2011 CSI Recruiting E&P Salary Report

2011 E&P Salary
REPORT
Petroleum
Engineering
Petroleum
Geosciences
Petroleum
Land Management
New for 2011…

Land Technicians!
Salary Data and Position Descriptions

U.S. E&P Technical Professionals
New for 2011…Bonus, Stock and Vacation Data
1905 Sherman Street
Suite 200
Denver, CO 80203
1-888-264-7600
www.csirecruiting.com
CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Using the Report 4
How Report Was Created 5
The ‘Other’ Compensation 6
2011 - State of the E&P Industry 7
An Overview of Compensation 9
Petroleum Engineering 11
Petroleum Land Management 24
Petroleum Geosciences 31
About CSI Recruiting 44
© 2011 CSI Recruiting 2

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Introduction
CSI Recruiting‟s 2011 Domestic Exploration and Production (E&P) Salary Report is a targeted
research study of compensation within the domestic exploration and production marketplace.
This report consists of average and median base salary data for technical positions across the
engineering, geoscience and land disciplines, in addition to average annual bonus payments,
company stock program participation percentages and average paid time off data.
Data included in this Report is restricted to technical professionals currently in

full-time, salaried positions with Exploration & Production companies, working in
a U.S. location.
The Job Descriptions portion provides detailed and in-depth definitions for the experience and
educational requirements of the position, and delves into responsibilities and expectations for
those particular positions.
The Annual Update portion provides an overview of present day supply and demand for the
specific skill set with commentary as to the expected trends related to that specific technical
role.
The primary objective of this report is to provide up-to-date, detailed data and commentary tied
to specific job titles and technical disciplines to enable readers to fully understand current
market compensation conditions within the United States E&P community.
The landscape of the Domestic E&P hiring marketplace is constantly changing. Technical skill
sets have been and will continue to be in high demand and short supply, resulting in an ever-
changing compensation environment. Developments in the world economy and within the
domestic E&P industry influence these numbers, and the evolving marketplace has implications
for everyone in the E&P business.
This report strives to provide a comprehensive overview of compensation within the domestic
E&P marketplace, backed by detailed data, to be utilized by hiring authorities, human resources
personnel, company executives and technical personnel within the E&P community.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Using the Report
CSI Recruiting‟s 2011 Domestic E&P Salary Report includes ten Job Categories, which are
organized by three Disciplines:
1. Petroleum Engineering (Includes Reservoir Engineer, Drilling Engineer,

Production / Operations Engineer and Engineering Technician)
2. Petroleum Land Management (Includes Landman and Land Technician)
3. Petroleum Geoscience (Includes Geologist, Geophysicist, Geological / Geophysical

Technician, and Petrophysicist)
Each Job Category provides an overview of the position within a typical E&P organization, and
then details the experience and educational requirements of the position. The report delves into
specific responsibilities and expectations for that Job Category and addresses the current state
of affairs for that particular Job Category, the overall supply and demand issues and regional
nuances for the skill set.
Base Salary data is presented at the end of each Job Category, presented in average and median
numbers. The data is further broken down into Years of Experience and Region Working. The
count of the Respondents compiled for each Job Category is also provided.
For the first time in the history of the CSI Recruiting E&P Salary Report, we have
also included information related to the annual cash bonus, company stock and
paid time off portion of the compensation package.
While the report does not address the details related to stock plans, such as vesting schedules,
option versus grant programs or stock purchase plans, we feel that the details presented tell at
least part of the story about non-base compensation within the industry.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
How the Report Was Created
CSI Recruiting‟s 2011 Domestic E&P Salary Report contains data from over 2,600 professionals
currently employed in full-time, salaried positions within E&P Operators, based in a U.S.
location, and paid in U.S. dollars.
The data was gathered via voluntary survey, which asked respondents to disclose their current
job title, base salary and years within the industry. For the first time in the history of the
CSI Recruiting E&P Salary Report, we also asked respondents for information
related to participation in a company stock program, annual cash bonuses and
Vacation / Paid Time Off.
For the sake of useable data groups, certain job titles were combined into the most suitable Job
Category. For job titles with very small data groups that were not deemed to be close to any one
Job Category, that data was not included.
Within a Job Category, in order for an Experience Data or Regional Data grouping to be
presented, we required that the count of that grouping‟s data set represented a minimum of 8%
of the total count for that Job Category.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
The ‘Other’ Compensation
The most-oft-asked question in response to our Salary Report is “Why just Base Salary – Why not
include „other‟ compensation?” The argument goes that since base salary is, more often than not, one
piece of an overall compensation package, a report that ignores bonuses, stock options, benefits and
other forms of non-salaried compensation was not comprehensive.
Well, we agree. Base salary is not, on its own, always representative of whether a person is well
compensated or lags behind his or her colleagues. It does not illustrate whether a company is truly
„taking care‟ of its employees, or simply keeping pace with the market.
In past years we have resisted including any „other‟ important compensation components, most
significant of which are annual bonus, stock programs and employee benefits.
These compensation components, particularly in comparison to base salary, are difficult to quantify.
Given the variety of programs for the most prevalent „others‟ (stock, bonus and benefits), a side-by-
side comparison is elusive as there is little consistency between organizations. Take bonuses, where
some firms have cash bonuses, payable annually while others vest over several years. Still others have
no bonuses, but instead offer stock grants.
On the topic of stock options and grants, their value moves with the daily price of the publicly traded
stock, making it impossible to assign a value to any stock option program. And what about privately
held companies that have „phantom‟ stock programs?
All this said, these „other‟ components cannot be ignored. As base salary compensation within the
industry has fluctuations so does the annual bonus, the quality of benefits and the access to stock
programs.
Bearing that in mind, and responding to the requests of the report’s participants, for the
first time in the history of CSI Recruiting’s E&P Salary Report we are including data on
the ‘other’ compensation components that are most easily defined: Annual Cash Bonus
as Percentage of Salary, Quantity of Vacation / PTO and Participation in Company Stock
Program (Y/N), in a new section of the report that can be found within each discipline
and job category.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 State of the E&P Industry
Lessons Learned
The industry performed very well within the downturn caused by the „great recession‟ in 2008
and 2009, resisting the temptation to layoff large numbers of expensive technical talent or
significantly reduce benefits as immediate cost cutting measures. There were layoffs of technical
staff, however those reductions were small in scale and more for appearances‟ sake.
By not taking a knee-jerk approach and largely maintaining staffing levels in spite of a
substantial reduction in activity levels, the E&P community as a whole has weathered the
recession storm well. The technical teams, lying in wait for the better part of a year, have
reacted quickly to management‟s call for increased drilling and production activities.
A Busy Year
2010 was a year of solid recovery for the domestic E&P industry, in spite of the Deepwater
Horizon drilling rig tragedy. The independent operator community continued its development
of the nation‟s domestic, onshore oil and gas plays at a rapid pace. Year-to-year domestic oil
production increased in 2010 by as much as 150,000 bopd, thanks in part to new projects in the
Bakken play of North Dakota, the Wolfberry and Spraberry trends of West Texas, the Eagle Ford
play in South Texas, and technological advances in both onshore and offshore drilling. Oil
prices continued to climb, providing these active E&P firms with much-needed cash for
expensive drilling projects and larger acquisition costs. Conventional and unconventional gas
plays continued to see large-scale drilling in spite of a stagnant gas pricing environment.
The need for experienced technical talent followed in lock-step with the sustained recovery in
drilling activity. Experienced engineers were consistently in demand, as were experienced
development geoscientists. Landmen and exploration geoscientists saw their demand increase
in fits and starts, without the sustained hiring that the engineers and development geoscientists
experienced. Technicians across engineering, land and geo departments continued to be in
short supply as the gap between the junior (0-2 years experience) and the senior (25+ years
experience) talent only widening as those senior technicians continue to age and with little
significant addition to the pool of median-level talent.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2010 illustrated that a year of little hiring within the industry in 2009 did nothing to mitigate
the overall supply and demand issues that continue across the technical disciplines. As the
majors (Chevron, ExxonMobil) and foreign oil companies (Statoil, Talisman, BHP) continue to
ramp up within the onshore, domestic space, the competition for experienced talent is back to
levels last seen in the mid-2000‟s. This time demand could be even higher, as in the mid 2000‟s
the competition for talent was largely confined to independents competing against each other.
The entrance of majors and foreign oil companies could tighten competition further.
Companies that were quick to hire in early 2010 found themselves with a strong pool of talent at
reasonable compensation levels. Those companies hiring in the 3rd and 4th Quarter of 2010
found a much tougher staffing environment, and the talent was expensive. We expect that to
continue in 2011.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
An Overview of Compensation
Incentive Compensation
Incentive compensation is defined for the purposes of this overview as present-day or deferred
cash bonuses, stock options, stock grants or „phantom‟ stock options, generally granted to
professionals and managers. Incentive compensation is given to employees for both individual
and corporate performance, oftentimes varying in size and amount from person to person or
department to department.
As both our industry and the overall economy experienced a period of growth and expansion
from 2001 until mid-2008, incentive compensation grew substantially, often climbing into the
millions of dollars within start-up E&P companies, or for higher-level managers. Even staff-
level technical professionals within the E&P community were able to bank six-figure sums as a
result of growth in stock option values and profit sharing distributions. These perks were
effectively cancelled, if not in practice, then certainly in value, in 2009. Stock options were
under water with no signs of returning to the black, and profit sharing and bonus checks were
diminished if not eliminated.
In 2010, the stock market, particularly within the energy sector, rebounded in earnest, and
companies began to open their coffers again to incentive compensation, giving hope to those
younger E&P professionals that missed out on the last boom and reseeding the portfolios of
those senior staff members close to retirement.
Those heady times of the mid-2000‟s appear to be back in earnest, as pay packages are up or at
least even – base salaries are seeing increases, stock programs have higher value and annual
bonuses are robust in recognition of strong company performance. High value stock programs
with multi-year vesting schedules, in addition to cash „retention bonus‟ programs, are helping
companies to keep technical talent from being hired away, and putting substantial cash in the
pockets of technical staff at all levels.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Benefits
Benefits have long been an intangible component of a compensation package. Even 10 years
ago, robust health insurance was considered to be a given, as was generous vacation time, and a
covered, reserved parking space. Times are different, even for the oil business.
Health insurance costs are onerous. The cost to insure a family in any kind of decent health
insurance program can cost a company $1,500 / month or more, and that doesn‟t include vision,
dental life or disability coverage. In tandem, gone is the company pension, replaced with 401k
matching. Vacation time is now often part of a “PTO Bank” where time off for your honeymoon
counts the same as a dentist appointment or the flu.
These changes could be viewed negatively, but instead they illustrate that E&P companies, while
being eyeful of the runaway cost of benefits, have done well at keeping the key pieces in place:
health coverage, retirement, and time off, all while maintaining strong base salaries and
installing incentive compensation components. Perhaps the health coverage may have a high
deductible or require more out-of-pocket monthly contribution from the employee, or you may
not actually get to use all of your PTO because of workload, but overall E&P companies continue
to maintain better-than-average benefits programs for their employees.
Base Salaries
Base salary is often viewed as the defacto “Scorecard” for both hiring company and prospective
candidates. It is the most easily discernable data point for all participants in the hiring process,
and while salary is not always the determining factor for candidate or company, it plays a very
key role in a hiring or job change decision. So while base salary numbers certainly do not tell
the whole story, they are a reliable barometer of the general state of the industry.
In 2010, as competition for experienced talent mirrored the industry‟s increase in drilling
activity, acquisition deal making, and overall hydrocarbon production, so followed an increase
in base salaries across most technical disciplines and at a variety of levels of experience. While
the year started slowly hiring-wise, by the spring of 2010, recruiting efforts were at work in
earnest and by the fall, most companies with any kind of significant drilling and production
program were in need of engineers, geoscientists or landmen, with many of the larger E&P
companies seeking all three.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir Engineer
Drilling Engineer
REPORT
Production / Operations Engineer
2011 Salary
Engineering Technician
``
Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir Engineer
Drilling Engineer
Salaries, Job Descriptions, and Recruiting and Hirin

Production/Operations
Engineer
Salaries, Job Descriptions, and Recruiting and Hirin
Petroleum Engineering – Summary Table
AVERAGE MEDIAN
Reservoir Engineer $166,828 $172,000
Drilling Engineer $145,488 $145,000
Production/Operations
$149,875 $147,400
Engineer
Engineering Technician $87,712 $88,000

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Reservoir Engineer
The Reservoir Engineer is responsible for estimation of hydrocarbons in place within an oil or
gas reservoir, and for forecasting the probable future production performance of a gas or oil
reservoir.
Responsibilities and Expectations:
Conduct economic evaluation of exploration and development drilling opportunities,

acquisitions and divestitures
Prepare budgets, forecasts, and SEC reserves reporting documents
Support drilling plans and execution (e.g. well location, well testing, logging )
Develop and maintain field profitability models, and running economic models of
production optimization proposals
Build reservoir models and carry out simulations to evaluate the possible development
scenarios and associated reserve profiles
Perform detailed simulation studies to optimize well production/design or to investigate
critical aspects related to fluid movements
Conduct analytical studies to understand the fluid flow characteristics in the reservoir
Develop and maintain standard field profitability models, and run economic models of
optimization proposals
Prepare reserve estimates and economic analyses for exploration and development
drilling and recompletion projects
Analyze electric logs, formation pressures and reservoir fluids
Evaluate potential acquisitions and divestitures
Identify and recommend exploitation opportunities on existing properties
Supervise reserve studies performed by consulting firms
Mentor junior engineers and engineering technicians, and providing guidance and
training in fundamental and advanced applications of reservoir engineering
Experience and Educational requirements:
Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering

Hands on experience in field studies, acquisition evaluations, and federal lease sale
economics
Oil and Gas Reserve Estimations, Decline Curve Analysis, Petrophysical Log Analysis,
Material Balance Studies
Experience in Economic Evaluations using ARIES, OGRE, PEEP software
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) for internal and external project
presentation

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Reservoir Engineers
As the industry has recovered from the recession and E&P companies resume drilling and
production activity levels from their 12+ month slow-down, Reservoir Engineers, and their
close cousins, the „Business Development‟ or „Acquisitions‟ Engineers are leading the charge.
In demand regardless of ramp-up or ramp-down, these engineers are continually tapped by E&P
management to answer the question, “What do I have?” In 2009 and early 2010, that query was
born from questions like “What untapped assets do I need to be exploiting, what assets are
saleable and at what price”, or “What do I need to do to make this asset worth the money we
paid for it?” By the end of 2010, the “What do I have” question centered more on „How do I
grow my position, in both size and value?‟ and “Where should I be looking next?” These
questions are tough to answer when assets in the hot plays are scarce and expensive.
Heavily involved in the acquisitions and divestures that guided much of the non-drill bit growth
in the industry, reservoir engineers have been, and continue to be, high in demand for operators
of all sizes. The deal screening and economic evaluations skill set is certainly one reason why, in
addition to skills in reservoir evaluation and simulation, and expertise in company-wide asset
evaluation.
Reservoir Engineers are seeing salary levels at all-time highs. Demand for reservoir engineers at
all experience levels can be seen in every market in the U.S., and the need for their talents is felt
at E&P firms from the largest of operators down to the start-up that needs help evaluating assets
for that first acquisition.
Compared with the 2010 Salary Report, Reservoir Engineers, in comparison to the other
disciplines, have seen the greatest increase in base salary, up to 20%. The most significant gain
is with Reservoir Engineers possessing between 11-29 years experience. Reservoir Engineers can
expect to receive annual cash bonuses at the highest percentage within petroleum engineering.
Appalachia in particular witnessed strong improvement in base salaries. This can be directly
contributed to projects in the Marcellus, as companies operating in that region bring in talent
from other oil & gas centers at higher dollars than the Appalachian region typically sees.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
RESERVOIR ENGINEER COMPENSATION

Respondents: 387
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $166,828 $172,000
ADDITIONAL
EXPERIENCE DATA COMPENSATION
0-5 Years Experience $113,238 $109,000
6-10 Years Experience $136,865 $128,000 STOCK
73% participate in a
11-20 Years Experience $173,974 $178,000 company stock program
30+ Years Experience $189,260 $190,000 BONUS
94% receive an annual cash
bonus
REGIONAL DATA
Cash bonus paid at an
Appalachia $162,768 $169,000 average of 30.6% of salary
Dallas/Fort Worth Metro $168,423 $177,500
Denver/Rockies $164,602 $175,000 PAID TIME OFF
Average 4.44 weeks
Houston Metro $170,005 $180,500
Mid-Continent $165,522 $167,500
Midland $163,422 $164,500
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
Years of Service
$50,000
$0
0-5 yrs 6-10 yrs 11-20 yrs 21-29 yrs 30+ yrs

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Drilling Engineer
The Drilling Engineer is responsible for the design, development, review, and implementation of
drilling and well work-over programs, and to recommend changes in such programs due to
economic and production factors.
Design and implement a procedure to drill the well as economically as possible

Manage the complex drilling operation including both the people and technology
Work closely with the drilling contractor (the operator of the rig and its crews), service
contractors, and compliance personnel, as well as the other members of his internal team
Direct the review and analysis of drilling, redrilling, and remedial well work-over
programs; inspect the implementation of drilling and various remedial programs
Review and monitor mud programs, directional drilling methods, and logging methods
Review and analyze well completion methods to be used in the well for secondary
recovery projects
Direct and prepare graphic records relative to drilling and redrilling, such as well
histories, bit performance records, directional surveys, and drilling cost records
Coordinate activities with other staff as to well logging programs, interpretation of well
logs and sand counting for the preparation of isopach maps
Obtain cores and fluid samples for and exchanges information with other sections
relative to the drilling, redrilling, and remedial well work required to obtain the
maximum efficient recovery of petroleum products from waterflood programs
Prepare detailed reports on the status of drilling operations
Experience and Educational requirements:

Knowledge of petroleum engineering and secondary recovery methods and techniques,
drilling, redrilling, and remedial work
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) for interface with professional
engineers, company management, field personnel and drilling contractors.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Drilling Engineers
Drilling Engineers are key to unlocking the potential of the unconventional assets spread
throughout the domestic, onshore marketplace. Horizontal drilling efforts are high-cost
programs, but with associated high-value results, and it takes an experienced drilling team to
make the most of the time you have a horizontal rig at your disposal. Drilling Engineers are
integral to the success of these programs and those with experience working shale plays in
particular are seeing their demand skyrocket.
Record high drilling activity in Eastern Colorado, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania in addition to
high drilling activity in West Texas, South Texas, California, the Mid-Continent have snapped up
any drilling engineers that were seeking a new opportunity in the early part of 2010, making for
a tight marketplace for experienced talent by mid-year.
Service company engineers in the drilling realm are again able to make the jump to an operator,
a phenomenon last seen in 2008, and many 5+ year experienced engineers that have spent their
career at Halliburton or BJ Services are taking that experience in-house.
2011 promises to be another busy year for drilling engineers, with drilling budgets high and
expectations for success in the expensive shale plays even higher. Drilling engineers are
working hard in this present environment, and companies that do not keep them at high levels
of compensation within their technical teams will see that talent defect to competitors.
Compared with the 2010 Salary Report, Drilling Engineers actually saw a light decline in
average and median base salaries, largely attributable to an increase in new graduate hiring
from 2009. Drilling Engineers with 1-5 years experience are seeing higher base salaries, as
companies fight for strong, young talent. Bonuses were robust for Drilling Engineers, at an
average of 30% of salary.
As with most disciplines covered in this report, Drilling Engineers in Appalachia witnessed
strong improvement in base salaries. This can be contributed to projects in the Marcellus and
the need for companies to bring in talent from other domestic areas at higher levels than the
Appalachian region typically sees.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
DRILLING ENGINEER COMPENSATION

Respondents: 282
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $145,488 $145,000
ADDITIONAL
BONUS
30+ Years Experience $175,875 $174,250
bonus
REGIONAL DATA
Appalachia $142,666 $138,000 average of 30% of salary
Denver/Rockies $141,392 $140,000
PAID TIME OFF
Average 4.0 weeks
Houston Metro $146,615 $141,000
Mid-Continent $147,222 $142,000
Midland $140,500 $139,000
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000 Years of Service
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Production / Operations Engineer
The Production / Operations Engineer is charged with overseeing the daily operation of wells,
including constant monitoring of well performance, planning, and supervising workover
operations to maximize recovery and optimizing artificial-lift and pipe flow systems.
Additionally, as the well produces, these engineers are responsible for the design and
implementation of well completions and subsurface and surface production facilities which are
needed to produce the field and treat the produced fluids to produce oil and gas with the
specifications needed for transportation and refining operations.
Analyze, interpret, and optimize the performance of individual wells

Determine the most efficient means to develop the field considering the viscosity of the
crude oil, the gas-to-oil ratio, the depth and type of formation, and the project economics
Identify wells for production enhancements
Maximize the daily production and ultimate recovery of producing properties through
optimum operational procedures
Perform open hole and cased hole log evaluation
Recommend wells for completion or abandonment
Design facilities and coordinate installation
Responsible for cost containment and regulatory compliance
Develop a system of surface equipment that will separate the oil, gas, and water. Explore
additional technologies to enhance production from wells that are declining
Work closely with reservoir engineers and those in other disciplines to determine the
optimal approach for a particular field
Coordinate all phases of drilling, completion and workover operations
Oversee State, Federal and environmental compliance and deliver professional testimony
Experience and Educational Requirements:

Knowledge of petroleum engineering operations and production methods for oil and
natural gas recovery
engineers, company management, and field personnel

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Production / Operations Engineers
Production and Operations Engineers are the engine that drives company performance within
the E&P industry. When production is down, revenue, net income and sentiments are down.
When production levels are up, particularly in tandem with high commodity prices, E&P
companies succeed.
Regional experience is still preferred when making a Production or Operations Engineer hiring
decisions, as companies want to see engineers that have worked the assets in question, or in the
case of the shale plays, have worked similar assets in the very near term. A California heavy oil
producer still has little interest in a Barnett Shale-experienced Operations Engineer, and vice
versa. The same holds true for on-shore versus off-shore experience. That said, as demand
continues to exact pressure on the recruiting efforts of company HR staffers, that regional
experience requirement starts to wane.
Additionally, where during the recessionary downturn, service company engineers were not
highly sought after by the operators, those operators with multiple needs or those smaller E&P
firms with difficulty attracting top talent will start poaching engineers from the service sector.
The majority of experienced production operations engineers posses either less than 10 years of
experience, or over 30 years of experience. The compensation differential is tough to make
conclusions from in the production / operations engineer ranks, as you often see very well paid
6 or 7-year engineers, often with senior-level, over even managerial titles. On the other hand
there are many 3 to 5 year experienced production or operations engineers that are still in
training programs or considered to be „in development‟. The 30+ year professionals are on
more of an even keel, as the major separation in compensation comes only when one takes on
the added responsibilities of an Operations Manager or Production Manager role.
Compared with the 2010 Salary Report, Production/Operations Engineers have witnessed an
increase in base salaries, except for those individuals with 0-5 years of experience. The current
demand is for those individuals with 6-20 years experience and companies are paying a
premium for strong individuals. Average cash bonuses of 24% of salary add to the cash
compensation package.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
PRODUCTION/OPERATIONS ENGINEER
Respondents: 430
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $149,875 $147,400
EXPERIENCE DATA ADDITIONAL

0-5 Years Experience $95,777 $94,500 COMPENSATION
STOCK
11-20 Years Experience $153,172 $155,000 63% participate in a

BONUS
bonus
REGIONAL DATA
Appalachia $119,190 $125,000 Cash bonus paid at an
Dallas/Fort Worth Metro $145,655 $146,500 average of 24% of salary

PAID TIME OFF
Houston Metro $150,765 $152,500 Average 4.1 weeks
Mid-Continent $149,900 157,400
Midland $152,583 $151,500
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
The Engineering Technician is responsible for economic evaluation of oil & gas properties for
acquisition and divestment, waterflood monitoring, workover and well maintenance records,
with daily utilization of ARIES and related valuation programs.
Maintain reserve and production databases; provide annual, mid-year and quarterly
reserve reports to banks, verifying financial position
Digitize well logs and create reservoir cross-sections
Maintain files and schematics for surface equipment on oil & gas leases
Organize and update well log library
Perform economic forecasting to evaluate marginally economic oil & gas properties for
divestment
Provide oil production forecasting and reserve analyses using production decline curves
Generate computations to determine the economic life of oil & gas fields
Maintain well equipment inventory databases for producing oil & gas leases
Monitor operating, workover, and repair expenses
Estimate drilling & completion costs for drilling projects and provided management with
requests for approval of project capitalization
Provide support to acquisition, exploration and development by accessing outside
information sources
Provide reports and production history graphs, and data imports for engineering
software
Use computer software to create wellbore schematics of downhole equipment for well
completions and workovers
Prepare AFEs for well drilling, completions, and workovers
Prepare and maintain scheduling time lines of ongoing projects
Organize and maintain well files
Knowledge of petroleum evaluation software (ARIES)

Experience supporting petroleum engineers within an exploration and production
environment.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Engineering Technicians
2010 saw what little Engineering Technician talent that was available in 2009 quickly absorbed.
Compensation is strong for those Engineering Techs with 5+ years of experience, with many 30-
year experienced Engineering Techs in the six-figures on base salary. ARIES is still the „have-
to-have‟ technical skill for Reservoir Techs, with PhDWin lagging significantly behind.
Operators seeking junior-level technicians with hands-on experience with industry software
have a difficult time locating candidates. Again, with little training available other than on-the-
job experience, even small operators are resorting to hiring recent graduates with math or IT
aptitude and training them on the software.
Engineering Techs tend to develop skills both specific to their upbringing (IT staff focuses on
software, former admin keep engineers organized, you get the idea), yet they also have a key
commonality – they make the engineers better. And since engineers are expensive, in short
supply and are the drivers of an E&P firm‟s daily performance, these techs are very important.
The few operators that still insist on foregoing professional-level incentives for their technicians
have a tough time both hiring and retaining premium technician talent.
Career progression from Technician to Engineer continues to be elusive, although due largely to
the lack of a BSPE, this is also a result of techs enjoying being techs and not interested in the
daily pressures that come with an engineering role.
Salaries for experienced Engineering Techs have seen a rapid rise since 2001, in addition to
bonuses and stock options, particularly for those adept with ARIES, PEEP, DIMS, PhDWin,
Enertia, TOW, and Excalibur, among other industry software packages. Salaries continue to rise
across the board since the 2010 Salary Report, with Engineering Techs with 6+ years experience
seeing an increase of 7-13% in their base salary. Bonuses are also received by 98% of
Engineering Techs, but at a lower percentage of salary than Petroleum Engineers.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN
Respondents: 108
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $87,712 $88,000

STOCK

BONUS
bonus
REGIONAL DATA
Dallas/Fort Worth Metro $84,111 $83,000 Cash bonus paid at an
Denver/Rockies $80,810 $84,000 average of 17% of salary
Houston Metro $91,704 $91,000

PAID TIME OFF
Mid-Continent $80,476 $82,000 Average 3.91 weeks
Midland $87,833 $88,000
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
Years of Service
$40,000
$20,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Petroleum Land
Landman
REPORT
2011 Salary
Petroleum Land
Petroleum Engi
Landman
Land Technician
Salaries,
New forJob Descriptions, and Recruiting and Hir
2011!
Salaries, Job Descr
Salaries, Job Descriptions, and Recruiting and Hir
Salaries, Job Descr
Petroleum Land Management – Summary Table
AVERAGE MEDIAN
Landman $123,565 $122,500
Land Technician $72,160 $69,000

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Landman
The Petroleum Landman is a job unique to North America. The petroleum landman is
responsible for obtaining permission to drill a well, meaning the land must be leased from the
landowner who owns the subsurface oil and gas.

Responsible for acquisition or disposition of oil, natural gas or surface interests
Conduct negotiation, drafting or management of agreements respecting property
interests
Interface directly with surface owners, research ownership records in county, state, or
provincial offices.
Research titles and negotiate and draft a wide variety of leases and agreements with
landowners, mineral owners, state and federal agencies, Native American tribes and
industry partners.
Represent their employer before regulatory bodies, participate in and provide expertise
for multidisciplinary teams, and apply state-of-the-art software to create maps, reports
and other documents to aid management in the decision-making process
Obtain the proper documents and data so that the company may obtain leases on
acreage it is interested in
Assemble data and maps in connection with acreage rental expiration deadlines to
determine whether the company should renew or continue lease agreements.
Review and evaluate lease recommendations and other data for presentation to
management
Work closely with attorneys in preparation of title opinions, filing force integration
proceedings, interpleading to Court suspended royalties, and quiet title suits
Maintain project area land/well forms on computer systems and spreadsheets

Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Land Management or related discipline
Knowledge of petroleum land management principles
engineers, company management, field personnel, and business contacts / partners

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Land Professionals
2010 saw increased demand for land professionals from 2009, although that demand
manifested more in landmen staying busy than in increased compensation. The operators who
sought to hire in-house landmen or land managers in 2010 found an experienced candidate pool
seeking reasonable compensation packages, and industry delivered job offers accordingly.
Additionally, the need for surface landmen to handle permitting and regulatory issues has
returned to levels seen in the mid 2000‟s, although they typically see lower salaries than their
negotiations-focused counterparts.
The domestic E&P industry still finds itself in dire need of mid-range experienced landmen,
those candidates with 7 to 20 years of experience. For reasons related to the industry downturn
and a nationwide trend of eliminating PLM programs from university coursework throughout
the 1990‟s, the quantity of experienced landmen in this range is miniscule. The few experienced
land professionals in this age and experience range are very well compensated and are on the
fast-track to Land Manager positions, if not in them already. For companies seeking this level of
talent, they are pressed to offer any one of the following: an immediate promotion into a Land
Manager role; high base salary; significant stock grants or equity compensation; strong
promotion opportunities; top-level perks and benefits.
There is presently a quantity of landmen in the four and five-year experience level, meaning that
over the next few years the dearth of mid-range landmen should be eliminated, however the
industry needs to keep those younger landmen busy with significant projects and ensure they
are properly mentored so they can be prepared to take on leadership roles sooner in their career
than their engineering or geosciences counterparts.
Graduates from Energy Management or PLM programs are seeing good recruiting from oil
companies on campus, so the future looks promising for those junior-level hires, reflected in the
increase in salary at the 0-5 year experience range.
As with most disciplines covered in this report, Appalachia witnessed strong improvement in
base salaries. This can be contributed to projects in the Marcellus and Appalachia-based
companies need to be competitive with other markets in hiring practices.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
LANDMAN
Respondents: 416
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $123,565 $122,500
ADDITIONAL
COMPENSATION
EXPERIENCE DATA
21-29 Years Experience $146,065 $145,000 BONUS
30+ Years Experience $150,375 $153,000 bonus

REGIONAL DATA average of 25.25% of salary
Appalachia $111,683 $113,000
Dallas/Fort Worth Metro $132,542 $130,000 PAID TIME OFF
Average 3.9 weeks
Houston Metro $140,812 $138,000
Mid-Continent $129,900 $128,000
Midland $118,347 $117,000
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
Years of Service
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Land Technician
The Land Technician supports the petroleum landmen in their petroleum land management
functions within the land department of an exploration & production firm.
Orders and reviews drilling title opinions and prepares necessary curative as required for
drilling activity.
Prepares and reviews exhibits for Federal Unit Agreements and Unit Operating
Agreements.
Assists with forming federal participating areas, securing paying well determinations,
preparing annual plan of development and unit contractions for government approval.
Prepares communication agreements and pooling agreements.
Communicates with various federal and state agency personnel.
Assists Landman with spacing applications and exhibits.
Prepares JOAs and state, federal, and fee assignments.
Reviews and monitors contract briefs set up by Land Administration.
Working with tax maps, farmline and topo maps and property deeds
Working with deed plotting programs and chain of title programs
Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Access

Excellent written and oral communication skills
High degree of initiative, attention to detail and accuracy, timeliness
Strong working knowledge of Leases and Division Orders to interface with Land
Administration personnel and handle difficult land owner questions regarding pooling,
unitization, and spacing.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update – Land Technicians
Prior to the last decade, land support functions were performed by land administrators or
secretarial staff. As technology became more widely used within all aspects of technical
disciplines within E&P companies, so did software applications and high level data analysis
become integrated within the land departments of active operators. Enter the Land Technician.
In the early 2000‟s only the largest of independent operators and a few of the major oil
companies designated Land Technicians as a part of their land teams. The ranks of Land Techs
within the industry grew steadily and by 2010 most independents and majors had Land
Technicians on their payrolls, and a growth track developed as companies populated their
organizational charts with Land Technicians, Senior Land Technicians and Land Technician
Supervisors.
Much like their counterparts in Engineering and Geosciences, you need not have a bachelor‟s
degree to be a Land Technician, much less a petroleum land management background. Most
land techs are brought into the industry without land experience, but with an aptitude towards
Excel and other desktop applications, in addition to skills in technical support and strong oral
and written communication skills.
Land Technicians are here to stay, and demand for experienced techs is robust in most of the
upstream markets. Competition for experienced land technicians between operators is tight and
salaries continue to climb as the role takes on more responsibilities that collaborate with the
division order and leasing analysts.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
LAND TECHNICIANS
Respondents: 86
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $72,160 $69,000
ADDITIONAL
COMPENSATION
EXPERIENCE DATA
company stock program
16 -30 Years Experience $81,241 $80,500
BONUS
REGIONAL DATA 87% receive an annual cash
bonus
Appalachia $66,437 $68,000
average of 12.6% of salary
Houston Metro $70,301 $69,000 PAID TIME OFF
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$90,000
$80,000
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
0-5 yrs 6-15 yrs 16-30

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Petroleum Geosciences
Geologist
Geophysicist
Geological / Geophysical Technician
REPORT
2011 Salary
Petroleum Geosciences
Geologist
Geophysicist
Geological/Geophysical
Technician

Petrophysicist
Petroleum Geosciences – Summary Table
AVERAGE MEDIAN
Geologist $148,343 $150,000
Geophysicist $173,239 $182,500

Geological/Geophysical Technician $87,230 $88,000
Petrophysicist $161,366 $165,000

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Geologist
The Petroleum Geologist is typically focused on development (also referred to as operations)

geology or exploration geology. Exploration Geologists are more involved in the activity of
prospect generation, which includes locating a prospect, making geological surveys, and
documenting the viability and location of the prospect. Development Geologists work alongside
drilling staff to best get the resources out of the ground.
Perform log analysis, and well site work that results in the discovery of new reservoirs
and field extensions
Prepare detailed studies regarding producing properties with respect to future drilling,
secondary recovery operations, and rework potential
Prepare a variety of detailed structural and stratigraphic maps used to define exploration
models for generating prospects
Work closely with Geophysics, Land and Engineering to develop a prospect portfolio
Achieve increases in oil and natural gas production by revising previous formation
structural and stratigraphic interpretations
Evaluate prospects and develop lead areas by conducting well data analysis, log
interpretation and lithologic correlation, generation of maps and cross sections, and
modeling gas/oil in-place volumetric estimates
Develop existing assets by daily interaction with engineering (reservoir management),
selection of well completion intervals, and providing geological interpretation to field
operations
Select core sites and intervals, and coordinate geologic specific drilling requirements
Interpret geologic data and calculate pay zones from log analysis
Compile and evaluate historical production and trends in completion techniques.
Conduct subsurface evaluations to link logs, stratigraphy, and petrophysical properties
to production
Master and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Geology or related Geosciences discipline

Successful track record of prospect generation and finding hydrocarbons
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) for interface with geoscientists,
company management, seismic service companies and technicians
Experience as well-site geologist or in well-logging or data acquisition or interpretation
is desirable

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Geologists
2010 continued to see the industry focus on plays in the lower 48 that are more exploitation and
development focused as opposed to „elephant hunting‟ exploration, resulting in a rise of demand
for experienced operations geologist to ‟chase rigs‟ within these drilling-intensive
unconventional oil and gas plays.
As we progressed out of the industry downturn on the back of the recession, rigs laid down came
back on line and the high-cost horizontal drilling operations resumed on a large scale. As a
result, hiring of geosteerers and development geologist resumed in the spring and stayed steady
throughout the summer and fall. By the end of the year, E&P companies small and large began
showing exploration-minded signals by advertising for senior-level oil finders.
E&P companies hoping to grow their reserve base without paying top-dollar for acreage in the
high profile resource plays are seeking experienced explorationists. Acquisition opportunities in
the Shale plays are tough to come by, as are assets in the Wolfberry / Spraberry trends in West
Texas. E&P firms are turning to the proven oil finders to lead them to liquids-rich resources in
areas that are not presently the talk of the industry.
Development Geologists, with or without geosteering expertise, will see steady demand in 2011,
particularly those with relevant experience within the hiring company‟s development program.
Senior exploration geologists will be in high demand as E&P companies look for low-cost entry
to liquids-rich plays not presently on the industry‟s radar. Additionally, those recently-funded
start up E&P firms seeking acquisition opportunities to employ their funding will be seeking
strong explorationists with solid industry contacts to generate deal flow.
Geologists have seen little movement in base salary during the past year, however the bonus
levels are robust, at an average of 28% of base salary. Entry-level geologists are seeing stronger
starting base salaries, likely due to competition for strong new grads.
As with most disciplines covered in this report, Appalachia witnessed strong improvement in
base salaries, due largely to projects the Marcellus and the need to bring in talent from higher
paying markets to staff offices in Pennsylvania and New York.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
GEOLOGISTS
Respondents: 416
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $148,343 $150,000
ADDITIONAL
EXPERIENCE DATA
COMPENSATION
21-29 Years Experience $176,263 $178.000
30+ Years Experience $170,685 $176,000 BONUS
bonus
REGIONAL DATA
average of 28% of salary
Denver/Rockies $147,367 $150,000 PAID TIME OFF
Average 4 weeks
Houston Metro $158,895 $170,000
Mid-Continent $143,031 $152,000
Midland $154,995 $160,000
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Geophysicist
Petroleum Geophysicists use the principles of physics to measure and assess the properties of
the earth and its environment in order to manage exploration and development projects on land
and at sea. They plan, oversee and analyze complex land and marine surveys.
Take seismic projects from concept to drill ready which can include 2-D / 3-D design,
acquisition, processing, interpretation, and modeling
Perform evaluations utilizing workstation environments including Landmark,
Kingdom/3D-Pak, Geoquest, ZMAP, Geographix, and GMAplus software platforms
Compile regional maps and coordinate seismic processing efforts for exploration efforts
Participate in the evaluation and acquisition of production and exploration assets
Conduct structural and stratigraphic interpretation of 3D seismic reflection volumes
Perform quantitative amplitude interpretation, including AVO, for pre-drill prediction of
lithology and fluid types away from well control
Assess 3D seismic data fidelity by, for example, ray-tracing effects of acquisition on
seismic image and modeling effects of velocity on migrated position of reflectors
Perform volumetric calculations, risk assessment and preliminary economic analysis for
exploration opportunities
Work with Managers of Engineering, Land, and Exploration to fully evaluate all aspects
of new exploration opportunities
Master and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Geophysics or related Geosciences discipline

Successful track record of prospect generation and finding hydrocarbons
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) for interface with geoscientists,
company management, seismic service companies and technicians

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Geophysicists
Due in a large part to the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig tragedy, off-shore geophysicists, long
one of the industry‟s highest paid and most sought after technical skill sets, saw demand go
silent for the majority of 2010. While off-shore focused operators held tightly to their
experienced talent in anticipation of resumed drilling activity in 2011, they kept staffing levels
constant. In the mean time, on-shore focused E&P companies hired geophysicists in moderate
quantities for both development and exploration efforts. The hiring was somewhat mitigated by
the nature of the unconventional shale plays, which are not geophysically intensive. That said,
experienced exploration and development geophysicists interested in making a job change
continued to see their services sought after, particularly those geophysical professionals with
excellent track records of on-shore, domestic exploration success.
Geophysicists, always fewer in number than their Geological counterparts, stayed employed and
well compensated in 2010, as operators industry-wide put their geophysicists on projects that
had been delayed by the industry slowdown in 2009.
For companies seeking to hire experienced geophysicists in 2011, exploration-heavy projects will
draw the better talent, as oil finders will seek to avoid the „rig chasing‟ work and get back to the
task of finding hydrocarbons. For those geophysicists keen on operations work, their skills will
continue to be high in demand as drilling activity remains high.
Geophysicists experience the talent gap of the other technical disciplines, however it does not
appear to be nearly as pronounced. Be it due to small ranks of geophysicists in all levels of
ability, or the industry‟s interest in hiring good geophysical talent regardless of activity level or
commodity pricing, the fact is that the geophysics skill set is less fragmented across the
experience spectrum as its engineering, land, or even geological counterparts.
Compared with the 2010 Salary Report, Geophysicists saw salaries increased across the board in
both average and median data. As with most disciplines covered in this report, Appalachia
witnessed strong improvement in base salaries, a direct result of the increase in activity levels
within the Marcellus and the need to lure candidates from other markets to the region.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
GEOPHYSICISTS
Respondents: 304
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $173,239 $182,500
ADDITIONAL
STOCK

BONUS
bonus
REGIONAL DATA
Denver/Rockies $168,272 $166,000 average of 24% of salary
Houston Metro $179,916 $190,000

PAID TIME OFF
Midland $174,524 $179,000
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Geological / Geophysical Technician
The Geological / Geophysical Technician supports petroleum geoscientists in their exploration

and development efforts for company assets. Additionally, these technicians assist the
geoscientists with evaluation efforts for acquisitions and divestitures. The Technician‟s work is
performed using workstation software and mapping software, including Geographix, Petra,
Kingdom / SMT, and Zmap, to name a few.
Scanning, digitizing and geo-referencing all types of hard copy geological maps, lease
maps, etc. for use in many different software packages including GESX, AutoCAD, and
Global Mapper
Creating thematic seismic basemaps, Isopach maps and cross sections in GES97 and
GES Explorer
Retrieve, print and prepare mud logs for geologists
Create and maintain team well files which includes e-logs, mud logs, maps and election
papers for wells
Researched and produced acreage ArcView/GIS gas maps to determine new ventures
acreage for new acquisitions
Generate contour maps of monthly production (gas & water rate).
Coordinate with Drafting department to complete comprehensive Geographix mapping
projects for presentations
Utilize Geographix to depth calibrate and create smart-rasters for wells, creating maps
and cross-sections to determine new drill locations
Generate maps and cross-sections zeroing in on multiple pay zones using Petra and hand
cross-sections
Prepared structure and isopach maps
Work closely with engineers to determine production rates, reserve adds, decline curves,
gas in place, recoverable gas, spacing issues and potential payout
Manage GESX Well Library, consisting of the acquisition and importation of .las data
and workstation ready digits from numerous vendors
Deliver clear and succinct presentations to management, geoscientists and mineral
owners
Undertake practical field and laboratory work to support geophysical exploration and
development work
Bachelor‟s Degree in Geology, Geophysics or related Geosciences discipline is preferred

but not essential
Knowledge of geosciences workstation software and mapping software
Experience supporting petroleum geoscientists within an exploration and production
environment

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Geological and Geophysical Techs
With exploration and development activity levels increased industry-wide in 2010, geological
and geophysical technicians are again very busy and a key component to both the development
and exploration project work at hand.
This is in stark contrast to when the rigs were shelved and the exploration plays lacked funding
in 2009. During that time geotechs found themselves with little pressing work at hand and
instead busied themselves with project work that focused on long-range planning and re-study
of plays shelved during the go-go times of the mid-2000‟s.
Now that they are again party to a robust geosciences effort, geotechs continue to utilize
software tools and geological knowledge to make the professionals more effective, and the rise in
compensation for that effort they experienced from 2003-2008 has held steady. Likewise the
increases in benefits for Geosciences Technicians have been retained throughout the downturn
as operators continue to recognize the significance of their contribution.
Demand for experienced Geological and Geophysical Techs, has gradually returned beginning in
the spring of 2010 and gathering significant steam from the fall through year-end. Those
geotechs with the stronger workstation skills in Petra and/or Geographix software experience
will continue to command the higher end of the pay scale.
Skills in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) tools, primarily in the form of products
developed by ESRI, including ArcMap and ArcGIS, are becoming very highly sought by the
larger independent operators. While some technicians utilize these tools in tandem with Petra,
Geographix and other geosciences software applications, many GIS Analysts are solely
experienced in the ESRI tools.
There were more new entrants into the ranks of the Geosciences Techs than in 2009, most of
which had no formal training or schooling to be a Geological or Geophysical Technician. These
new hires are brought in at below-market salaries, bringing the salary averages for all GeoTechs
down slightly year-to-year from the 2009 report.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
GEOLOGICAL/GEOPHYSICAL TECHNICIAN
Respondents: 135
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $87,230 $88,000

STOCK
BONUS
REGIONAL DATA bonus
Dallas/Fort Worth Metro $86,113 $88,000 average of 14.56% of salary
PAID TIME OFF
Houston Metro $89,659 $90,000 Average 4.6 weeks
Mid-Continent $69,467 $70,500
Midland $70,247 $68,000
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$90,000
$80,000
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
Petrophysicist
Petrophysicists within the E&P industry typically are tasked with working alongside engineers
and other geoscientists to help fully understand the rock properties of the reservoir.
Petrophysicists evaluate the reservoir rock properties by employing well log measurements, in
which a string of measurement tools are inserted in the borehole, core measurements, in which
rock samples are retrieved from subsurface, and seismic measurements, and combining them
with geology and geophysics.
These petrophysicists compute the conventional (or reservoir) petrophysical properties,

including lithology, porosity, water saturation and permeability.
Reservoir models are built upon their measured and derived petrophysical properties to
estimate the amount of hydrocarbon present in the reservoir, the rate at which that hydrocarbon
can be produced to the Earth‟s surface through wellbores, and the fluid flow in rocks.
The petrophysicist will evaluate petrophysical problems of varying complexity and design
and/or apply the correct solution to them, in addition to conducting advanced technical studies
independently or integrated with exploration and development teams.
Master‟s Degree in Geology, Geophysics or related Physics discipline is strongly

preferred, although occasionally a petrophysicist will have a Petroleum Engineering
degree,
Petrophysical skills should cover the entire range of issues encountered from exploration
to development, with experience in designing well logging programs, doing data quality
control of acquired log data, formation evaluations of critical wells, creating final log
curve for input in reservoir models, reservoir description, and rock properties for seismic
models.
Ability to integrate petrophysical work with geophysics, geology and reservoir
engineering is critical.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
2011 Update - Petrophysicists
Prior to the early 2000‟s, petrophysicists were only found in the ranks of the major oil
companies and at large, multi-national service companies or specialty, petrophysical and well
log analysis firms. Petrophysicists are now seen within nearly all the larger independent
operators, and even are becoming common within the mid-size independent E&P companies.
Instead of using petrophysical consulting firms or self-employed consultants for petrophysical
analysis, these E&P companies have now brought these technical resources in-house, at salaries
in line with top-level geoscientists.
A rare breed, the quantity of petrophysicists with hands-on experience working in domestic E&P
companies is small, likely less than a couple of hundred individuals. These petrophysicists
presently working in industry have resumes with extensive consulting and / or service company
experience or are lifers within a major oil company, neither of which is a background typically
desired within the independent operator community. However, these candidates appear to
transition well into these in-house positions at independents, if for no other reason than there‟s
no viable alternative. The simply are no other candidates to choose from, and the technical
skills are tantamount.
Demand for experienced petrophysicists will grow for the foreseeable future, as E&P companies
continue to realize the value in having this technical expertise in-house. We can assume that
more technical professionals will join the ranks of those petrophysicists with experience working
within an active exploration environment as their utilization within the independent community
grows, however their addition to the industry‟s supply will not keep pace with demand.
Salaries for these experienced E&P petrophysicists are at the high end of the spectrum for non-
managerial positions, and this will continue as their demand stays strong and supply is not
significantly increased.

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
PETROPHYSICISTS
Respondents: 41
BASE SALARY
AVERAGE MEDIAN
BASE SALARY $161,366 $165,000
ADDITIONAL
EXPERIENCE DATA
COMPENSATION
30+ Years Experience $186,592 $188,000 85% participate in a
REGIONAL DATA BONUS

100% receive an annual
cash bonus
Houston Metro $173,696 $175,000 Cash bonus paid at an
average of 25% of salary
Mid-Continent $162,479 $160,000
Midland $175,962 $174,000 PAID TIME OFF
Average 4.8 weeks
AVERAGE BASE SALARY

Salary
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
Years of Service
$50,000
$0
0-15 yrs 16-29 yrs 30+ yrs

CSI Recruiting
Domestic U.S. E&P
2011 Salary Report
About CSI Recruiting
CSI Recruiting is a professional recruiting and personnel search firm focused exclusively on the
Domestic U.S. Exploration & Production industry since the founding of the company in 2001.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, CSI‟s staff of experienced oil & gas recruiters work with
candidates and client companies throughout the U.S., finding and placing E&P professionals
into Engineering, Geosciences and Land positions located from Alaska to Appalachia.
In 2011, CSI Recruiting opened a division office in Dallas / Fort Worth to better serve the Mid-
Continent, Houston and West Texas markets. All recruiting operations will continue to be
headquartered in Denver.
CSI‟s recruiting professionals are consistently involved with the industry‟s annual conferences
and prospect expositions, and have been long-time members and supporters of AAPG, AAPL,
SEG, and SPE. CSI is often cited by national publications such as The Wall Street Journal and
Oil & Gas Investor in articles pertaining to oil & gas hiring trends and recruiting efforts.
CSI Recruiting is supporting the development and execution of this report in response to market
demands for a detailed and focused summary of current salaries within the U.S. E&P
marketplace.
The comments contained herein regarding compensation trends and marketplace demands are
the opinion of staffers within CSI Recruiting, based on their years of in-depth work within the
domestic E&P industry.
1905 Sherman Street

Suite 200
Denver, CO 80203
1-888-264-7600
www.csirecruiting.com

2011 CSI Recruiting E&P Salary Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2011 CSI Recruiting E&P Salary Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2011 E&P Salary

New for 2011…

Salary Data and Position Descriptions

Using the Report 4

How Report Was Created 5

The ‘Other’ Compensation 6

2011 - State of the E&P Industry 7

Petroleum Land Management 24

About CSI Recruiting 44

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 2

Data included in this Report is restricted to technical professionals currently in

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 3

Using the Report

1. Petroleum Engineering (Includes Reservoir Engineer, Drilling Engineer,

2. Petroleum Land Management (Includes Landman and Land Technician)

3. Petroleum Geoscience (Includes Geologist, Geophysicist, Geological / Geophysical

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 4

How the Report Was Created

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 5

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 6

2011 State of the E&P Industry

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 7

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 8

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 9

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 10

Salaries, Job Descriptions, and Recruiting and Hirin

Petroleum Engineering – Summary Table

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 11

Responsibilities and Expectations:

Conduct economic evaluation of exploration and development drilling opportunities,

Experience and Educational requirements:

Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 12

2011 Update - Reservoir Engineers

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 13

RESERVOIR ENGINEER COMPENSATION

AVERAGE BASE SALARY

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 14

Responsibilities and Expectations:

Design and implement a procedure to drill the well as economically as possible

Experience and Educational requirements:

Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 15

2011 Update - Drilling Engineers

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 16

DRILLING ENGINEER COMPENSATION

AVERAGE BASE SALARY

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 17

Responsibilities and Expectations:

Analyze, interpret, and optimize the performance of individual wells

Experience and Educational Requirements:

Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 18

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 19

EXPERIENCE DATA ADDITIONAL

30+ Years Experience $167,453 $170,000

Denver/Rockies $151,421 $158,000

AVERAGE BASE SALARY

© 2011 CSI Recruiting 20

Responsibilities and Expectations:

Experience and Educational Requirements:

Knowledge of petroleum evaluation software (ARIES)