Any RE looking outside of the firm now? Am I the only one thinking how pointless my deepwater skillsets are in the broader job market? Any tips on landing an interview? I felt like a wasted a decade of my life for nothing at this point
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Not everything is that complicated. I had plenty of conversations about using DCA to replace reservoir model since it literally provided within 10% margin of error on a normal well forecast. Arrogant people like you is the reason why Shell took so long to make any decision. You are the opposite of an engineer considering your existence is not trying to solve a problem but to create a complicated problem so that you can come in to “save the day”. Please keep your scientific mind in R&D. The rest of us actually has a business to run
DCA and economics are child’s play. Anyone with half a brain can do this type of work. People with a scientific mind get so bored doing this they would not fit in well. That’s why mo--ns are easily promoted if they can add up decline curves on a spreadsheet and make fancy PowerPoints. Sometimes they even pretend to be engineers by attaching too much physical significance to their DCA.
Just want to reply to the last message.
It sounds very ideal but the reality is that only a handful of companies in the industry cares about reservoir simulation. If you don’t know how to use DCA software and run economic tools, you may want to take a training now or be ready to take an entry level to learn how things are done
A talented RE can work in offshore, onshore, oil, gas, gas condensate, etc. You
get the point? Physics are physics and optimization principals are the same no matter where you work. In fact a real reservoir engineer can work a problem with just a pencil, some paper, and a slide rule. You don’t even need software.
If REs are having a hard time, it’s probably worse for PPs. Not gonna lie, deep water is a niche market for subsurface staffs. I’m in well, so I can easily transfer to onshore when the time comes.
Yep. A good RE is still highly sought after.
The bigger company that hiring consistently is Oxy, but there a few smaller outfits out there too.
Network, network, network! And apply to everything you see posted.
There are tons of deep water RE positions posted in Houston… it is way easier for an RE to get a new job than almost any other upstream position right now
I work with RE's at Shell and I have always been impressed with both technical skill and personal skills. Network through industry groups, setup a meetup group, get premium linked in and try and connect there. Stay positive, things will turn out fine
RE here. It will not be easy to get another deepwater job outside of Shell and it’s even harder for us to land an onshore position. Unfortunately some of us just need to restart the career over by getting an entry-ish position to stay employed. Good luck with your job search
Take some online certifications of machine learning, AI and the sort. Sell your reservoir skills as decision making under uncertainty, with buzz words stochastic, forecasting etc. Several subsurface people managed to switch to finance, data science, broader energy sectors. Good luck!
Do you know how many RE positions will be cut in Houston?
You can always re-skill to investment banking for example, they are looking for REs for financing deals