Professional Registration And The Petroleum Engineer
Authors: Wines G. Bing 
Published: December 2007

The past decade has seen monumental gains in the Society of Petroleum Engineer's efforts to facilitate and increase the registration of its members as professional engineers. The Society gained professional engineers. The Society gained acceptance as one of twelve engineering disciplines participating in the uniform national exams. The participating in the uniform national exams. The exams became more practical and the number of registrants increased. The future will see the Society encouraging increased registration, developing a study guide and pursuing the registration of petroleum engineers as such.

Introduction

Engineers are pathfinders, pioneers, the forward-edge thrusters in almost everything they do except securing professional registration. Petroleum Engineers have not had the dealings with the public that leads to professional registration until the past decade. The environmental and consumer era of past decade. The environmental and consumer era of the past decade caused the public to have a greater awareness of pollution, energy and the need for more and better public protection means.

Professional registration of engineers has been influenced by this era and more engineers have recognized the trend of events and have sought registration; however, petroleum engineers found this task not an easy one at the beginning of the seventies except in a few states. Most states required from 8 to 16 hours of examination and petroleum engineers found that professional petroleum engineering exams were practically non-existent. A few states did secure and offer locally prepared exams for the few petroleum engineer applicants. Today things have petroleum engineer applicants. Today things have changed. The consumer era has caused most state boards of registration to tighten their laws — all but Texas now require examination.

Along with this change in times, the Society of Petroleum Engineers succeeded in becoming a member of Petroleum Engineers succeeded in becoming a member of a recognized national examination body called the National Council of Engineering Examiners (NCEE) in 1973. Since then most state registration boards offer petroleum engineer applicants a petroleum engineering exam.

WHY REGISTER?

Most petroleum engineers have not been faced with the necessity of becoming registered. They hold positions that do not at present require a positions that do not at present require a professional license. A large number are riding professional license. A large number are riding behind the so called "exemptions". Under current state registration laws there are 3 classifications of exemptions whereby engineers are exempt from licensure requirements:engineers working in a corporation engaged in the interstate commerce,engineers working in a manufacturing corporation andengineers working in a public service corporation (public utility).

Times are changing. The 1969 Santa Barbara Channel oil spill mushroomed into an industry and national catastrophe. The Environmental Age in America had arrived. The general public got aroused and the almost battle cry phrase of "Protect the consumer!" was heard. Friends of the Earth, OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency (ERA) and other elements become a part of the American scene.

The engineering professions felt the pressure. Several state boards upgraded their standards and made the process of registration more difficult. In some cases they also made it more expensive. The State of Louisiana, for example, increased its examination requirements from 8 to 16 hours.

The long-range effects of the spill were also felt by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. An element of the Society felt the consumer pressure might get restrictive with petroleum engineers and the highly unfavorable theme of "Certification" was pursued for several years. It was finally dropped pursued for several years. It was finally dropped from consideration by the Society in 1975. Today, more petroleum engineers are aware of their responsibilities to the public. The thought that registration has been an option and not a necessity may soon go the way of the extinct passenger pigeon. The "industrial exemptions" may soon disappear perhaps within a decade. perhaps within a decade.