Petroleum Engineers plan and direct the engineering aspects of locating and extracting petroleum or natural gas from the earth.

Skill Level

1

Specialisations

• Mud Engineer
• Petrophysical Engineer

Unless you are exempt in very limited circumstances, you are required to have a positive Skills Assessment to apply for the visas listed above.

Skills Assessment authority for Petroleum Engineer is Engineers Australia. To have a positive skills assessment, you must meet the following criteria:

• Six pathways for skills assessment by Engineers Australia:
  • Pathway A – If you hold an accredited qualification:
    • Australian qualification pathway if you have studied in Australia and hold a qualification which is accredited by Engineers Australia
    • Washington accord qualification pathway if your qualification is from a country which is a full signatory to the Washington Accord
    • Sydney accord qualification pathway if your qualification is from a county which is a full signatory to the Sydney Accord
    • Dublin accord qualification pathway if your qualification is from a country which is a full signatory to the Dublin Accord
    • You otherwise hold other recognised qualifications
  • Pathway B – Competency Demonstration Report Pathway
    • If you do not hold an accredited qualification or do not want to be assessed according to your degree title or course content
• Competent English level = IELTS 6
• For any of the qualification pathways you are required to provide:
  • CV/Resume containing a full summary of your engineering education and work experience
  • Academic degree certificate (a letter of completion will only be accepted as a substitute before graduation and only for Australian qualifications)
  • Complete and official academic transcript (including any recognition of prior learning and course syllabus where applicable)
  • Official English translations of above documents where applicable
• For the competency demonstration report pathway, you are required to provide and prepare:
  • CV/Resume containing a full summary of your engineering education and work experience
  • A reference letter or certificate from your employer on official company letterhead
  • A report containing evidence of continuing professional development, three ‘career episodes’ (each describing a specific aspect of your engineering activity) and a summary statement

Plan and direct the engineering aspects of locating and extracting minerals, petroleum and natural gas from the earth.

Tasks

• Conducting preliminary surveys of mineral, petroleum and natural gas deposits with prospectors, Geologists, Geophysicists, other mineral scientists and other engineers to determine the resources present, the feasibility of extracting the reserves, and the design and development of the extraction process
• Preparing operation and project cost estimates and production schedules, and reporting progress, production and costs compared to budget
• Determining the most suitable methods of ore extraction taking account of such factors as depth of overburden, and attitude and physical characteristics of deposits and surrounding strata
• Preparing plans for tunnels and chambers, location and construction of mine shafts, layout of mine development and the application of appropriate mining techniques, often using computer modelling
• Assessing the natural, technical, financial and safety risks associated with the phases of the project development, construction and operations
• Determining the safety of processes, order of extraction and safety of mine walls, evaluating the risk of slippage and advising on the prevention of slippage and rock falls
• Planning and coordinating the utilisation of labour and equipment consistent with efficiency targets, statutes, safety guidelines and environmental conditions
• Planning and conducting research and providing advice on engineering operations for the exploration, location and extraction of petroleum and natural gas
• Determining location for drilling
• Deciding on types of derrick and equipment including seabed platforms
• Devising methods of controlling the flow of oil and gas from wells

Skill Level

Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Registration or licensing may be required.

Occupations in this Group

• 233611 Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum)
• 233612 Petroleum Engineer