[Jogo]

Hi folks,

I have got one question that seems to be not covered here yet. So everyone knows that most oil companies are struggling a lot with the recent oil prices and are more or less on hiring freeze right now.

My question basically is: Is it a smart idea to make the big move to the oil field in Canada if you just finished your Bachelor in Mining Engineering in Europe and have a relatively well distinguished master program in petroleum engineering lined up for next fall.

It just seems to me that going for a master in petroleum engineering gives you a disadvantage because of less practical experience. On the other hand, it seems that now is the worst time to leave university and go job hunting as there have been so many lay-offs

I would extremely appreciate any input

[Kangaroo]

If you can get a job then take it otherwise you have no real options but to do the masters degree.

[JWAP]

I did have one small directional company contact me recently, so work is happening, just very slowly and the pay isn't as competitive. I would guess that it could be harder to find work for someone without experience though.

[Atlantic]

(04-09-2015 02:00 AM)Jogo Wrote:  

Hi folks,

I have got one question that seems to be not covered here yet. So everyone knows that most oil companies are struggling a lot with the recent oil prices and are more or less on hiring freeze right now.

My question basically is: Is it a smart idea to make the big move to the oil field in Canada if you just finished your Bachelor in Mining Engineering in Europe and have a relatively well distinguished master program in petroleum engineering lined up for next fall.

It just seems to me that going for a master in petroleum engineering gives you a disadvantage because of less practical experience. On the other hand, it seems that now is the worst time to leave university and go job hunting as there have been so many lay-offs

I would extremely appreciate any input

What age are you and whats your visa situation. I believe the visas for Germany just opened up yesterday but it is still a three month process.

[komatiite]

Jogo There is no doubt in my mind that if you want to work for an oil company you should take the petroleum masters. With a mining engineering background you have few options off the bat work wise- you can do geotechnical work like tailings pond design, or you can work on oil sand mine design/exploitation but these jobs are slowly going to dry up as the oil sands moves to SAGD (thermal drilling processes, look it up).

A petroleum masters will expose you to a whole new skillset- drilling, production, reservoir, completions, petrophysics (well logging), geoscience, stimulation/ EOR, Pressure transient analysis (well testing), surface facilities... The list goes on, and you'll be much more marketable in a rapidly changing landscape in both conventional and unconventional plays.

Guys I know here with mining engineering backgrounds are always passed over for petroleum engineering backgrounds because the companies can spend less time training them, and as a foreigner you are already going to be at a disadvantage in a down economy.

My two cents.....

Edit- what is it that you'd like to do in this industry? Maybe you have different goals. Fast money or a long term grind to big bucks? Conventional or unconventional?

[scotian]

Yes drilling is slow as fuck right now, which is why Atlantic is down in Colombia and not in Alberta, but the Alberta oil patch isn't limited to drilling, as anyone who has read my oil sands thread knows. A large portion of the oil sands operations have nothing to do with drilling, they are mines in which the oil sands are scooped out of the ground by huge excavators and processed in a similar fashion to other large mining operations around the world. So to answer your question, yes, there still are mining and down stream opportunities in Alberta, which is why I'm not with Atlantic in Colombia, its busy as fuck here in Alberta right now (non drilling), here's some mining companies and operations in Northern Alberta:

Suncor: Base plant (oldest mine ops in the oil sands), also the Fort Hills project, the largest new construction project going on in the oil sands, around 3000 guys there now building it.

Syncrude: Main plant site

Shell: Albian Sands and Jack Pine Mine

CNRL: Horizon

Exxon/Imperial Oil: Kearl Lake

I've worked at all of these sites and they're big, dirty open pit mines full of bitumen, Google them and their contractors and see what happens, here's some mining services companies off the top of my head: SMS Equipment, Thyssen Krupp, KMC Mining, P&H Mining, etc.

Guys don't forget, despite the low oil prices, the amount of oil being sent down the pipelines has not decreased and is expected to increase by 3.5% this year, so yes, the exploration side is slow but production, maintenance, mid-stream/down-stream are still going strong.

[Atlantic]

Great info ^. Drilling is slow but will pick up again in 1 - 2 yrs. It will always be this way though and is well know as a cyclonic side if the industry, which itself has ups and downs.

I would do the masters while you are young and then enjoy a lot of career options afterwards. Once you start making the big bucks and do a few years of work and the partying that goes alongside it will be hard to return to school and get good grades. Get it done now and wait for this global slow down to pass over.

[Jogo]

Great info indeed! Thanks guys!

So I am 25 right now and I am going to be 27 when I leave university for good if I do the master. During my bachelors I also had some petroleum related courses, although it wasn’t much. But from those courses I knew that I wanted to do E&P work, especially drilling.

Of course I am feeling the urge to start making money more and more but I think the long term grind to big bucks is the thing that suits more to me.

About the 2 years cycle I am more skeptical of. I think it will last longer than this. Maybe 3-4 years until the prices are back to the known average high. Especially the increase of oil production in Iran that can be expected in this fall and the different break even points of the shale gas producers will slow down heavily the rapid growth in oil prices that we saw after the last crisis in 2008. But that is all speculation ^^

It is true that it will be really difficult going back schooling after some time off with big money and a totally different routine. On the other hand, living on your saving from this time while you are studying could be fucking nice, too ^.

[Atlantic]

I get your point globally but Canadian companies will have to drill sooner rather than later (even if for much less profit) to keep production going and their businesses functional. They can only hold off for so long.

I would do the masters and then you are sorted. A lot of the big name guys behind the scenes in Calgary did this at a similar age to you and it seems to be the way to go for that upper level of job opportunists and high wages. You will still have to put in your time in a hands on role at some point but the masters is the best choice for now. Try get it as specialized as possible and not a general overview course. Something like well completions is a good pick.

[komatiite]

You still plugging on your MBA Atlantic or on a brief hiatus for Sluts n' Sandwiches in Latin America? Haha. How was the first bit? Does the Online component sort of shortchange you since you can't network to the extent an in person MBA student does?