Reservoir engineering is one of the branches of petroleum engineering that deals with finding the best ways to develop oil fields by modeling reservoir performance using various simulation software packages.
Reservoir engineers usually work in the office and have a regular 9-5 type of schedule.
In most companies, they don’t need to do any field visits and rarely have to be on-call, unlike most other petroleum engineers.
Good work-life balance and high salaries are some of the reasons why many petroleum engineering students try to land reservoir engineering positions after graduation.
Related: What Does Completion Engineer Do?
What are the Roles and Responsibilities of Reservoir Engineers?
Build Reservoir Simulation Models
Reservoir engineers work with geologists and geoscientists and use well logging and seismic data to build reservoir models.
These computer models are later used to prepare field development plans and perform reserves estimations.
Prepare Field Development Plans
This involves designing the best ways to drill new wells to increase the production from the field.
On older and underperforming fields reservoir engineers design enhanced oil recovery operations to increase the amount of oil and gas that can be brought to the surface.
This may include pumping water, CO2, and other chemical mixtures into the reservoir to change oil properties and make it easier to push it towards the producing wells.
Reservoir engineers are also usually involved in business and economic evaluation for proposed field development projects.
They do this by modeling different development scenarios to find the ones that will result in the highest production at the lowest costs.
Sometimes reservoir engineers are also involved in hydraulic fracturing design.
This is more common on the newer oil and gas fields where there is a lack of information from the offset wells that can be used for frac design.
Most of the time reservoir engineers work closely with the production engineers.
Related: What Do Production Engineers Do?
Estimate Oil and Gas Reserves
Another responsibility of reservoir engineers is estimating how much oil and gas is stored underground and how much can be recovered.
This information is often used for financial planning and forecasting.
Monitor Competitors
To stay on top of current trends and technologies reservoir engineers are also involved in monitoring what other companies are doing with their fields to find the best ways to increase the recovery rates and lower production costs.
How to Become a Reservoir Engineer?
Most reservoir engineering positions require a petroleum engineering degree.
In most other petroleum engineering fields such as production or completion, you can usually get a job even if you have a mechanical or chemical engineering degree but for reservoir engineering, a petroleum degree is preferred.
Most reservoir engineers work for exploration and production companies in the office and usually don’t spend much time in the field.
The requirements to get a job as a reservoir engineer are usually pretty high and you need to have a high GPA and some type of internship or co-op experience in the oil and gas industry.
Often reservoir engineers also have a master’s degree in petroleum engineering.
Knowing some programming will also improve your chances of landing a reservoir engineering position.
The most popular programming languages used in the reservoir engineering field are Python, R, and VBA for Excel development.
Most reservoir engineers start by joining a new grad rotational program with one of the E&P companies where they are exposed to other branches of petroleum engineering such as drilling, completion, and production before getting a permanent position as a reservoir engineer.
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