tianshou|last2=Chen|first2=Ping|last3=Zhao|first3=Jian|date=2016-12-01|title=Overview on vertical and directional drilling technologies for the exploration and exploitation of deep petroleum resources|journal=Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources|language=en|volume=2|issue=4|pages=365–395|doi=10.1007/s40948-016-0038-y|issn=2363-8427|doi-access=free|bibcode=2016GGGG....2..365M }}</ref> To optimize drilling efficiency and cost, drilling engineers make use of drilling simulators that allow them to identify drilling conditions.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Boonyapaluk|first1=P.|last2=Hareland|first2=G.|last3=Rampersad|first3=P. R.|date=1994-01-01|title=Drilling Optimization Using Drilling Data and Available Technology|url=https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SPE-27034-MS|language=en|publisher=Society of Petroleum Engineers|doi=10.2118/27034-MS|isbn=9781555634704}}</ref> Drilling technologies including horizontal drilling and [[directional drilling]] have been developed to obtain hydrocarbons profitably from [[Tight oil|impermeable]] and [[Coalbed methane|coal-bed methane]] accumulations.

== Professional associations ==

* [[Society of Petroleum Engineers]]
* [[American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers|American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers]]

== See also ==
* [[Petroleum industry]]
* [[Petroleum geology]]
* [[Seismic to simulation]]
* [[Society of Petroleum Engineers]]
* SPE Certified Petroleum Professional

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{cite book | last = Bradley | first = Howard B. | title = Petroleum Engineering Handbook| publisher =[[Society of Petroleum Engineers]]| year =1987| location =[[Richardson, Texas]]| isbn =1-55563-010-3}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikiversity|Petroleum engineering}}
* [http://www.spe.org The Society of Petroleum Engineers]
* [http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/ Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary: An Online Glossary of Oilfield Terms]
* [http://www.spee.org/ Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers]
* [http://www.univsource.com/petroleum.htm Petroleum Engineering Schools]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130703034154/http://pieglobal.com/blog/forensic-petroleum-engineering-what-is-it/ What is Forensic Petroleum Engineering?]
* [https://www.toppetroleumengineeringschools.com/ Petroleum Engineering - Best Petroleum Engineering Schools & Colleges, Jobs in USA]
* [http://www.bestpetroleumengineeringschools.com/ About Petroleum Engineering ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161112144732/http://bharatsarkarinaukri.in/career-opportunities-petroleum-engineering.html Career Opportunities in Petroleum Engineering]
* [https://edgevarsity.com/oil-and-gas-piping-engineering.html oil and gas online certification courses]

{{Engineering fields}}
{{Petroleum industry}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Petroleum engineering| ]]
[[Category:Engineering disciplines]]