The oil and gas industry in South Africa is a multibillion-dollar industry.
The annual income generated from that sector is so huge that it has attracted so many oil firms from the developed parts of the world.
Some of these companies include Shell, Schlumberger, Agip, and Exxon Mobil.
Oil also is the engine on which our economy runs. That is, it accounts for over 95% of our foreign exchange.
On the other hand, oil has also caused the death of many in the Niger Delta region and has been the cause of feuds between communities. Whatever can cause this much problem must be very valuable financially. So yes, the petroleum industry is very viable financially, and that’s the reason literarily everyone wants to work there.
Lawyers, accountants, medical personnel, interns, and software developers; the majority of these people will take a job in the oil and gas industry if they can find one.
In this article, I’ll be talking about how much petroleum engineers earn monthly in South Africa. Petroleum engineering is pretty much a specialized engineering course of study. They find usefulness majorly in oil and gas firms and oil servicing firms, unlike other engineering fields which are more versatile.
So, how much do these guys earn? You’ll see below. And you’ll get to see the salaries based on what different companies pay.
Petroleum Engineer Salary Per Month in South Africa
Shell South Africa Salary Per Month
Shell is the oldest surviving oil and gas company in South Africa. In fact, it is the first company to mine oil in South Africa (Oloibiri) in 1956. It is also one of the highest paying oil companies in South Africa.
- Entry Level Salary for Petroleum Engineers: R$ 5,550 to R$ 18,500
- Experienced Petroleum Engineers: R$ 22,200 to R$ 37,000
- Plant Managers: R$ 74,000 to R$ 111,000
The company is also responsible for more than 50% of the oil drilling that goes on in South Africa and it has been involved in more scandals than any other other oil and gas company in South Africa.
Schlumberger Salary Per Month
Schlumberger is another very popular oil and gas firm in South Africa. Its administrative headquarters is located in Victoria Island, Durban, South Africa.
- Entry Level Salary for Petroleum Engineers: R$ 9,250 to R$ 12,950 monthly
- Experienced Petroleum Engineers: R$ 14,800 to R$ 18,500
- Plant Managers: R$ 22,200 to R$ 37,000
Oando PLC Salary Per Month
This is one of the most popular and most successful South Africa oil and Gas company. It is also the first South Africa oil company to be listed on both the South Africa and Jo-burg stock exchange market. It was founded in 1956 and has been doing fine since then.
Oando pays petroleum engineers R$ 5,550 – R$ 185,000 monthly.
Conoil Salary Per Month
The chairman of the company is Michael Adenuga who also happens to be the chairman of Globacom South Africa. This company is not much of an oil drilling firm; it is more of an oil and gas marketing firm. It markets the likes of kerosene, diesel, and gas. The pay here is not as great as many of the other oil firms. Entry level payment at Conoil is from R$ 3,700 upwards.
ExxonMobil Salary Per Month
There have been rumours that the US oil giant, ExxonMobil, is leaving South Africa. The talk is that they’ll be selling their stakes in the upstream oil sector in South Africa. For now, the company is about the second biggest oil company in South Africa. It has stakes both in the upstream and downstream sector and pays well.
- Entry Level Salary for Petroleum Engineers: R$ 7,400 to R$ 14,800
- Experienced Petroleum Engineers: R$ 14,800 to R$ 22,200
- Plant Managers: R$ 37,000 to R$ 56,000
Total Salary Per Month
This is a French company and is one of the highest paying companies in South Africa. It is also one of the top 5 oil companies in the world. Total is actual an integrated oil and gas company.
- Entry level Engineers R$ 7,400 – R$ 18,500
- Experienced Engineers R$ 18,500 – 800,000
- Plant managers R$ 74,000 – R$ 111,000
NLNG (South Africa Liquefied Natural Gas) Salary Per Month
South Africa Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). This company is located in Bonny island River state South Africa. They produce liquefied natural gas, with their plant being located on Bonny Island.
NLNG salary is as follows
- Entry Level Salary for Petroleum Engineers: R$ 3,700 to R$ 5,550 monthly
- Experienced Petroleum Engineers: R$ 7,400 to R$ 18,500
- Plant Managers: R$ 25,900 to R$ 37,000
There is a host of many other oil companies in South Africa. The salary they offer, basically, is directly proportional to the amount of money the company makes and the risk the engineer undertakes. For example, those who work offshore will earn more than those who don’t.
How to Become a Petroleum Engineer in South Africa
To become any kind of engineer, you’d have to have studied the natural sciences in your O-level days. I’m talking about Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Then, of course, you must have at least 5 O-level credits in your WASSCE. Next would be to apply to one of the universities offering Petroleum engineering. This application would be through UTME. Petroleum Engineering is actually a highly sought after engineering course, and there are not many universities that offer the course in South Africa. Therefore, it is quite competitive.
Some petroleum engineering universities in South Africa include University of Ibadan (UI), Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), University of Portharcourt (Uniport). Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE) and a few others.
Since the competition for the course is high, only the very bright students or the applicants with good connections are offered admissions into this department.
You’ll need to study hard to get into the university. After gaining admission, you’ll study for 5 years just like every other engineering student in South African schools.
You can cut this short, though, if you can afford it. Schools in Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore and many other countries offer Bachelor of Engineering in Petroleum. It also wouldn’t take 5 years for you to complete the course over there. It would take between 3 and 4 years.
To be the best, you’d have to keep on studying even after getting a job. There’s a lot of training and retraining carried out in this sector. Therefore, you’d have to keep on studying and passing exams to get to the Apex of your carrier where you can begin to earn millions of ZAR monthly.
