There
is a major contribution of oil and gas industry in the economic
development globally. The industry is a compelling and sophisticated
business. It not only supplies two thirds of the world's energy but
drives the global economy.
There are countless job opportunities available and at the same time
there are various institutes that are grooming the candidates into
seasoned professionals. Perhaps more than any other branch or sector,
the Oil & Gas industry is characterized by a truly international
workforce.
Projects are spread across various continents, often in remote
locations or at sea. These projects are conceptualized, designed, built,
managed and operated by highly skilled personnel that view global travel
as part of the profession. The activities broadly are classified as
follows:
Upstream Activities:
Exploration, Drilling, Rigs, Consultation and related Upstream
Activities.
Since
Oil and Gas is a depleting natural resource, large oil companies are
always in the search for greener pastures where they can get more oil.
This hunt for 'black gold' requires the resources of explorers. It takes
significant education and training to work in exploration and drilling
specializing in areas such as engineering, seismic testing, drilling,
operation of service rigs, and other equipment manufacture and supply.
In the search for crude oil and natural gas the drilling industry plays
a vital role all over the globe. It would be pretty much futile without
the drillers. The geologists and other scientists specialize in studies
of oil resources and find out where to find oil, after which, the
drillers start work on the site to extract oil.
According to industry research, there are over 3,000 oil rigs
worldwide. All these rigs require lots of manpower to keep the Industry
going and provide energy to the world. There are several job vacancies
for such oil rigs at any point of time.
Finding, developing, and extracting oil and gas are the primary
functions of the oil and gas extraction industry. While some of these
functions are done by the large oil companies, most are done by
contractors working in the support activities for mining sub sector,
which is included in this industry.
Using a variety of methods, on land and at sea, small crews of
specialized workers search for geologic formations that are likely to
contain oil and gas. Sophisticated equipment and advances in computer
technology have increased the productivity of exploration. Maps of
potential deposits now are made using remote-sensing satellites. Seismic
prospecting-a technique based on measuring the time it takes sound waves
to travel through underground formations and return to the surface-has
revolutionized oil and gas exploration. Computers and advanced software
analyze seismic data to provide three-dimensional models of subsurface
rock formations.
This
technique lowers the risk involved in exploring by allowing scientists
to locate and identify structural oil and gas reservoirs and the best
locations to drill. Four-D, or "time-lapsed," seismic
technology tracks the movement of fluids over time and enhances
production performance even further. Another method of searching for oil
and gas is based on collecting and analyzing core samples of rock, clay,
and sand in the earth's layers.
After scientific studies indicate the possible presence of oil, an oil
company selects a well site and installs a derrick-tower-like steel
structure-to support the drilling equipment. A hole is drilled deep into
the earth until oil or gas is found, or the company abandons the effort.
Similar techniques are employed in offshore drilling, except that the
drilling equipment is part of a steel platform that either sits on the
ocean floor, or floats on the surface and is anchored to the ocean
floor.
In rotary drilling, a rotating bit attached to a length of hollow drill
pipe bores a hole in the ground by chipping and cutting rock. As the bit
cuts deeper, more pipe is added. A stream of drilling "mud"-a
mixture of clay, chemicals, and water-is continuously pumped through the
drill pipe and through holes in the drill bit. Its purpose is to cool
the drill bit, plaster the walls of the hole to prevent cave-ins, carry
crushed rock to the surface, and prevent "blowouts" by
equalizing pressure inside the hole. When a drill bit wears out, all
drill pipes must be removed from the hole a section at a time, the bit
replaced, and the pipe returned to the hole. New materials and better
designs have advanced drill bit technology, permitting faster, more
cost-effective drilling for longer periods.
Advancements in directional or horizontal drilling techniques, which
allow increased access to potential reserves, have had a significant
impact on drilling capabilities. Drilling begins vertically, but the
drill bit can be turned so that drilling can continue at an angle of up
to 90 degrees. This technique extends the drill's reach, enabling it to
reach separate pockets of oil or gas. Because constructing new platforms
is costly, this technique commonly is employed by offshore drilling
operations.
When
oil or gas is found, the drill pipe and bit are pulled from the well,
and metal pipe (casing) is lowered into the hole and cemented in place.
The casing's upper end is fastened to a system of pipes and valves
called a wellhead, or "Christmas Tree," through which natural
pressure forces the oil or gas into separation and storage tanks. If
natural pressure is not great enough to force the oil to the surface,
pumps may be used. In some cases, water, steam, or gas may be injected
into the oil-producing formation to improve recovery.
Crude oil is transported to refineries by pipeline, ship, barge, truck,
or railroad. Natural gas usually is transported to processing plants by
pipeline. While oil refineries may be many thousands of miles away from
the producing fields, gas processing plants typically are near the
fields, so that impurities-water, sulfur, and natural gas liquids-can be
removed before the gas is piped to customers. The oil refining industry
is considered a separate industry, and its activities are not covered
here, even though many oil companies both extract and refine oil.
The oil and gas extraction industry has experienced both "booms"
and "busts" over the years, illustrating the cyclical
relationship between the price of oil and employment. During periods of
high oil and gas prices, the industry expands exploration and production
and hires more workers. The opposite occurs during periods of low
prices.
Midstream Activities:
Refineries, Petrochemicals and Environment & Safety
Aspects.
Oil
refining is the process of turning Crude oil into Gasoline and many
other products which involves the work of various people including HSE
Manager, Operations Technologist, Refinery Designs Engineer, Chemical
Engineers, Petroleum engineer and other profiles
India is a huge source for these profiles owing to the numerous
institutes of good repute producing technicians of the best caliber.
Using the above mentioned manpower, Crude oil in the refineries is
processed to obtain the following products of daily use:
- Petroleum gas - Petroleum gas is used for heating,
cooking and making plastics.
- Naphtha -It is the intermediate that will be further
processed to make gasoline.
- Gasoline - Used as fuel in most motor vehicles.
- Kerosene - Fuel for jet engines and tractors; starting
material for making other products Gas oil.
- Diesel distillate - Used for diesel fuel and heating oil;
starting material for making other products
- Lubricating oil - Used for motor oil, grease, other
lubricants
- Heavy gas or Fuel oil - Used for industrial fuel;
starting material for making other products
- Residuals (coke, asphalt, tar, waxes) - starting material
for making other products.
Petroleum Engineers and factory technicians are involved in
separating crude oil into various components (called fractions), using
the differences in boiling temperature. This process is called
fractional distillation.
Chemical Engineers use newer techniques of Chemical processing on some
of the fractions to make others, in a process called conversion.
Chemical processing, for example, can break longer chains into shorter
ones. This allows a refinery to turn diesel fuel into gasoline depending
on the demand for gasoline.
Refineries must treat the fractions to remove impurities. Refineries
combine the various fractions (processed, unprocessed) into mixtures to
make desired products. For example, different mixtures of chains can
create gasolines with different octane ratings
The products are stored and managed on-site by the Facilities Engineer
Lead, Reservoir Engineer and other workmen until they can be delivered
to various markets such as gas stations, airports and chemical plants.
In addition to making the oil-based products, refineries must also treat
the wastes involved in the processes to minimize air and water pollution
taken care of by the Pollution control engineer, waste management
professionals and health and safety engineers.
Indian colleges and institutions take these waste and environmental
issues into consideration when structuring the technical courses and
hence there are numerous Environmental Studies students and
professionals in the country now who are looking for broader horizons to
utilize their knowledge.
The process of producing final petroleum products from crude oil is
carried out in refineries. Petrochemicals are a group of chemicals
derived from the processing of petroleum gas. They are manufactured from
the gaseous hydrocarbons produced during the cracking processes of
manufacturing Gasoline.
The control of pollution and safeguard of lives and property from
damage and losses comes under the purview of Environment and safety.
Job Profiles
- Completion Engineer
- Senior Completions Engineer - Houston
- Completion Operations Engineer - Rotational
- Optimization Engineer
- Senior Petroleum Engineer
- Production Manager
- Senior Engineer
- Advanced Engineer
- Completions Engineer With Esp
- Applications Engineer Advisor/ Multilateral / Expandable
Systems
- Facilities Engineer Lead
- Product Line Leader - Optimization & Control
- Piping, Valves And Vessel Engineer
- Piping Design Engineers
- Staff Petroleum Engineer
- Entry-Level Field Engineer
- Asset Engineer
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- Senior Multiphase Flow Assurance Engineer
- Pipeline / Storage Engineer
- Reservoir Engineer
- Health And Safety Manager
- Pollution Control Engineer
- Hse - On/Offshore Specialist
- Hse Auditor (Design)
- Quality Manager
- Ehs Team Member- Dsc653 (Environmental,Health & Safety
Engineer)
- Hse Management Consultant
- Regulatory Manager
- Engineers (Upstream/Downstream/Epcc)
- Hsse Engineer
- Safety Engineer
- Safety Advisor
- Senior Fire Protection Engineer
- Engineers (Piping)
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Downstream Activities:
Logistics and Distribution
Logistics
is the overall management of the way resources are moved to the areas
where they are required. It can be considered as a tool for getting the
Oil and Gas products where they are needed and when they are desired.
Logistics and Distribution heavily depend on the proper management and
coordination of a product's supply chain for the purpose of increasing
efficiency and profitability
It is difficult to accomplish any marketing or manufacturing without
logistical support. It involves the integration of information,
transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling and packaging.
This integration requires the efficient workforce of a combined team of
professionals who bring together their specific skills to achieve the
main goal of logistics and distribution which is the geographical
repositioning of raw materials, work in process and finished inventories
where required, at the lowest cost possible.
Typically, Supply Chain Management attempts to centrally control or
link the production, shipment and distribution of the Oil and Gas
products. By managing the supply chain, companies are able to
significantly reduce the time and hence provide products faster. By
integrating the workforce and processes in different departments, the
corporate keep a tighter control of inventories, internal production,
distribution and sales.
India being a geographically diverse country involving heavy traffic in
logistics of existing companies, we have a large pool of people involved
in logistics and distribution who would like to explore more
possibilities in their career in logistics. Logistics & Distribution
is the overall management of the way the resources (extracted in the
midstream activities) are moved to the areas where they are required.
Oil & Gas Industry
