<p>I know that most ChemE majors working in oil and gas usually land downstream after graduation, but I know that it’s not unheard of for chemical engineers to work upstream. My question is – what does a process engineer do for an oil and gas company? Is this an upstream or downstream job? What does the job entail, and what are you responsible for? I can’t find a solid description anywhere. Also, pay as compared to drilling, reservoir, etc? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>If you search the web for “process engineer” and the name of any major oil company you will find job descriptions, profiles, etc. For example: [Engineering</a> - Process Engineers](<a href=“Working at Chevron | Home”>http://careers.chevron.com/disciplines/index_of_disciplines/engineering/process_engineering/default.aspx)</p>
<p>ChemE has more direct applications downstream but there are process engineers involved in upstream facilities as well. Also, I have seen at least one example of a reservoir engineer with a ChemE background and given the overlap involved it is probably not too uncommon. Hope someone else can give you more specific answers from experience.</p>
<p>As a chemical engineer working in drilling and having a bit of experience in reservoir engineering you can really do whatever you want. It was definitely more difficult to get a job in upstream than downstream but its not uncommon at all.</p>
<p>I think many large energy companies hire chemical and other engineers (civil, mechanical, etc) to work upsteam largely because of a shortage of petroleum engineering grads. Ideally, the chem eng degree is best suited to process engineering which is really downstream work. This involves design, operations, optimization, safety and environmental management, etc. I believe then that chemical and non-petroleum engineers would be facing a rather steep learning curve when confronting new subjects like petro geology, reservoir simulation, fracking, etc without formal university training in these subjects. </p>
<p>However, most large energy concerns have excellent training, development and mentorship programs and non-petroleum engineers should be able to catchup rather quickly (with hard work and commitment). Ideally though, someone considering this line of work would likely be best served by majoring in petroleum or geological engineering and would be in an advantageous position with respect to non-petroleum engineering grads. </p>