by Brita Long
Few industries are undergoing digital transformation quite as rapidly, or as extensively, as oil and gas. This means plenty of opportunity to find an IT job in the oil and gas industry.
According to one recent study, the digital transformation market in the sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of approximately 16.56% between 2022 and 2027. By that time, the market will increase in value by an estimated $58.66 billion.
A few different factors are contributing to this growth. Oil and gas companies are regularly embracing robotics, for example, to perform tasks that may be too difficult (or too dangerous) for humans.
In addition, oil and gas companies rely on automation to eliminate a lot of the time-consuming and menial tasks associated with things like drilling pipes and oil rigs. This frees up the valuable time of workers so that they can focus on more important matters.
Another example is Artificial intelligence (AI). Oil and gas companies leverage AI to help take advantage of new industry trends and to eliminate inefficiency.
It’s no surprise that there are many different roles and positions for Information Technology (IT) professionals within the oil and gas industry. Are you looking for a new career opportunity with your existing IT skills? Consider pivoting to the oil and gas industry.
What is the Oil and Gas Industry?
In a broad sense, the oil and gas industry is one of the major players in the global energy market. They provide the primary fuel sources on the planet, making them one of the biggest influences on the global economy.
The objectives of individual companies within the sector will vary depending on where they operate. Generally speaking, the oil and gas industry can be divided into three sectors:
- upstream
- midstream
- downstream
All of them play a critical role in providing energy to the global market, but they do so in different ways.
Upstream companies are mainly involved in the exploration of oil and gas along with its production. These are the companies that set up infrastructure like drilling rigs and pipelines.
Midstream organizations are those that primarily transport oil and gas resources around the world. They help make sure that oil and gas reserves produced in areas like the Middle East make it to the countries that need them. They also often operate intermediate storage facilities.
Downstream companies handle tasks like refining those energy resources and marketing them to end users. For example, they take crude oil, refine it into gasoline, and transport it to gas stations and eventually consumers.
While upstream, midstream, and downstream companies all do different things in the oil and gas industry, all of them rely on IT professionals.
Top 7 IT Jobs in Oil and Gas
The oil and gas industry relies on many IT professionals, all of whom play an invaluable role in supporting safe and effective practices for producing energy. Here are seven of the most common IT jobs in oil and gas.
Analyst/Developer
An oil and gas industry analyst/developer collects and analyzes data.
Market data can help find inefficiencies in an oil company’s strategy. It can also help them develop new ones based on changing consumer and industry behaviors.
This type of analysis can also help accurately forecast demand, allowing companies to develop educated long-term production plans. This was especially necessary over the last few years with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel and consumer behavior.
Application Engineer
Oil and gas industry application engineers perform many duties, like determining the specifications and performance requirements for equipment found in industrial environments.
They may also help calculate a cost analysis for integrating new technology and equipment into existing assets.
They also help use their knowledge of various programming languages to help take existing equipment and adapt it to unique oil and gas-related job applications.
Data Engineer
Oil and gas industry data engineers develop new processes and best practices to improve the reliability and quality of data. They are more involved with the collection of data than with the analysis of data.
Data engineers confirm the invaluable information they’re collecting is accurate and consistent. They also convert it to an appropriate format so it can be read by business intelligence tools.
Software Engineer
As is true with most industries, oil and gas companies depend on critical business software to function. That’s where software engineers enter the conversation. They help develop the tools necessary for everything from pipeline measurement to reservoir management and everything in between.
They can even help develop software that assists companies in predicting the best drilling locations, for example.
Technical Architect
In this context, a technical architect helps others like software engineers develop and implement critical business apps.
A technical architect collects information about long-term objectives and business requirements from all key stakeholders. They act as a bridge between organizational leadership and development teams as they work.
Think of them a bit like a project manager. They confirm everyone is on the same page about what must be done. They also help guarantee a new application or system does what it needs to.
Scrum Master
In an industry as heavily dependent on technology as the oil and gas sector, the presence of a Scrum Master becomes invaluable.
Scrum is a crucial part of the Agile software development methodology. This is an iterative approach to DevOps that helps teams deliver value to end users as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
A Scrum Master helps with tasks like developer onboarding. They help make sure the right people fill the appropriate positions. They conduct daily startup meetings, help eliminate inefficiencies, and prioritize certain deliverables in the development pipeline.
Finally, a Scrum Master empowers communication between oil and gas industry end users and the development teams designing their business applications.
UX Designer/Researcher
A piece of software that helps run an oil refinery is an inherently sophisticated piece of technology. But at the same time, it has to be easy to operate to the point where anyone can do so. It also needs to be efficient in a way that makes the lives of workers easier.
This is where user experience (UX) designers and researchers come into play. They take the time to understand not only what a business is trying to accomplish with an app, but also what can be done to make the app easier to engage with.
With the end user in mind, UX designers and UX researchers work to create an effective and intuitive experience for the software or app they’re creating.
Good user experience is critical in getting the program to perform valuable business tasks, like running the day-to-day aspects of an oil rig.
Find Your Next IT Role with Insight Global
If you’re a passionate IT professional looking to use your skills to meaningfully contribute on a global scale, the oil and gas industry is for you. Tech jobs are always in demand, especially given the emphasis on things like automation and AI that’s predicted to increase over the next decade.
Analysts help oil and gas companies capitalize on trends quickly, allowing them to take advantage of opportunities they may have missed. Software engineers create the apps and systems most oil rigs, refineries, and other environments run on.
And those aren’t the only IT opportunities available.
The oil and gas industry is an excellent field to utilize your IT background. It’s also the perfect chance to advance your career moving forward.
Visit the Insight Global job board to find open IT jobs in the oil and gas industry.
by Anna Morelock 
