We’ve all read the reports about the high unemployment figures in Saudi Arabia. What is increasingly clear is that jobs are not lacking. There is a shortage though of Saudis with the right skill sets. Even in areas where the Kingdom should be leading, we aren’t producing university graduates in the specialties demanded by the market. Take Petroleum Engineering for example. Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest petroleum producer, long ago should have anticipated the number of petroleum engineers that would be needed to comfortably staff all positions within its oil and gas industry. Unfortunately, now in this field, there is a huge manpower shortage.
There is in fact a serious shortage of petroleum engineers globally, a situation that is expected to continue until at least 2014. The Kingdom is in competition with oil producers and oil contractors everywhere for the talent needed to keep its oil production on target. Signing bonuses alone for experienced petroleum engineers can be over $100,000 these days. According to the US National Association of Colleges and Employers, in the US in 2005, salaries for fresh graduates in petroleum engineering averaged $62,236 with some students being offered more than $70,000 in salary plus over $10,000 in signing bonuses. This average is higher than for any other bachelor’s degree.
In the Kingdom though, newly graduated petroleum engineers are often expected to work for about a third less than the US average. When students consider the intensive amount of study required for a degree in petroleum engineering coupled with the perceived difficulties of the working environment and a starting salary similar to many other employment opportunities, they frequently opt for an easier career path. That’s one reason why the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Saudi Arabia Section (www.speksa.org) under Section Chairman Nabeel Al-Afaleg and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) SPE Student Chapter (kfupm.spe.org) are raising their profile and increasing their local activities.
“While the number of petroleum engineering students in Saudi Arabia is slowly increasing, we need to attract more students to fill our national requirements,” said Karam S. Al-Yateem, who currently assists the SPE Saudi Arabia Section as an Area Liaison, Technical Symposium committee member and member of the newsletter editorial committee. Al-Yateem was the KFUPM SPE Student Chapter President from 2004 to 2005.
Al-Yateem graduated as a petroleum engineer from KFUPM last year and as a part of Saudi Aramco’s Professional Development Program, he is currently working as a production engineer at the Safaniya offshore oil field.
“Right now we are also trying to establish a Middle East Student Council for all SPE Student chapters in the region. This would enable us to further our educational, social and networking activities,” said Al-Yateem. “The SPE chapters in Saudi Arabia have received a good amount of support from the worldwide organization. Eve Sprunt, the SPE president 2006, visited the Kingdom in May and Saudi national Dr. Abdul Jaleel A. Khalifa is the SPE president for 2007. I believe the time is right to expand our activities related to students across the region in order to attract the best new talents to the field of petroleum engineering so that we can become not only self sufficient in field resources but also make important progress in research related to the oil and gas industry.”
There are many misconceptions surrounding a career in petroleum engineering and Al-Yateem and his colleagues never turn down a chance to speak to student groups about the profession that they love.
“People always imagine that petroleum engineers spend their lives out in the field, in very messy conditions and that it’s a very physical job,” remarked Al-Yateem. “Nothing could be further from the truth. It really all depends on which part of the industry a petroleum engineer chooses to specialize in as a career. Reservoir Engineers for example are in the office most of the time, analyzing data and investigating problems. They only go out to the field to witness the results of a proposed solution. In my first three years after graduation I will be rotating through most of the areas of specialization for petroleum engineers and then I’ll choose whichever one I enjoy most as my long-term focus. The bottom line is that I’ll have the opportunity to really use my intelligence and grow my skills throughout my career.”
And that career in petroleum engineering is something that Al-Yateem believes should be offered to Saudi women as well as Saudi men. The KFUPM SPE Student Chapter Activity Book 2004-2006, edited by Al-Yateem, includes an interview with Amal A. Al-Awami. A Saudi mother of four, Al-Awami is a graduate of the University of Southern California in Chemical Engineering. She has worked within Saudi Aramco in various areas of Petroleum Engineering and is currently a reservoir simulation specialist.
“I have seen how many outstanding Saudi women have been successful in the fields of business, medicine, finance and other areas that require high intellect combined with excellent analytic skills and the ability to think outside the box,” said Al-Yateem. “Women in other nations are making valuable contributions to the oil and gas industry in their countries and I see no reason why our brightest women shouldn’t be encouraged to do the same for Saudi Arabia.”