The Participation And Value Of The Petroleum Engineer In The Oil And Gas Industry

Publication Rights Reserved This paper is to be presented at the SPE Regional Meeting in Liberal, Kansas, November 18–19, 1965, and is considered the property of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to publish is hereby restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words, with no illustration, unless the paper is specifically released to the press by the Editor of the Journal of Petroleum Technology or the Executive Secretary. Such abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in Journal of Petroleum Technology or Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal is granted on request, providing proper credit is given that publication and the original presentation of the paper. The purpose of this paper is to try to present an industry picture which is based upon trends and statistics that may enable you to see what the overall future outlook may be for the petroleum engineer. No attempt is being made to quantify you as individuals. The obligation which you as an individual have, and the experience and success which you may achieved is pretty much up to you. The prime objective of engineering training is to gain knowledge and, through the application of such knowledge, to make possible the production of the required supply of minerals and raw materials and to utilize such materials to provide a better product to the ultimate consumer at a lower cost. The participation of the petroleum engineer in industry is governed by knowledge, desire, and effort, or, perhaps, they should be re-arranged with effort heading the list. The value of the petroleum engineer is dependent upon what he achieves for himself and for his employer. Petroleum engineering is a relatively new field. In 1900 there were only 3000 engineers classed as metallurgical and mining.