@thebassist, I would expand my options by going into chemical engineering. A lot of top school chemical engineers get recruited by oil companies. Fun fact: you'll learn how to produce ethanol (moonshine anyone?), which uses the same fundamental principles as cracking gas.
Additionally, if things ever go south with the oil companies, you can easily shift around and do stuff with biofuels (or really a shit ton of other stuff).
On the other hand, if you want the more lucrative, but also harsher, conditions of drilling rigs, I'd focus on 'real' petroleum engineering programs. Petroleum engineering tends to be focus on finding and extracting resources, while chemical engineering is more focused on the refining aspect. Most people inclined towards engineering (the ones who can sit down and work out calculus problems) would probably prefer the refining aspect.
Additionally, if things ever go south with the oil companies, you can easily shift around and do stuff with biofuels (or really a shit ton of other stuff).
On the other hand, if you want the more lucrative, but also harsher, conditions of drilling rigs, I'd focus on 'real' petroleum engineering programs. Petroleum engineering tends to be focus on finding and extracting resources, while chemical engineering is more focused on the refining aspect. Most people inclined towards engineering (the ones who can sit down and work out calculus problems) would probably prefer the refining aspect.