Drilling engineer : Employers and vacancy sources

The largest and most easily developed oil fields have now been discovered and are past their production peak. However, it is estimated that over 40% of the UK’s reserves are yet to be recovered.

In the UK, activity is currently located mainly off the east coast of England and Scotland, but exploration is also being carried out in the western approaches, the Irish Sea and west of the Shetlands.

Oil exploration is an international activity and the work of a drilling engineer can take you all over the world.

Typical employers include:

• oil operation/production companies, especially large international oil companies, although some are smaller and less well-known;
• engineering consultancies;
• integrated service providers which provide staff in varied disciplines;
• specialist drilling contractors which undertake drilling work on an international scale and often operate and maintain their own mobile drilling rigs.

Recruitment, training patterns and job titles vary from company to company; this is particularly true with regard to the extraction phase. For example, some employers do not distinguish at entry level between petroleum, drilling and support engineering. Instead, preferring to recruit people with wide potential and deploy them after training where individual preference and company need coincide.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Earthworks Jobs  
• InfoOil Careers  
• Oil Careers  
• OilGrads  - Amercian website with relevant job listings.
• Press and Journal  - search for jobs.
• Rigzone  - has relevant job listings.
• Careers sections of major oil and gas companies' websites may list details of graduate recruitment schemes as well as other jobs.

You may find recruitment agencies a helpful source of temporary and permanent jobs. It is also worth sending speculative applications to specialist companies. Check out the Drilling Engineer Association Europe (DEAe)  and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC)  for appropriate contacts.

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