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Petroleum Engineer

Energy & Utilities

Devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice.

Mechanical EngineeringScience

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workAn offshore platform

  • Mostly indoors
  • Sitting for most of the day
  • Dealing with customers or the public
  • Regular working hours

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

In Malaysia

Malaysia's upstream industry is shaped by Petronas as resource owner, with production-sharing contractors (e.g. Shell, ExxonMobil, PETRONAS Carigali) and service firms (e.g. SLB). Most fields are offshore in Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak, so roles are based in Kuala Lumpur, Kerteh, Miri, Bintulu or Labuan, often on rotation.

How people get into it here
SPM (strong Physics, Chemistry, Add Maths) → Matrikulasi, Foundation or STPM → Bachelor's in Petroleum Engineering (e.g. UTM, UTP, Curtin Malaysia) → Graduate Engineer registration with BEM. Petronas and Yayasan Petronas sponsor many students.
Demand
MyCOL 2024/2025 lists Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Related Professionals as a critical occupation, with employers nominating drilling engineers and wellsite engineers. TalentCorp MyCOL 2024/2025

Sources:ecentral.my

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Mechanical Engineer

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. Typical entry

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationBachelor's degree

Quick answers

How do you become a Petroleum Engineer in Malaysia?

SPM (strong Physics, Chemistry, Add Maths) → Matrikulasi, Foundation or STPM → Bachelor's in Petroleum Engineering (e.g. UTM, UTP, Curtin Malaysia) → Graduate Engineer registration with BEM. Petronas and Yayasan Petronas sponsor many students. Optional registration with Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) is available.

What should I study to become a Petroleum Engineer?

Related fields of study: Mechanical Engineering and Science. SPM subjects that help most: Physics, Additional Mathematics, Design & Technology (RBT) and Invention.

How much does a Petroleum Engineer earn in Malaysia?

We don't yet have a Malaysian source we can cite for Petroleum Engineer pay, so we show no figure.

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
  2. 2Test machinery and equipment to ensure that it is safe and conforms to performance specifications.
  3. 3Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
  4. 4Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
  5. 5Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
  6. 6Assist engineering and other personnel to solve operating problems.
  7. 7Assign work to staff to obtain maximum utilization of personnel.
  8. 8Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing, or well surveys.
  9. 9Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.
  10. 10Assess costs and estimate the production capabilities and economic value of oil and gas wells, to evaluate the economic viability of potential drilling sites.
  11. 11Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.
  12. 12Confer with scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to resolve design, research, and testing problems.
  13. 13Design and implement environmental controls on oil and gas operations.
  14. 14Supervise the removal of drilling equipment, the removal of any waste, and the safe return of land to structural stability when wells or pockets are exhausted.
  15. 15Interpret drilling and testing information for personnel.
  16. 16Coordinate activities of workers engaged in research, planning, and development.
  17. 17Write technical reports for engineering and management personnel.
  18. 18Inspect oil and gas wells to determine that installations are completed.
  19. 19Evaluate findings to develop, design, or test equipment or processes.
  20. 20Coordinate the installation, maintenance, and operation of mining and oil field equipment.
  21. 21Take samples to assess the amount and quality of oil, the depth at which resources lie, and the equipment needed to properly extract them.
  22. 22Design or modify mining and oil field machinery and tools, applying engineering principles.
  23. 23Conduct engineering research experiments to improve or modify mining and oil machinery and operations.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • SQE
  • Engineer
  • Gas Engineer
  • Mud Engineer
  • Test Engineer
  • Design Engineer
  • Logging Engineer
  • Drilling Engineer
  • Oil Well Engineer
  • Pipeline Engineer

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

PhysicsDraws directly on Engineering and Technology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Engineering and Technology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Engineering and Technology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
InventionDraws directly on Engineering and Technology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Engineering and Technology88%

    PhysicsAdditional MathematicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • Mathematics82%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • Physics70%

    Physics

  • Computers and Electronics70%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Chemistry68%

    Chemistry

  • Administration and Management67%

    BusinessEconomics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsOften
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherRarely
  • Noisy environmentRarely

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Use drone technology for aerial surveying and monitoring of drilling sites.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

8%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

On Malaysia's official shortage list

TalentCorp and ILMIA's Critical Occupations List, evidence of a real hiring shortage in Malaysia right now.

Matched to a related occupation on the list, not this exact job title.

Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Related Professionals · Shortage indicators met: INSUFFICIENT DATA

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 16 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

13 of 16 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM800 – RM1,200

7 of 16 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM800 and RM1,200 a month. Many print none.

Minimum CGPA asked

3.00 to 3.00

Stated in 2 adverts. Others did not state one.

Languages named

Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Petroleum Engineers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org