National Occupational Classification (NOC): 21332
Fast Facts
- Average Pay: N/A
- Future Growth: N/A
- Skill Level: N/A
- Employment Size: N/A
- Unemployment: N/A
- Full-time Share: N/A
Sample Job Titles
- Exploration engineer - oil and gas
- Natural gas engineer
- Oil and gas drilling engineer
- Oil and gas production engineer
- Petroleum engineer
- Petroleum production engineer
- Petroleum reservoir engineer
- Petroleum well completion engineer
- Subsea engineer
- Well logging engineer
What do petroleum engineers do?
Petroleum engineers conduct studies for the exploration, development and extraction of oil and gas deposits; and plan, design, develop and supervise projects for the drilling, completion, testing and re-working of oil and gas wells. They are employed by petroleum producing companies, consulting companies, well logging or testing companies, government, and research and educational institutions.
Petroleum engineers perform some or all of the following duties:
- Conduct feasibility assessment studies for developing new oil and gas fields
- Direct and monitor oil and gas drilling operations
- Develop drilling programs, select sites and specify drilling fluids, bit selection, drill stem testing procedures and equipment
- Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing and well surveys
- Design and select artificial lift machinery, and well and surface production equipment and systems, and specify programs for corrosion control and oil or gas treatment
- Develop specifications for and monitor and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery
- Analyze reservoir rock and fluid data to design optimum recovery methods and to predict reservoir performance and reserves
- Monitor and forecast oil and gas reservoir performance and recommend oil recovery techniques which extend the economic life of wells
- Design, develop and coordinate the installation, maintenance and operation of subsea well-head and production equipment.
Petroleum engineers may specialize in drilling, production, reservoir analysis or subsea operations.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
Petroleum engineers work in the following subsectors (NAICS) in Newfoundland and Labrador:
- 211 Oil and gas extraction
- 213 Support activities for mining, and oil and gas extraction
- 541 Professional, scientific and technical services
- 417 Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Short and Long Term Occupational Projections
Short Term Projections for 2023-2025
The employment outlook will be moderate for petroleum engineers in Newfoundland and Labrador (rating of 3 out of 5) for the 2023-2025 period.
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Long Term Projections for 2023-2032
Petroleum engineers belong to the broader occupational group 2133 (Engineers in natural resources). This group is forecast to be balanced (rating of 2.1 out of 4) over the next several years, meaning projected labour supply is expected to meet forecasted job openings.
Source: Department of Finance, Occupation Projections (Summer 2023)
Number of Job Postings in 2023
During 2023, there were 19 public job postings for this occupation, with the following distribution:
| Avalon: 95% | Western: 0% |
| Eastern: 5% | Labrador: 0% |
| Central: 0% | NL-unspecified: 0% |
Source: Lightcast (note: data used in this analysis reflects new unique monthly postings which are totaled for the calendar year)
Who works as petroleum engineers in Newfoundland and Labrador?
During the reference week of May 2021, there were approximately 260 people working in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador. 73% of those employed were Male+ and 25% of those employed were Female+.
Here is the age group breakdown for this group of workers:
| 15 to 24 | 25 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65+ |
| 0% | 94% | 4% | 0% |
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
How much do petroleum engineers make?
Annual Earnings
The median employment income for all petroleum engineers in the reference year 2020 (285 workers in total, including those working part-time and full-time, as well as part-year and full-year) was $144,000.
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada
Hourly Earnings
Salary information for petroleum engineers in Newfoundland and Labrador is as follows:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $37.50 | $61.54 | $80.77 |
The following low, median, and high wages are for Canada:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) |
| $30.00 | $57.69 | $93.75 |
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Most Frequently Sought Skills from Job Postings: (2023)
- Reservoir Engineering
- Oil And Gas
- Petroleum Industry
- Petroleum Engineering
- Reservoir Simulation
- Renewable Energy Development
- Watchkeeping
- Compensation Management
- Drilling Engineering
- Floating Production Storage And Offloading
Source: Lightcast
What training is required?
- A bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering or in a related engineering discipline is required.
- A master’s degree or doctorate in a related engineering discipline may be required.
- Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practice as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).
- Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, and after three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination.
- There is mobility between petroleum engineering specializations at the less senior levels.
- Supervisory and senior positions in this unit group require experience.
- Engineers often work in a multidisciplinary environment and acquire knowledge and skills through work experience that may allow them to practice in associated areas of science, engineering, sales, marketing or management.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
* Find public and private education, training and skills development opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador here.
Links
- National Occupational Classification
- North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2022
- Job Bank – Explore Careers by Occupation
- Department of Finance – Occupation Projections
- Statistics Canada – Census 2021
- Percentages for some occupations may not equal 100% due to Statistics Canada’s use of random rounding procedures for subcategories of age (a confidentiality procedure used to prevent the possibility of associating statistical data with any identifiable individual).