Interesting thread! Feel obliged to share:

FYI, I work in the projects division - building platforms/rigs/modules and retrofiting existing ones. There are less known positions available in this division of O&G for those interested. Disclaimer: if yer fresh, expect starting salaries like any other industry - RM2k+, but if you're persistant, hard working, and competent, you would be able to build a good career and probably have a chance to crack those big $$$ income.

1. Procurement Analyst/Contract Administrator - managing sourcing of materials and services. This includes tracking the manufacturing progress of the materials and coordinating with the 'client' engineers on QA/QC (testing) requirements. Usually we hire those with Accounting/Business Administration back ground, but some of the more highly technical ones may require engineers. Be warned that this job is stressful, as it deals with all kinds of people/companies - some are helpful, some are just... well... people! But I know a few in their 30s earning >RM15k/mth

2. Project Planner/Project Contract Administrator - helps Project Managers do the details of tracking the progress of multi million $$$ projects. There are planners on both client and contractor sides whom tracks progress of the project using softwares like Primavera and Microsoft Project. Think of it of pages and pages of timeline charts, and trying to give a picture the project well being. More advanced project planners also create 'job cards' for their subcontractors - kinda like small job scopes that the sub contractors need to complete for the project. Lastly, project planners also have to look back against the project contract and ensure that the contractual requirements are met. The best planners I've seen have Computer Science background.

3. Engineers - can't live without them - mechanical, piping, structural, electrical, instrument... but by far the rarest of them are material engineers. These are usually mechanical engineers with the added knowledge of metalurgy, welding processes and quality control. After completing basic degree, the engineer takes additional training in metalurgy i.e. the ANSI codes governing the metals, and the required testings such as radiography, ultrasonics, metal chemistry tests, charpy impact tests etc... I've heard of asking salaries of >RM20k/mth

4. Inspectors/Technician - the eyes and ears of the engineers, usually requiring technical diplomas to apply. Again, the rarest ones are the metalurgy technicians - those that conduct weld radiography exercises at midnight, when no one is at the yard. This is a highly specialized job, going through much training and qualification tests. You can expect freshies earning >RM5k salary, but the hazards are quite obvious....

5. Documentation clerks - with over 50+, 4in thick binders of documentation, every project will need to have one - filing all those drawings, material testing reports, manuals etc. Now there are even companies specializing in documentation as newer generation projects tend to 'scan' and index everything into DVDs.

6. Safety Officers - the modern day version includes those that can provide trade training, become event organizers (like having Safety Days), prepare weekly safety materials on billboards and providing statistics to the PM. If you do the job well and the workers are safe, you don't have to do the next job - incident reports. Any diploma would do, but we usually look for those that have gone through a few NIOSH training.

Choosing Upstream (getting the oil/gas out of the ground) and Downstream (Process it into something useful) would be the first consideration.

In terms of technical upstream is quite 'boring' to a Chem Eng, as most of the process involved are purely mechanical i.e. u play around with P, T and Q to get basic liquid-gas separation. Additionally, all the rules (i.e. vessel sizing) have been established by either American Petroleum Institute or in house design rules. Rarely do you actually get to use reaction formulas in anything (probably only in gas dehydration using glycol, but that's it). However, being good at fluid dynamics helps a lot.

In upstream, you can join projects (as a process engineer), reservoir engineer or production engineer (i.e facilities engineer, that looks after the performance of a running production facility i.e. platform). The switch to reservoir engineer needs a little bit of effort because you need to to learn a bit of geology. Do note that process engineer here places more emphasis of designing the faciliuty such that 'everything is under control' i.e. the pipes are of right size and thickness, there's enough redundancy, doing Hazard Analysis (HAZOP) (i.e. to simulate process upsets and see if there are enough devices to keep the process under control). Ocasionally you get to size pumps and compressors, but as mentioned before, all of these are dictated by API and established calculations. Don't be fooled though, Process Engineers are up there with Material Engs in terms of salary. It's hard to find Process Engineer who can do HYSIS, HAZOP it properly and anticipate all the real world issues like sand, fouling, emulsion and also make the facility user friendly.

On the Downstream side, your Chem Eng. subjects will be of more use, especially in projects (also called Process Engineers). You'll have lots of fun running all kinds of simulation, sizing all kinds of pumps, compressors, chillers, HX, distilation etc.. You can also join the operations side i.e. the tech support of a running plant. Or you can join the R&D, although usually they will try to hire ones with higher qualifications (Masters and beyond).

Your CGPA determines how much $$$ you start. But in the long run, it probably doesn't matter. If your aiming to start as an engineer and grow into management, People Skills are more important.

Hope this helps.

Apologies, my bad... I'm in upstream, and I can't remember any chem science degree holders here. We do have chemists, but those are usually diploma holders only. Maybe someone in downstream could advise.

As for the comment on mech eng, yes, in general they have about the right foundation subjects to work in O&G and are very flexible. In operations, they can fit into facilities/production eng, material/corrosion control eng, rotating equipment eng... if in projects, they can be structural eng, piping eng, and also rotating equipment eng... a little bit of training would allow them to go into reservoir management since they already have fluid dyn.

Remember, the degree is more of a key to get in. Once you're in, it's the people management and troubleshooting skills that will bring you further.

Important point by iDk is that most of the engineers hired in multinationals do not 'invent' things, rather 'engineer' things to keep things under control and running, usually by troubleshooting an existing set of products/equipment. When we 'design' a facility, it actually means sizing the equipment needed to run the facility safely and buy componenets from the manufacturers, kinda like Williams building their formula 1 car. If you want to make new products that serve O&G, then you probably need to join the vendor companies supporting the O&G industries. Sadly, the vendor companies in M'sia are usually agents for foreign companies, and engineers serving them are usually support/maintenance engineers, not design engineers. I can count with my fingers how many 'original' M'sian O&G product companies that design and make their own products.

Yep, very true. Nearly 95% of componenets (valves, pressure relief valves, controllers, compressors, turbine engines, even pipes and fittings!) used in M'sia's O&G are not from M'sia. Lots of my O&G vendor friends are in the sad mode you just mentioned... ignored service engineers .

However, M'sia can already design out production facilities i.e. using off-the-market components, assemble them together in M'sia to make production facilities. In fact, the known design houses in M'sia like MMC, Ranhill, Technip, Bestwide, Kvaerner, and (M'sia's own) RNZ, not only design M'sian production facilities, but also international ones too.

HINT: Those whom want to be part of O&G design consultants, do a google search of the above companies and find out if they're hiring. Warning, if I become your client, I will show no quarters!!!

The lack of true M'sian O&G products is troubling. I mean, as a comparison (maybe a bad one), Proton use be an OEM for Mitsubishi. Some 20 year later it can already design out and manufacture its own cars. On the other hand, since the Petroleum Act (around 1970s I think), we can't even produce our own bloody pipes! If only Perwaja survived....

Without bashing too much, I find that there are parts in PETRONAS that are working professionally and diligently, ESPECIALLY those in the Petroleum Management Unit. I'm not sure if it's actually implemented, but they do claim to have a policy of kicking their lowest 5% performer during appraisal i.e. if this year's appraisal shows that the guy is in the bottom most 5% among his peers, then next year, he better not be on the list again, otherwise he's out of the company. Needless to say, they wouldn't be on the 20 most profitable company in the world, if their workforce is full of slops, especially when they don't have much oil to begin with.

Do we have to work beyond our normal work hours? Yes, sometimes. But the choice has to be rational, I mean, nobody would like to 'retire' before their retirement age . I personally do not drive my subordinates/vendors/contractors to work 60-80 hours per week as experience has shown that overworking = more errors, get sick or become less productive during normal hours = waste more time & money, even if they can be paid on unit rate.