Best Paying Jobs in Oil & Gas Production
Best Paying Jobs in Oil & Gas Production: Oil and natural gas are major industries in the energy market and play an influential role in the global economy as the world’s primary fuel source. The processes and systems involved in producing and distributing oil and gas are highly complex, capital-intensive, and require state-of-the-art technology.
Best Paying Jobs in Oil & Gas Production
Historically, natural gas has been linked to oil, mainly because of the production process or upstream side of the business. For much of the history of the industry, natural gas was viewed as a nuisance and even today is flared in large quantities in some parts of the world, including the United States.
Natural gas has taken on a more prominent role in the world’s energy supply as a consequence of shale gas development in the United States, as mentioned above, and it’s lower greenhouse gas emissions when combusted when compared to oil and coal.
The oil industry offers several rewarding careers for individuals interested in a wide range of scientific, engineering, and mechanical fields of work. With varying education and experience requirements, there are several high-paying career paths available for those pursuing a job in the oil industry.
Understanding the duties and qualifications needed to secure employment in this sector can help you determine which oil industry profession is the best fit for you.
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Best Paying Jobs in Oil & Gas Production
If you’re looking for the best-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry they’re many of them available. The oil and gas industry arguably has the highest GDP contribution. Saying there’s no money in the field is a factoid. It is among the industries with the highest pay for its employees due to its booming income in it. Most countries with oil-producing industries have their workers as the most paid and revered person in society.
1. Project Manager
The main responsibilities of an oil and gas project manager job are to plan, coordinate and manage oil and gas projects, ensure clear agreements of objectives, work out scopes and costs for projects, and provide leadership across projects.
The Project Manager is tasked with ensuring that an entire project from start to finish is on track, on budget, to specifications, and within safety guidelines. The Project Manager also ensures that communication is flowing between groups.
The average Project Manager salary in Canada is $82,808 per year.
2. Lease Purchase Operator
A Lease Operator is one of the most important jobs in the oil and gas industry. From recording production data and troubleshooting equipment to knowing when—and who—to call for help, this person is responsible for keeping a production well-producing.
The ideal lease operator is mechanically minded and excels at troubleshooting and solving problems.
In this career, you monitor the pump and other equipment to make sure they are operating correctly. Your duties include using meters and instruments to record daily extraction amounts, repairing machinery, and troubleshooting when problems arise during production.
As a lease operator, your responsibilities include making repairs or arranging for repairs. Modern pumping operations rely on sensors and computer systems to monitor extraction activities. You typically use these computers to assess production and check for problems.
Lease purchase operator positions require you to have a certain qualification. To be qualified to apply for this job you must have at least a bachelor’s degree or high school diploma and advanced mechanical knowledge. They earn an average annual salary of $101,625.
3. Well Testers
Well-testers are experts in the oil and gas industry whose job is to access and study oil wells to ensure the safety and balance of the oil wells and pipelines before, during, and after work.
They’re responsible for the safety of the oil industry by evaluating and studying using tools. The education requirements for this include a diploma certificate or GED and onsite training. They have an annual salary of $44,061.
As a Well Test Operator you will be required to:
- Prepare and maintain Well Testing equipment.
- Mobilize equipment and personnel to the site
- Follow client requirements for well-site operations.
- Ensure compliance and execute maintenance programs for field equipment.
- Be involved in the field crew assessment program.
- Collect oil and gas samples while recording observations in detail.
- Operate a range of Well Testing and Flowback equipment
- Accurately report the test data and relevant information as required.
- Assist with ensuring that the program for the job is understood and workable.
- Assist in HSE and technical audits when required.
4. Drilling Supervisor
Drilling Supervisors are in charge of the drill operations and make sure that drilling work is completed properly and on schedule. They often work alongside a management team while the planning of a project’s operations is being developed.
The average Drilling Supervisor salary in Canada is $82,729 per year.
As a Drilling Operations Supervisor you will be required to:
- Drilling Operations Supervisor supervises a drilling crew and daily drilling operations.
- Oversees the efficient execution of drilling activities to ensure operations run smoothly.
- Being a Drilling Operations Supervisor am responsible for ensuring proper use and maintenance of equipment.
- Develops and recommends revisions or enhancements to solve and troubleshoot drilling problems.
- Drilling Operations Supervisor requires a bachelor’s degree.
- Typically reports to a manager.
- The Drilling Operations Supervisor supervises a small group of para-professional staff in an organization characterized by highly transactional or repetitive processes.
- Contributes to the development of processes and procedures.
To be a Drilling Operations Supervisor typically requires 3 years of experience in the related area as an individual contributor. Thorough knowledge of the functional areas under supervision.
5. Construction Manager
The main responsibilities include providing planning, leadership, direction, and technical expertise in managing the timely procurement of materials, equipment/plant and labor resources, delivery to site, and construction of the subcontract work packages, mainly comprising Building Structures, Tank foundations, and minor Pipe Lines for the EPC 1, EPC2 and EPC 3 work packages of the Refinery project.
Responsibilities
- Reporting directly to the Project Manager, you shall Monitor the progress of the construction for compliance with the schedule
- Manage and motivate the contractor’s construction team
- Review of existing contractor operations, assessing both the strengths and weaknesses, implement changes and drive contractor workforce to deliver.
- Participate in weekly/ monthly progress, procurement, and commercial meetings.
- Report to the Project and Planning Managers on the progress and quality of the project(s) and obtain authority from the Project Manager for any decisions/instructions required to ensure timely delivery.
- Monitoring all work executed, at all stages, to ensure that an accurate and professional service is offered
- Professional interface with other disciplines and clients’ representative
- Ensure that the construction teams are adequately resourced
- Ensure that contractual deliverables are produced and issued on time and in compliance with the clients’ requirements
- Ensure adherence to the procedures for material, labor, and plant/equipment procurement and timely placed and delivered
- Create a positive and proactive approach that drives the site team
- Conduct team meetings and direct actions
6. Chemical Engineers
They ensure petroleum and oil materials go directly into gas tanks. They manage, control, and maintain systems in industrial and chemical plants, And they ensure that the correct chemicals are used to get crude oil into a usable form.
For major employers in the industry such as BP, ExxonMobil, or Shell, chemical engineers can work in a variety of roles. Their expertise is needed upstream, where catalysts, polymers, and new molecules help to boost production. Opportunities are also available in the laboratory setting, as well as downstream operations that focus on what happens to hydrocarbons once they have been extracted from the ground.
Chemical engineers in the oil and gas sector are one of the most paid workers. They’re responsible for assessing and determining the type and amount of chemicals used to transform oil products into useful materials in the industry.
All the additives substances used on crude oil and petroleum to transform them into useful materials are done by the chemical engineers in collaboration with other professional engineers. To be qualified as a chemical engineer in the oil and gas industry, you must have a bachelor’s degree in the field or related field. A chemical engineer in the oil and gas industry receives an annual income of about $63,844.
7. Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Engineers have a huge role to play in the oil and gas industry. They are responsible for designing the equipment and machinery that are used by technicians and engineers for their day-to-day activities. This equipment includes pipelines, valves, turbines, etc. Mechanical engineers analyze any operational difficulties faced by the technicians and create new equipment or modify the existing ones. Mechanical engineers often have to work with a wide range of equipment used in the oil and gas industry, like turbines, compressors, vessels, piping, and heaters. They are also responsible to make sure this equipment is efficient, reliable, and safe to use.
• To provide professional competent mechanical engineering guidance and advice based on sound engineering practices in support of operations, projects, and contracts both offshore and onshore.
• The Mechanical Engineer is responsible for providing professional, competent mechanical engineering support, guidance and advice to Project Engineers ensuring that they have access to technical knowledge and expertise in ensuring that projects are engineered to the highest standard required of technical integrity.
• Providing sound engineering guidance and advice on matters of Mechanical Technical Integrity, including Operations, Projects, and Decommissioning group.
• Liaise effectively with other discipline engineers to ensure projects are engineered to the highest standard taking into consideration all project requirements.
• Ensure projects follow standard gate decision process, i.e. Appraise, Select, Define, Execute, Operate
• Ensure the client and company Management of Change process is complied with, ensuring Engineering Change Requests are prioritized and dealt with promptly.
• Liaise with sub-contractors, e.g. engineering consultancies, piping surveyors, engineering fabricators, etc. to ensure that materials and services are planned and coordinated to align with client planning process and milestones.
• Provide technical support to project engineers for client shutdown/TAR outages, and attend planning meetings when required.
• Monitor project progress and update activity planning meetings with clients and company Project Engineers.
• Preparation of comprehensive project work packs, including method statements, resources, and material requirements.
• Carrying out visits to offshore assets as required.
• Be responsible for the review and management of equipment and maintenance data within the Computerized Maintenance Management System (JDE)
• Identify and investigate equipment performance, and contribute to equipment reliability.
• Be a proactive team member within the Maintenance Technology team.
• Closely cooperate and support the Mechanical Workshop and other organizational departments.
They’re paid about $127,828 annually.
8. Gas Plant Operator
Gas plant operators control automated processes that convert raw natural gas into forms consumers can use.
Gas Plant Operators distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines. They also distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.
Other tasks include:
- Monitor transportation and storage of flammable and other potentially dangerous products to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
- Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.
- Start and shut down plant equipment.
- Control equipment to regulate the flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.
- Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.
Gas operators are considered among the top paid job in the oil industry and labor market at large. They’re paid about $41,541 annually.
To be qualified as a gas operator, you must have an education qualification of at least a high school diploma.
9. Petroleum Geologist
A petroleum geologist is an earth scientist who works in the field of petroleum geology, which involves all aspects of oil discovery and production. Petroleum geologists are usually linked to the actual discovery of oil and the identification of possible oil deposits, gas caps, or leads.
It can be a very labor-intensive task involving several different fields of science and elaborate equipment. Petroleum geologists look at the structural and sedimentary aspects of the stratum/strata to identify possible oil traps or tight shale plays.
Petroleum geologists decide where to drill for petroleum.
Petroleum geologists work in both field and office settings as part of their work determining the location and amount of combustible fuel in sediments on land or in the ocean. Typical job duties for a petroleum geologist include:
- Use of physics, mathematics, and geological knowledge in exploration for oil, gas, or minerals
- Interpret geophysical information in project reports
- Conduct field studies to analyze project data
- Accurately estimate fuel amounts using various techniques including geochemical analysis, ground-based sonar, or satellite mapping
- Use equipment such as diamond core drillers, atomic absorption spectrometers, and gas chromatography
- Develop knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning (GPS) systems and interpret data collected from these technologies
- Implement drilling strategies for extraction of fuel
- Create and present post-project reports and maps to present to a supervisor, such as a chief geologist or project manager
- Develop strong interpersonal and communication skills for working with other geoscientists
Senior petroleum geologists have a breadth of experience that allows them to be effective project managers. Once they have amassed experience as petroleum geologists, they may add the following duties to their job descriptions:
- Provide supervision and guidance for staff-level positions
- Oversight and management of field activities, including all field studies and geochemical analysis
- Review field data and create computer simulations
- Examine fossil records to determine the presence of oil and gas deposits
- Present team findings to superiors, which may include the CEO or Board of Directors
- Develop strong verbal and written communication skills, particularly in writing technical reports
The average Petroleum Geologist salary in Canada is $161,946 per year.
10. Geophysicist
As a geophysicist, you’ll study the physical aspects of the earth using a range of methods, including gravity, magnetic, electrical, and seismic.
By collecting data on seismic waves, which move through and around the earth, you’ll create a picture of what lies below the earth’s surface. This information is vitally important to the oil and gas industries.
You’ll be responsible for controlling the quality of the seismic data collected and interpreting it to create maps of the build-up of hydrocarbons.
Other tasks include examining the physical properties of rocks and gathering and evaluating well data to build reservoir models.
As a geophysicist, you’ll need to:
- pre-plan projects before going on-site
- design data acquisition plans
- decide on suitable seismic measurement and data-processing techniques
- take equipment out to various locations around the world and deploy seismometers
- observe the reaction of recording equipment to detect irregularities
- use computers for data management, quality control, and communication between the office and field locations
- interpret and map 2D and 3D seismic data
- report on collected seismic data to the team, clients, senior managers, or partners at meetings and presentations
- measure reservoir volumes
- assess potential oil and gas yield
- design, test, modify and repair seismic equipment
- adapt data collection procedures
- work closely with a small team of scientists and other staff who may be away in the field or offshore for several weeks at a time
- compile charts and reports
- write documentation and work logs
- provide a range of geophysical support and technical advice and guidance
- keep abreast of new and emerging technologies
- improve existing techniques in data acquisition and mathematical processing, as well as seek to develop new techniques and methods
- work within the budget, resource, and time constraints.
The average Petroleum Geologist salary in Canada is $161,946 per year.