The purpose of this document is to help undergraduate petroleum engineering students search for internships and co-op opportunities in the oil and gas industry. I’ve compiled a sizeable list of companies that host quality internship programs as well as a brief note of some significance about the company. My objective is to make the searching process for petroleum engineering internships more convenient. With this list, you should be able to do less searching and more evaluating. I’ve also sectioned the companies into general groups for an even more streamlined approach.
The Big Five
These are the five largest integrated oil exploration and production companies in the world. They offer internships and jobs in every aspect of the petroleum business. Research, exploration, drilling, completions, production, transportation, marketing – you name the sector, they have a hand in it and can train you. Their purpose is exploration and production, though. Because of their large stature and the magnitude of their success, they probably pay their interns the most (on average).
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil is the largest public exploration and production company in the world. It also is the largest refiner in the world. Although all internships on this list are going to be relatively competitive, ExxonMobil may have some of the highest standards. When they came to my university to recruit, there was a 3.3 minimum GPA requirement just to be eligible to apply for an interview.
http://www.exxonmobil.com/USA-English/HR/careers_campus.aspx
Chevron
Chevron offers many internships and undergraduate programs as well as new graduate programs. They also offer internships through select local business units at various international locations. Engineering interns could find themselves in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, or Mississippi during their internship. It has been ranked #1 on Fortune Magazine’s list of the world’s most admired companies.
http://careers.chevron.com/students/default.aspx
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips points out on their website that historically they have hired most of their entry-level engineers out of their former-intern pool. If selected for an internship you will be given the opportunity to work on a meaningful project under the aid of an experienced mentor.
http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/careers/univrecruit/Pages/index.aspx
BP
BP typically hires interns for the summer before their final year of college. If you are going to be pursuing a master’s degree, then you should expect to intern the summer between finishing your bachelor’s degree and starting your master’s. BP also hires students for co-ops which would take place during the academic year. They hire interns in many areas, including process, well, and reservoir engineering.
http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9041020&contentId;=7074346
Shell
Like ExxonMobil, Shell has a very strict GPA requirement, with a 3.2 required to be considered for an internship. Shell is unique in that they offer a special internship for students with an Associate degree called the Operations Technical Internship.
http://www.shell.com/home/content/careers/students_and_graduates/
Oilfield Service Companies
Service companies differ from exploration and production (E&P;) companies in that they don’t make the work; they are given the work from E&P; companies. Service companies might even do some exploration – but they would be paid by an E&P; company to do it. Mostly, service companies are contracted to provide seismic, drilling, characterization, completions and production support. They often have rights to and utilize advanced software and train experts to use the software. Norm Warpinski, chief technology officer for Pinnacle, a Halliburton service company, had this to say about the difference, “From a corporate perspective, the major service companies offer a full range of services from exploration through to abandonment, mirroring the needs of the E&P; companies. In addition, service companies are now the ‘keepers’ of technology, such as logging tools, chemicals, bits, seismic services, pumping equipment, etc. From an individual perspective, however, the service company professional is much more likely to be nestled within a particular technology-and even potentially be a subject matter expert in that technology-compared with the E&P; organization individual, who is more likely to have broader responsibilities and a wider perspective of the oil field.” These are the major service companies.
Schlumberger
Schlumberger is known to have a very thorough hiring process for interns – it includes a visit to one of their field sites and several interviews. They are also known for having world class training programs as well as training in some of the most advanced technology in the industry.
http://careers.slb.com/recentgraduates.aspx
Halliburton
Halliburton is very similar to Schlumberger with respect to how it fits into the industry. Halliburton also offers co-op programs. Its website notes that, “if you are happy going on coffee runs for the summer, this is not the internship for you.”
http://www.halliburton.com/careers/default.aspx?navid=1996&pageid;=4204
Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes offers a wide range of career choices to graduates and interns. It is internationally recognized as a solid company and has been around for over 100 years.
http://public.bakerhughes.com/graduate/
Weatherford
Weatherford specializes in drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention cycles of oil and natural gas wells. Prospective interns should look for a Weatherford presence at their university’s career fairs or consult with the career center.
http://weatherford.com/AboutWeatherford/CompanyInformation/Careers/StudentsandGraduates/
Other Petroleum Companies
These companies are exploration and production companies like the “Big Five” addressed above, just smaller. That does not make them to be any lower quality, however. Some, like Chesapeake Energy, specialize in natural gas drilling. Others are very adept at drilling in very specific geographic regions, like Continental Resources in North Dakota and Montana. They offer great internships, co-ops, and positions for fresh graduates.
Newfield Exploration
Newfield’s internship program is highly competitive and focuses on transforming students from scholars to industry professionals.
http://www.newfld.com/campus-recruiting.aspx
Oxy, Inc.
Oxy is the largest oil producer in Texas as well as California’s largest natural gas producer. It is a large international exploration and production company that easily rivals the five big public companies.
http://oxy.com/Careers/EarlyCareer/Pages/overview.aspx
Devon Energy
Devon Energy has consistently ranked well in Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 Companies to Work For list. It is a highly sought after company and you should check with your school’s career center to see if they recruit there.
http://www.devonenergy.com/Careers/campus_recruiting/Pages/students.aspx
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil has been around for over 100 years and works internationally exploring for and producing crude oil and natural gas as well as mining oil sands.
http://www.marathonoil.com/Careers/College_Grads_Interns_and_Coops/
Continental Resources
Continental Resources is headquartered in Oklahoma City, but operates in many locations throughout the U.S. From their website: “Continental Resources is a Top 10 petroleum liquids producer in the United States and the largest leaseholder in the nation’s premier oil play, the Bakken Play of North Dakota and Montana.” Check with your university career center for recruitment schedules Continental Resources may have with your school. For information, visit their career page.
http://www.contres.com/careers
EOG Resources
EOG Resources operates both domestically in the U.S. as well as internationally. It is one of the largest non-integrated oil and natural gas companies in America. Their recruiting schedule is on their website.
http://www.eogresources.com/careers/recruiting.html
Southwestern Energy Company
Southwestern is an up and coming non-integrated company whose primary focus is exploration and production of unconventional oil and natural gas. They offer a very promising intern and new hire program. A list of schools they recruit at is on their website.
http://www.swn.com/careers/pages/collegerecruiting.aspx
Chesapeake Energy
Chesapeake is “one of the largest producers of natural gas in the nation and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S.” Chesapeake also owns its own oilfield services company. Chesapeake is especially attractive to engineers wanting to focus on the production of natural gas.
http://www.chk.com/Careers/Campus-Recruiting/Pages/default.aspx
Foreign Companies That Hire American Students
Statoil (Norway)
Statoil is a very large successful company with a very extensive international presence. They hire interns from the U.S. as well as have a special relationship with the University of Texas-Austin. Many programs for students are listed on their website.
http://www.statoil.com/en/Careers/Students/interns/Pages/SummerInternship2.aspx
Many Canadian companies offer excellent co-op programs in addition to internship programs. Encana offers internships in the U.S. Husky is one of the Canada’s largest integrated companies and offers co-ops lasting anywhere from 4-12 months. An internship with Canadian Natural might give you responsibility that rivals that of a full-time graduate position.
Canadian Natural (Canada)
http://www.cnrl.com/careers/student-employment-information/student-positions.html
Encana (Canada)
http://encana.com/careers/students-new-grads/usa/
Husky Energy (Canada)
http://www.huskyenergy.com/careers/campusrecruitment/default.asp
A Private Company
BOPCO, L.P.
BOPCO, L.P. is a private company with a long history that can be traced back to the oil business started by Sid Richardson of Fort Worth, Texas. The company does not have a website and representatives of the company have openly expressed that it doesn’t need one because it is private. BOPCO is now owned by the Bass family (Sid Richardson’s nephew Perry Bass was his former partner) who are closely associated with the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. Representatives of the company have also expressed that the company is very well funded by the family and has very strong financials. Because the company is without a web presence, it can be hard to get information on interning or working there. The company does actively recruit at universities that offer petroleum engineering as a course of study though, so if you are interested I encourage you to check with your campus career center.
This list is not all-inclusive. There are other companies that I am sure offer quality internship programs. Start with the companies that visit your university to recruit – some of them may not be in this list and they are the best to start with since you’ll have a better shot at getting an interview with them. Many of these companies may not recruit at your school, though. If not, then use this list as a guide to helping you find a company that fits your career goals and don’t forget to work with your career center. Sometimes career centers can arrange for special meetings and exposure to companies that don’t otherwise recruit at the school if a student shows a lot of interest. Good luck in your search!
