what do you mean by the management style? You mean Shell?

well, from the guy i usually work with who has that title, they work primarily with the formation pressure testers SLB has e.g. wireline MDT/FPWD (a.k.a StethoScope). Mainly interpretation of the test results, sometimes barosteering, etc.

if it's the same group interview i did couple of years ago, it should be some group exercise. Just show you're a team player - speak up, back up your ideas or ideas you support, etc.

this one only slb (early in your career), in operator companies you're the one who decides how much oil/gas is in the field. maybe visits offshore, but definitely not offshore for long. office type. good pay though.

in slb, basically a petrotechnical degree matters only for the DCS & R&D, Drilling Engineers here come from different backgrounds but most these guys are more like well planners, survey specialists than drilling engineers.



here you go, copy-and-pasted from internal site:

Borehole Reservoir Engineer:
Responsible for the QC, processing and interpretation of reservoir related data from Schlumberger services such as those provided by Wireline, Drilling and Measurements, Testing and Artificial lift.
Works to deliver a quality interpretation product for the customer. Delivers the results to the customer and discusses the key observations and helps the customer to understand the value and impact of the product.
Helps to support the field engineers by recommending techniques or parameters to acquire the best dataset.
Is able to add the value to the acquired data sets by using reservoir knowledge such as phase behaviour and flow analysis during the interpretation.

Reservoir Engineer:
Typical work activities include estimating the potential of a reservoir in order to determine potential fluid flow. Creating and enhancing reservoir models that simulate fluid flow, phase behaviour and reservoir physical properties. Analysing the properties of fluid to predict fluid behaviour and estimate the impact on production characteristics. Investigating enhanced oil recovery options, e.g. by using water injection. Works as part of a multidiscipline team such as geologists, geophysicists and petrophysicist to fully evaluate reservoir potential and modelling results.

yes, SLB pays USD worldwide if you work as internationals i.e. can be sent to anywhere in the world, except your home country. Also, you have not much choice in which country you wanna go. They offer you the location, can just say yes or no.

The more dangerous the country, the higher the pay & some locations will give rotations but when it gets too dangerous, they will extract you. But you know, shit happens sometimes - last year some guys got kidnapped in Nigeria, a couple got carjacked & one dead, speared in a civil war in Sudan! Also, not too mention some ppl who get Malaria, which is probably the no.1 killer disease in the O&G industry!

So it sucks to work in UK & Europe (also, depends on department - some pay extra bonus to compensate their employees) since the tax is high & you're getting paid in USD. Like one of the seniors I used to work with last time said, joining SLB is like joining the army, just more pay.

Home country ppl get their pay in their local currency. So, in M'sia it's in ringgit. But I heard Halliburton, pays the offshore bonus in a cheque, so you won't have to declare it in your tax returns.

yes, 2nd upper's good enough. some positions they prefer if you're not like a nerd/too smart for your own good.

yeah, i think that one broke, and no one fixed it.

trying to setup new one here: petrolbar.com but still new, and no one to market 'cos offshore quite alot these days and no internet.

btw, the petromin site works? you got any good job offers there?

sounds good, gotta go & sign up!

money's not everything mate, you'll understand better when you get no rotations, long hours, no time to see gf/wife, gf/wife breaks up/divorces, etc...

exactly, so no use telling him to tahan it, if he wants to quit...lol

I suppose you mean the department "Drilling & Measurements" in SLB?

Basically, drilling is the directional drilling side which involves mud motors, rotary steerable systems, well planning, etc. Drilling Engineers in SLB are generally more like survey specialists and well planners & are based in the office, instead of the ones in operator companies where they rotate between the rigsite & the office. Directional drillers are based in the field to operate the directional tools.

Measurements is the M/LWD (Measurements/Logging While Drilling) side. M/LWD is a suite of specially designed electrical/mechanical sensors suitable for tough drilling conditions for formation evaluation while drilling i.e. to get information from the formation like porosity, resistivity, density, gamma ray, directional surveys, etc in both real-time and memory. The advantage of real-time info is to be able to steer in the formation based on the formation properties which is kind of a new field called geosteering. M/LWD Engineers will operate & prepare these tools in the field, and also calibrate them in the base + prepare deliverables for the client + rigging up & down all the required accessories in the field. Depending on the location & directional drillers, you'll sometimes have to do the donkey work for them as well for something like 1/10th their pay but also depending on the complexity of the work you're assigned to do, sometimes, you'll just be taking directional surveys and you can spend the rest of the time goyang kaki and watching movies, where the term Movie Watching Dudes (MWD) came from.

your job should be offshore i think. wellsite is out on rigs/platforms. E&P experience is essential for management positions. How much they offer you?

I'm in SLB, somewhere in the Middle East. After 3 years as M/LWD assuming you pass all the requirements & also assuming that you are still sane with the working hours involved, it's about rm18k-30k/month depending on how often you are on the rig.

In M'sia, should be about 6-20k/month i think.

**Forgot to add the tax, 18% for internationals, locals pay local taxes.

I've heard that Halliburton (Sperry Sun) pays offshore bonuses in cheques. So, some ppl managed to find some way not to declare it in income tax. They are known to pay low base salary but daily bonus can be quite high I heard, last I heard running their latest NMR tool pays about US$500/day (not confirmed - hearsay only).

Basically, M/LWD's not too bad money, but not much future in long term I think (i.e. pay stagnates after that 3 years), since your skills you pick up will mainly be the ones useful only for the company you work with due to the issue of proprietary technology.

This post has been edited by zeusu: Oct 24 2008, 10:08 PM

I think with a good rotation (at least 6, 3) it's a good job, otherwise it really put a strain on relationships. The noise thing is not really an issue, just use ear plugs/protection! No one will be there to remind you, but just take care of it yourself.

It can be stressful and sometimes working hours can extend to more than 12 hours. But 12 hours on shift is nothing for some, all depends on the role you play. Most jobs I see on the service hand side is that you have to do everything you can to make sure it's done, and I've done that a couple of times, and it gives you a great feeling when it's accomplished!

But sometimes I wish I'm in the office too, things just seem more intellectual there and in offshore work, alot of skills are not really transferable, especially in service companies.

it's worldwide reduction, that's why we need young blood (cheaper labour) to replace the ones who are fired...

yes, companies are cutting down on projects & laying off ppl now!

nothing is 100% my friend.

hey crapster, i'm not in your field, but considering deepwater E&P will be the future of the oilfield business, subsea engineer looks good.

I heard completions in general will have more opportunities after a few yrs of experience. Contract work available anywhere in the world.

hmm, what make you say that for shell?