# Petroleum Engineers

> Devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice.

- **SOC code:** 17-2171.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2171-00
- **Also known as:** Drilling Engineer, Engineer, Petroleum Engineer, Reservoir Engineer, Completion Engineer, Operations Engineer, Petroleum Production Engineer, Project Production Engineer
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
- Test machinery and equipment to ensure that it is safe and conforms to performance specifications.
- Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
- Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
- Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
- Assist engineering and other personnel to solve operating problems.
- Assign work to staff to obtain maximum utilization of personnel.
- Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing, or well surveys.
- Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.
- Assess costs and estimate the production capabilities and economic value of oil and gas wells, to evaluate the economic viability of potential drilling sites.
- Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.
- Confer with scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to resolve design, research, and testing problems.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Use drone technology for aerial surveying and monitoring of drilling sites.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Systems Analysis _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- C# _(hot technology)_
- C++ _(hot technology)_
- Eclipse IDE _(hot technology)_
- Google Analytics _(hot technology)_
- Linux _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Project _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 77th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 84th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 76th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 68th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 32nd percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 1.3% growth (About average); 1.2k annual openings; 19.6k → 19.8k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $141,280; 18,970 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2171-00_