1. Careers in Petroleum Engineering presented by Dr. Bryan Maggard
This concludes the presentation.
Are there any questions?
Please contact Dr. Maggard if there are further questions about the department or to arrange a visit.
Undergraduate Advisor

2. Work force in many industries is aging
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

3. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
Major shortage of technical personnel NOW!
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

4. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
As a PETE you can work in
many faraway places.
Job Supervision at -45°C…
(Prudhoe Bay, Alaska) (~-50°F)
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

5. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
PETE
…and at +45°C
(Lekhwair, Oman)
(~+115°F)
“support engineers”
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

6. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
BUT, you don’t have to travel!
Huge unconventional gas reserves,
right here at home…
Largest U.S.
Gas Field!
…not to mention the Gulf of Mexico,
W. Texas, Latin America, Canada, and
Alaska!
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

7. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
Outline
Technical Aspects of Oil & Gas
The Oil & Gas Industry
supply & demand
oil & gas reserves
petroleum engineer’s role
The Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering
This presentation contains some technical information about oil & gas deposits, an overview of energy supply & demand, oil & gas reserves, the petroleum engineer’s role in the oil & gas industry, and the petroleum engineering department at Texas A&M.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

8. Hydrocarbon Molecules—many simple
Simplest hydrocarbon is methane--CH4
This chart shows some simple examples of the paraffin, naphthene, and aromatic molecules—butane, cyclohexane, and benzene.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

9. And some are very complex!
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

10. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
Where Do We Find Hydrocarbons?
in a big lake of
oil…
…made from dinosaur
carcasses?
No! on both counts!
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

11. Oil and Gas Deposits—are in Porous Rocks
Deep source rocks
Shales containing remains of mostly algae
Underground reservoir rocks
porous rock,
usually sedimentary (sandstone, limestone)
not lakes!
Traps
Porousrock beds with impermeable cap rock
Now we can even produce from source rocks
Oil & gas deposits are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons and other chemical species that occur in underground reservoirs.
The hydrocarbon molecules are from various families of compounds, ranging from small and simple, light molecules called paraffins (e.g., methane, ethane, …) to large and complex, heavy molecules called resins-asphaltenes (e.g., groups of aromatics with three to ten rings usually with one to three sulfur, oxygen, or nitrogen atoms).
Whether the mixture is oil (a liquid) or natural gas (a gas) or indeed, a tar (a solid) depends upon the relative amounts of light and heavy molecules and the pressure and temperature in the reservoir.
Oil & gas deposits are formed when the organic material in source rocks is transformed into oil or gas and migrates upward in a reservoir rock to a suitable trap.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

12. Rhombohedral Packing of Spheres—26% Porosity
In reservoirs,
oil is here...
…and the
original oil
source was
mainly
algae!
When the spheres are moved to a close packing, such as occurs in the earth with greater pressure and movement, the porosity is reduced.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

13. Cross Section of a Petroleum System
Overburden Rock
Seal Rock
Reservoir Rock
Source Rock
Underburden Rock
Basement Rock
Top Oil Window
Top Gas Window
Geographic Extent of Petroleum System
Petroleum Reservoir (O)
Fold-and-Thrust Belt
(arrows indicate relative fault motion)
Essential
Elements of
Petroleum
System
(modified from Magoon and Dow, 1994) O
Sedimentary
Basin Fill
Stratigraphic
Extent of
Pod of Active
Extent of Prospect/Field
Extent of Play
This chart depicts a cross-section of a petroleum system in a sedimentary basin. Note that the source rock is between two levels, called the top of the oil & gas windows. These are depths below which pressure and temperature are suitable to transform organic material into oil & gas, respectively. Once the material has been transformed, it migrates upwards to a porous and permeable rock, called a reservoir rock, through which it can be further transported to suitable trap—a geologic feature which limits the material’s further transport and causes it to accumulate.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

14. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
Seal
Generation, Migration, & Accumulation
Seal
Fault
(impermeable)
Oil/water
contact (OWC)
Hydrocarbon
accumulation
in the
reservoir rock
Migration route
Seal
Here’s a cartoon showing that oil & gas deposits can occur when three geologic conditions are met. First, there must be a source rock in the subsurface to generate the oil or gas. Second, there must be a separate, subsurface reservoir rock to hold the oil or gas. Third, there must be a trap on the reservoir rock to cause the oil or gas to accumulate into commercial quantities.
Reservoir
rock
Top of maturity
Source rock
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

15. Industry & Petroleum Engineering
Energy Supply & Demand
World Oil & Gas Reserves
The Need for Petroleum Engineers
Now, an overview of energy supply & demand, oil & gas reserves, and the petroleum engineer’s role in the oil & gas industry.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

16. Careers in Petroleum Engineering

17. Careers in Petroleum Engineering

18. Careers in Petroleum Engineering

19. Alternative energy will save us…eventually
One Windmill blade
1000 windmills to replace one coal-fired power plant
Hundreds of windmills to replace one natural gas-fired power plant.
And gas is the greenest fossil fuel
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

20. Petroleum Resources (modified from November/December 2004, Drilling Contractor Magazine)
Conventional Reservoirs
Small Volumes, “Easy” to Develop
Improved Technology
PAST
Easy
Stuff!
Higher Prices
Unconventional Reservoirs
Large Volumes, “Difficult” to Develop
Low Permeability Reservoirs (Oil and Gas)
PRESENT
Gas Shales
Heavy Oil
Coalbed Gas
Conventional reservoirs have provided easy to develop and inexpensive source of energy, but production is expected to decline soon.
Unconventional reservoirs are more difficult to develop, but provide a large resource base, and are being developed today, and are expected to contribute for several decades into the future.
Higher prices and improved technology have allowed production from unconventional reservoirs.
Gas hydrates and oil shales may be developed in the future if price and technological improvements allow.
Gas Hydrates
Oil Shale
FUTURE
Plus Development of Infrastructure and Delivery of Alternative Energy
We will need more Aggie Engineers!!!
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

21. Crude oil prices since 1861 --last few years driven by demand!
Specialty product
Demand!
geopolitics
commodity
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

22. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
Oil & Gas Reserves
“Reserves are those quantities of petroleum which are anticipated to be commercially recoverable from known accumulations from a given date forward.” SPE-WPC (1997)
Reserve is a technical term used to quantify expected oil & gas recovery. It’s important to understand the resulting numbers depend upon thee factors—current technology, current prices & costs, and current regulations. So, although the world is using a lot of oil & gas, the reserve posture changes with time because of changes in these three factors. Both the net effect and changes in the factors are illustrated in the charts that follow.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

23. Proved conventional oil reserves currently
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

24. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
You can help change the
Import picture!
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

25. Advances in Well Drilling
In early days we borrowed technology from other industries…
Water-well drilling rigs
Anti-tank weapon technology to shoot through steel/cement to connect wellbore to reservoir
…Now others borrow from us
Drilling for evidence of water on Mars using Baker Hughes drilling equipment
Here’s a big reason reserves of both oil and natural gas have increased over the last ten years—improvement in drilling technology have made it possible to reach harder to develop sources of supply.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

26. Careers in Petroleum Engineering
Like, sources now being found offshore in deep water. Modern drill ships use GPS technology to remain on location and are capable of operating in 10,000 feet of water while drilling wells to new sources of supply, located thousands of feet beneath the ocean floor.
1900
Adapted Water Well Technology
2000
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

27. The Petroleum Engineer’s Role
Petroleum engineers are primarily concerned with the economic extraction of oil, gas, and other natural resources from the earth. They:
design, drill, and operate wells and well systems
evaluate the resources of subsurface formations
manage the underground reservoirs in which the resources are found
Massive computer use in the office
Great opportunities to supervise in the field
Petroleum engineer’s solve problems relating to production of oil & gas. Petroleum engineering graduates become drilling and production engineers—responsible for drilling and operation of wells. Others become formation evaluation and reservoir engineers responsible for evaluation and management of the subsurface formations and reservoirs containing oil & gas.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

28. Harold Vance Dept of Petroleum Engineering
Great students
entering students have among the top scores at Texas A&M and College of Engineering
Great faculty
4 faculty are members of the National Academy of Engineering
15 faculty are Society of Petroleum Engineers – Distinguished Members
Great scholarship program
students who carry 3.0 and 13 hours typically have departmental merit scholarships
Great degree program
top-ranked program in US
among the largest programs in US
strong demand results in competitive admission
Here are a few facts about the department.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

29. Other Interesting Facts
Many executives of major, multinational oil companies are Aggie Petroleum Engineers
15-20% of US petroleum engineering graduates are from Texas A&M
Petroleum engineers command among the highest starting salaries nationwide
Summer internships often pay $ per month—and summer jobs often lead to full-time employment
See following slide
More facts about our students and graduates.
Note the reference to internships.
A summer internship is the best way to determine whether petroleum engineering is an appropriate career choice for you.
Multiple summer internships is the norm for our students.
At least one summer internship is required.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

30. Other Interesting Facts
Modified from NPR, 9 September 2013 (Removed lowest majors)
More facts about our students and graduates.
Note the reference to internships.
A summer internship is the best way to determine whether petroleum engineering is an appropriate career choice for you.
Multiple summer internships is the norm for our students.
At least one summer internship is required.
Careers in Petroleum Engineering

31. Careers in Petroleum Engineering presented by Dr. Bryan Maggard
This concludes the presentation.
Are there any questions?
Please contact Dr. Maggard if there are further questions about the department or to arrange a visit.
Undergraduate Advisor