While you're here, meet a few people who are in the industry and see what they have to say about their careers.
| Annie C. | Chad M. | Cristin L. | David G. | Daniel I |
| Hiep S. V. | Jay R. | Kristin W. | Mary Beth F. | Tandis B. |
| Tara W. | Timothy F. | Timothy L. | Veronica M. |
Q. What is your current position with the Industry?
A. I am a reservoir engineer working the deep water Gulf of Mexico.
Q. Where did you obtain your undergraduate/graduate degree(s)
and in what fields?
A. I received a Bachelor of Petroleum Engineering Degree from Texas Tech
University. Go Red Raiders!!
Q. What subjects/courses were instrumental in helping you
gain your current position?
A. Petroleum Engineering courses were the most instrumental in helping me gain
my current position. I learned about all aspects of drilling and completing
wells to produce the oil and gas that is so critical to fulfilling the United
States need for energy. Beyond the operations I learned about the economics of
drilling wells and proper development strategies for different field types. It
is an exciting major in college that will challenge you with the complexity it
offers and the technology used to explore for oil and gas.
Q. How many years of education were needed in order for you
to enter the industry?
A. One will need a bachelor's degree from an accredited university.
Q. Were any summer internships or advanced learning
opportunities helpful in entering the industry?
A. Summer internships are extremely important to entering the industry. Summer
internships give you the chance to apply what you learned the previous year
while also having the chance to see how an oil company operates. Each summer you
can work for a different company which can really help you decide what is best
for your career. After working three internships for three different companies I
knew exactly what I wanted coming out of college and could focus my energy on
those companies that were the best fit for me.
Q. Does your current position allow you to travel? If so,
what was your favorite location?
A. I don't travel very often, but visiting the Deepwater Millennium drill ship
in the Gulf of Mexico was the most exciting trip I have made so far. We were
collecting data from one of our newly drilled wells and went to the rig to
oversee the operations. We traveled by helicopter 100 miles offshore to the rig
which was drilling in 4,000 feet of water on a well that was a little over
25,000 feet deep. The drill ship was extremely impressive and to be apart of the
drilling of such an important well for our company was very exciting.
Q. What opportunities do you see for yourself in the
industry?
A. Opportunities are everywhere in this industry. There is such a demand for
quality people that you can really write your own ticket as long as you work
hard and meet goals on time and on budget. Specifically, there are opportunities
to work internationally, to work in different disciplines than engineering, and
to work towards a management position. It really comes down to making a career
plan that makes sense for you and the company and then making it happen.
Q. What are some of your favorite aspects of your job?
A. The favorite part of my job is analyzing data with the goal of making a
recommendation to the company to drill the necessary wells to optimally recover
the most reserves from our fields. We take our ideas and present them to
management and then work with the operations personnel to implement that
recommendation. Getting the results back from drilling a successful well we had
a part in recommending to the company is very rewarding.
Q. What are some of the most surprising aspects of your job?
A. The complexity of the problems we need to solve in order to successfully
explore for oil and gas in the deep water Gulf of Mexico. Not only does your
team have to figure out the geology and engineering challenges, but we often are
working with other companies on the projects so that we can share the risks.
This is a business where we rarely have all the data we would like, so getting
multiple companies to agree on a development plan for the fields can be very
difficult.
Q. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
A. Working with a talented staff of engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and
land men is the most rewarding part of the job. I find that I am continually
learning from everyone on our team. It takes such a diverse group of talent to
be successful in this industry and I am amazed at the technology that our team
uses to accomplish its goals.
Q. What are some of your interests outside of your position
responsibilities?
A. College recruiting is a fun responsibility I have the opportunity to help
with each year. It is great to get to interact with the different students at
college as they seek to start their careers in the petroleum industry. They are
very talented and always bring fresh ideas to the industry.
Q. What is the most exciting technological tool that you have
either used or helped to develop in your job?
A. We incorporated horizontal drilling in a deep high pressure gas field that
had primarily been drilled using vertical wells. The technology allowed us to
minimize the environmental impact to the land in the area by replacing three
vertical wells with one horizontal well. In addition, we used new stimulation
technology to complete the well in one day which saved money for the company and
brought significant gas on production faster than would have otherwise been
possible.
Q. Do you speak any foreign languages? If so, were they
helpful in your position?
A. No, but speaking a foreign language will only open more opportunities to you
in this industry.
