Oil and gas production manager to petroleum engineer
An oil and gas production manager already meets 52% of what the petroleum engineer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.5/ 100
1 How much of what a petroleum engineer is expected to do is already part of an oil and gas production manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the petroleum engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A petroleum engineer role treats 13 of its required skills as things an oil and gas production manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- address problems critically
- chemistry
- geology
- interpret extraction data
- liaise with well test engineers
- monitor extraction logging operations
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A petroleum engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an oil and gas production manager background worth leading with.
- already held liaise with well test engineers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare well formation evaluation programmes information skills
- already held provide petroleum engineering support information skills
- already held well testing operations engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held monitor extraction logging operations information skills
- already held prepare extraction proposals information skills
All 13 carried skills, including the 13 the petroleum engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn compile reservoir performance plans required
- still to learn design well flow systems required
- still to learn liaise with mine professionals required
- still to learn manage fluid production in gas required
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held design well for petroleum production optional
- still to learn determine flow rate enhancement required
- still to learn manage production fluid in oil production required
- still to learn use reservoir surveillance required
- optional, not held monitor fuel storage tanks optional
- still to learn manage well interaction required
- optional, not held supervise well operations optional
- still to learn select well equipment required
- still to learn mathematics required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a petroleum engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 compile reservoir performance plans practise this
- 02 design well flow systems practise this
- 03 determine flow rate enhancement practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held address problems critically skill
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held geology knowledge
- already held interpret extraction data skill
- already held liaise with well test engineers skill
- already held monitor extraction logging operations skill
- already held prepare extraction proposals skill
- already held prepare scientific reports skill
- already held prepare well formation evaluation programmes skill
- already held provide petroleum engineering support skill
- already held report well results skill
- already held supervise staff skill
- already held well testing operations knowledge
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design well for petroleum production optional
- optional, not held monitor fuel storage tanks optional
- optional, not held supervise well operations optional
26 held skills the petroleum engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply safety management skill
- not needed by the target role assess potential oil yield skill
- not needed by the target role deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
- not needed by the target role fossil fuels knowledge
- not needed by the target role fuel gas knowledge
- not needed by the target role gas market knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify process improvements skill
- not needed by the target role inform on workplace safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role leadership principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage emergency procedures skill
- not needed by the target role manage heavy equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage medium term objectives skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role natural gas knowledge
- not needed by the target role oil rig legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan medium to long term objectives skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role report on production results skill
- not needed by the target role supervise worker safety skill
- not needed by the target role think proactively skill
- not needed by the target role write production reports skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn mathematics required
Other moves recorded from oil and gas production manager
Common questions about this move
Can an oil and gas production manager become a petroleum engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An oil and gas production manager already covers 52% of what a petroleum engineer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 13 of which the petroleum engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an oil and gas production manager need to become a petroleum engineer?
11 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is compile reservoir performance plans.
How hard is the move from oil and gas production manager to petroleum engineer?
Its learning distance is 53.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.