What Do Petroleum Engineers Do?
After locating reservoirs of crude oil and natural gas, petroleum engineers find ways to bring those substances out of the ground for processing. The two primary ways of getting the reserves to the surface are “drilling” and “producing.” Drilling creates a tunnel down to the oil and involves creating a system of pipes and valves to bring it up. When producing, petroleum engineers locate reserves that are already under pressure. If they don’t erupt on their own, the engineers use their talents to coax the substances above ground. The petroleum engineer is involved in nearly all phases of the production process, from finding the oil through refining and distributing it. Using skills that are often associated with the earth sciences, petroleum engineers examine a variety of geologic and engineering data to determine the most likely sources of oil. Because many of these locations are in out-of-the-way places, professionals involved in this aspect of petroleum engineering often have to trav
