Competitive Petroleum Geologist Certifications

Pemex will soon be facing a serious drain of talent in its workforce, as many of the petroleum geologists that were hired during the company’s boom in the 1970s and 1980s reach retirement age. In order to ensure that Pemex, and the industry at large, has enough newly qualified petroleum geologists in its ranks by the time this situation arises, and to make sure that those recent graduates have the skills required by the industry, the Mexican Association of Petroleum Geologists (AMGP), headed by Juan Antonio Cuevas Leree, is creating a new certification for Mexico. “We are currently working on a program to certify petroleum geologists, which will o†er students graduating from petroleum-related degrees a better opportunity to work for Pemex or other national or international oil and gas companies in Mexico or abroad,” explains Cuevas Leree.

The certification, besides helping students and other prospective workers interested in working for oil and gas companies in Mexico, will also allow companies to make sure they are hiring talented and certified people. “If any company wants to hire a petroleum geologist and one of the applicants is certified by the AMGP and the other is not, we have no doubt that due to the recognition we command in this specific field, our certifications will satisfy any doubts any company might have regarding their qualifications.” Furthermore, the same people that are retiring from Pemex are members of the AMGP, and in their role as members they engage and evaluate, on a personal and professional basis, what each student needs to perfect in order to pass the examination and be certified as a petroleum geologist by the AMGP. However, in order to succeed in creating reliable and competitive petroleum geologist certifications, the AMPG “must have more open lines of communication as a means to interact more with oil and gas related forums, so in the future Pemex will not only want, but require, these certifications,” explains Cuevas Leree.

He believes that the AMGP certifications will not only help students get new jobs and help Pemex attract qualified and ambitious prospective employees; it will also help the industry as a whole. “These certifications will open job opportunities for students, and they will prevent Pemex from having the brain drain that is currently a†ecting the company. Furthermore, we will be populating the Mexican oil and gas industry with highly qualified people, making us a more competitive and attractive market for international oil companies to come and work here not only for our resources, but also because of our highly capable personnel,” he states. “As a means to further advance the needs of everyone involved in the Mexican oil and gas industry, we are working with the Mexican College for Petroleum Engineers to complement our certification plan with theirs.”