Claire's Testimonial
Position: Petroleum Engineer
Year Joined 2015
Why did you decide to apply for a position with Petex?
Before applying to Petex I was working as a PhD student. My research was so focused that I was lacking the bigger picture. I wanted to see the technology I was working on being used in reality, and I wanted to work more closely with the users of that technology to help them achieve its full potential. That said, I still wanted to be involved in work at the forefront of new technological development. Being able to do all these things, whilst living in an amazing city like Edinburgh, is what drew me to Petex.
As a new start with Petex, can you describe your first impressions?
Starting at Petex was, at first, a daunting prospect. Having no previous experience in the upstream oil and gas industry I knew that the learning curve would be steep. From day one, however, everyone helped me get to grips with and put into context all the new concepts I was learning about on a daily basis and so immediately I felt like part of the team. Very early on I discovered that the culture within Petex is unique. Petex promotes an openness on all levels of the business, allowing a newcomer like me great insight into current and future developments; and Petex actively encourages personal learning and development, allowing me to become a better engineer.
Can you contrast your personal development at Petex with university experience?
My current role within Petex is part of the Petroleum Engineering Technical Support team and as such I deal with different our clients worldwide providing technical and engineering support. This requires both a knowledge of all aspects of global upstream oil and gas industry and a flexible outlook to learning. Unlike university, where learning objectives and projects are determined by course syllabi, at Petex they are driven by the needs and objectives of the client. This not only keeps the work exciting but also relevant. I have found that although the pace of learning is necessarily faster than at university, it is much more enjoyable since the benefits to myself and clients are immediately obvious.
Can you describe your initial development programme at Petex?
The first things any new engineer does is undertake two training projects, which are designed to lay the foundation for future work. The first project began with developing an understanding of the fundamental physics related to the reservoir before creating a development plan for an oil field with limited information using the Petex engineering software tools. The second project built on this knowledge by focusing on the fundamental thermodynamic relationships/concepts key to characterising a reservoir fluid. After completion of these training projects, my on-the-job training began. With the help of the other engineers, my time is now spent dealing with client technical queries and preparing to lead my first training course.