The energy sector employs more than 8.5 million people, including oil, gas, and renewable energy sources. These sectors require educated people to plan, design, and create equipment to meet their needs and keep their employees safe. A mechanical engineer in oil and gas is the person who takes drilling or extraction problems and, by using existing or collected data, analyzes and creates the machines necessary to solve them.
It’s a growing job market, and more than 30,000 jobs are expected to be available by 2030. If, by 2030, you have a mind for numbers and puzzles, you might make a great mechanical engineer in the oil and gas industry.
What is a Mechanical Engineer?
A mechanical engineer takes problems, analyzes them, and then tries to figure out what equipment or mechanical objects can help solve them.
The engineer then designs the necessary equipment and machinery, ensuring compliance with local regulations and health codes, so that technicians and other engineers can use it safely and efficiently.
“Applying knowledge about industry equipment to solve a problem is common for mechanical engineers.”
You’ll work with various equipment and its components, such as compressors, drilling instruments, piping, and heaters. Because you’ll be involved in the machinery process, you should understand the equipment and ensure everything is always working well and safely.
Work Responsibilities in Oil and Gas Projects
Mechanical engineers are responsible for some fields, including design, building, and testing equipment for mechanical and thermal tasks. Such tasks include drilling and maintaining a positive environment for employees.
They are also responsible for all the company’s tools, engines, and machines.
What sets this industry apart from others where mechanical engineers work is that in the oil and gas industry, their equipment and systems are used to produce, extract, and process oil and gas.
Daily Responsibilities
Typical day-to-day responsibilities for a mechanical engineer in oil and gas projects include:
- Investigate and analyze mechanical issues
- Apply relevant knowledge about industry equipment to solve a problem.
- Test prototypes of designs and make changes as needed
- Diagnose faulty equipment and fix issues
- Work in a multi-disciplinary team environment to solve large problems
- Oversee all manufacturing of equipment you designed
Computer Duties
In addition to planning, designing, and creating equipment, a mechanical engineer in oil and gas are also responsible for integrating sensors, controllers, and sometimes AI into devices.
These computer-guided implementations help engineers analyze how the equipment works, run simulations and address issues before they become problems.
Work Environments
Several companies employ mechanical engineers in the oil and gas industry in various services, from manufacturing and extraction to transportation and scientific research.
Mechanical engineering is generally an office role. However, sometimes engineers may visit work sites to address complex issues or obtain more information to solve a problem.
Required Mechanical Engineer Skills
The required skills for a mechanical engineer are a blend of technical and soft skills.
Technical Skills
A Bachelor’s degree will cover many of the technical skills listed, but it’s important to know what skills are the most important to study.
Energy Conversion: Mechanical engineers should understand the principles of energy conversion. In addition, they should understand how it transfers, such as knowing the principles of thermodynamics.
This is especially true for engineers designing fluid flow systems, like pipes and pumps, heat exchanger systems, and thermal insulation for offshore oil rigs.
Mechanical Analysis: Engineers test the structural integrity of components before and after placement in the final product. By this way, they are able to ensure strain distribution appropriately and prevent damage from vibrations in large equipment.
Material Knowledge: To succeed as a mechanical engineer, you must understand how materials work and which materials are suitable for each task.
When designing new equipment, factors such as how materials withstand heat, durability, strength, and resistance to corrosion are important. In the harsh weather conditions of an offshore oil rig, only certain materials can withstand mechanical stresses without failure.
CAD and CAM Familiarity: Computer-aided design and manufacturing are important pieces of software. More precisely, they work together to allow a mechanical engineer to design and manufacture equipment.
CAD is responsible for creating blueprints and models. CAM takes those models and generates toolpaths and machining instructions to create the equipment.
Automation and Quality Assurance: A mechanical engineer in oil and gas is often responsible for complex and detailed pieces of equipment that must be optimized appropriately, be of high quality, and consistently perform their intended functions.
Engineers use quality control software, sensors, and control systems to obtain desired parameters during manufacturing and testing processes. If problems arise, their education and experience can help them to troubleshoot problems and implement corrective actions.
Technical Writing: Documentation is another important part of mechanical engineering after designing equipment. Mechanical engineers create technical drawings, reports, and manuals.
In addition to creating easily-understood documents, they must also demonstrate that they meet standards and regulations. That is, they are able help in preventing liability issues.
Project Management: Project management is important to the job’s success. Mechanical engineers frequently lead teams and are responsible for effective resource allocation. Moreover, budgeting is done for staff and working hours.
Whether working with a project leader or as a project leader, risk management must be done regularly, and projects must be completed on time and within budget.
Soft Skills
Interpersonal skills and personal qualities greatly influence who is best suited for this profession. Soft skills are just as important as technical skills, and when it comes to many applicants with similar educational backgrounds, soft skills can be the deciding factor.
To be successful, mechanical engineers should have:
- Strong listening skills: For working in teams and successfully communicating with other professionals like computer scientists and architects. You could discuss new ideas or different approaches to solving a problem.
- Creativity: It will help when you’re designing and building complex pieces of equipment.
- Problem-solving: A cornerstone of the job, a mechanical engineer in oil and gas use available information, including data collected by others, to design and build useful products.
- Teamwork: Mechanical engineers are team players who work with a range of other professionals to solve problems. Collaboration can include those who collect data, management, and the technicians who will use the products they design.
Education
You can take a few different paths to gain the education you need to become a mechanical engineer.
Most mechanical engineers hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related field. Some mechanical engineers have also been hired after completing a mechanical engineering technology course.
Typically, these degrees will include math, algebra, and physical science courses and are geared toward people with a strong mind for numbers and puzzles.
While bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering teach the theory behind design and implementation, technology courses move away from theory to focus on the hands-on element of engineering and the practical application of engineering principles.
“Getting a PE license is essential for career growth.”
Educational institutions offer co-op programs for practical experience and theory. Students can also earn money while they study and make important connections within the industry.
When choosing your educational institution, look for programs accredited by non-governmental accreditation groups.
Qualifications: Licenses and Certifications
While entry-level positions in mechanical engineering may not require licensing at the beginning, as you progress through your career, you’ll want to obtain licenses and certifications to demonstrate your abilities.
Many mechanical engineers pursue licensing as professional engineers, getting a Professional Engineer license (PE) that enables them to take on higher levels of responsibility and get a leadership role in their team.
Although licensing varies by state, many states follow the same procedures and requirements.
- A degree from an accredited engineering program
- At least 4 years of relevant work experience
- Passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam after graduating with your Bachelor’s and PE exam after getting work experience.
PE certification should be renewed yearly and accompanied by continuing education as the industry evolves.
Career Options
Mechanical engineering is a broad field of study. That is, several jobs draw on the education and skills you acquire when you graduate. Finding a niche you enjoy and that works well with your skills to settle into can help define and grow your career.
After spending some time working in a general field, you may find that one particular aspect of the oil and gas industry interests you, and you want to put your time and attention into a niche.
These niches include specializing in drilling machinery, pipelines, static equipment, or reliability equipment.
However, finding your niche can be as simple as choosing the appropriate job title when you enter into the profession. Common mechanical engineering job titles you might see when you’re searching for the right job include:
- Operations and Maintenance Engineer (Petrochemical and Refineries): maintenance, shutdowns, expansions, and streamlining operations.
- Mechanical Construction Engineer (Pipeline): Focuses on mechanical works and supervising contractors in prefabrication and construction. Ensures safety standards are followed.
- Equipment Engineer: Inspects, maintains, and aligns equipment.
- Design and Planning Engineers: Uses software to plan and design equipment for specific needs.
- Field Coordinator and Engineer: Working in the field and the office requires a mechanical engineering background. You would be responsible for interpreting drawings for field crews and assisting technicians in gathering data.
- Project Engineer: Leads projects and oversees the installation of new equipment for extraction or processing of oil and gas.
Mechanical Engineers in Other Energy Sectors
While many mechanical engineers choose to work in the oil and gas industry, either from an office or in the field, many more are moving to the renewable energy sector.
Mechanical engineers are helping to design and develop the technologies needed to improve the production and retention of solar, wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric power.
Taking courses during your degree, like combustion analysis and modeling, can help you in any energy industry and supplement your degree. Learning about sustainable materials combined with energy sciences can give you more options once you graduate.
Conclusion
The oil and gas industry is still vital in the energy sector, and the role of mechanical engineer in oil and gas is essential among energy jobs.
Mechanical engineering can be an easy career to enter into. The main requirement for an entry-level position is a Bachelor’s degree and a mind for numbers and problem-solving.
While the degree takes work, you graduate with a chance at a promising career and start with a good chance at future work. Does this sound interesting? If you’re considering a job in oil and gas, you may want to start by reading up on the differences between crude oil, natural gas, diesel, and gas oils.
