An education within petroleum technology, engineering, and geology opens the door to many different career opportunities in Equinor. Hear from some of our employees how they apply their education in their work today, and what they think the future holds for Equinor as a broad energy company.
Ellen and Emilie are two of the 800 graduates Equinor has recruited over the past five years. As a drilling engineer and exploration geologist respectively, their work today is on optimizing our oil and gas portfolio. However, their competence is also of great value for Equinor’s work with renewable energy and low carbon solutions.
For Equinor to succeed with the energy transition, it is instrumental that more people pursue an education in subjects relevant to petroleum and energy. As long as you have the core competencies in place, the list of opportunities and what you can work with is endless. I work in a different engineering discipline than what I studied, and I see that the competencies I am developing now will be transferrable in other areas of Equinor’s business in the future.
Ellen BloweyDrilling engineer
New ways of working
For 50 years, Equinor has created significant value for Norway from the production and exportation of oil and gas. Our ambition is to become a net-zero company by 2050 and keep delivering progress for society. This means that our way of working is constantly changing.
"When I first started working as an exploration geologist at Equinor two years ago, our work was more focused on larger regional areas. Today, we explore closer to existing infrastructure to extend the life of the fields we have in our portfolio, and to make new discoveries with the lowest possible carbon footprint," says Emilie.
"An important part of the work as a drilling engineer is to ensure that drilling for oil and gas is carried out as safely as possible, while constantly exploring new ways to cut carbon emissions from our operations," says Ellen.
More time for the exciting part of the job
New technology and digital solutions are increasingly replacing different types of manual labour.
For Equinor, this means that we can generate greater value for the company and the wider society. For exploration geologist Emilie, this means less time spent on time-consuming interpretive work and more time spent diving into complex problem-solving.
By implementing machine learning, we can now interpret larger amounts of data in less time. This means we have more time for the really exciting part of the job. The possibilities when utilizing new technologies are many, and that changes the way we work.
Emilie Aasen KavliExploration geologist
Solutions for the future
"Competence within petroleum and energy studies is essential to succeed in the energy transition. Oil and gas will still be a part of the energy mix for years to come. Even beyond that point, competence within drilling and well will always be necessary," Ellen states.
An important part of the energy transition, and Equinor's role in it, will also be to strengthen the portfolio within renewable energy and low-carbon solutions. Here, both geology and drilling & well engineering have an important part to play.
"When drilling wells for CO2-storage, the competence and experience of a drilling engineer is vital," says Ellen.
"As a geologist, I know that the competencies I am currently developing will continue to play an important role in Equinor's strategy, beyond what I do today. If you are going to drill a well for storing CO2, you must understand the geological context. If you are going to build an offshore wind turbine, you need to know the subsurface conditions. We hold the solutions for the future. It is therefore vital, for Norway and for Equinor, that more people pursue an education in petroleum and energy related fields of study," Emilie concludes.
Would you like to join Emilie and Ellen in helping us become a net-zero company by 2050?
