<p>I’ve heard a lot about the tech opportunities in Huntsville, but I just recently learned that there is a large presence of oil companies in Alabama.</p>
<p>Though not my son’s interest, I thought it would be interesting to start a thread on this board to educate others who may be interested in the oil industry, but may have never thought to study at Bama, as neighboring states are more known for their oil programs.</p>
<p>I know many on this board are chemical engineering with an eye to premed, but what are the majors that one can explore if they want a career in the oil industry?</p>
<p>There’s a good number of Bama ChemE’s that are interested in Alternative Energy/Fuel.</p>
<p>I’m particularly interested if these oil companies recruit on campus for internships/coops. Though not a popular industry at times, I know many people have made good careers working in the oil industry. People I worked with lately told me there are a lot of chemical places along the I-65 corridor. Since we don’t travel that way when heading to campus, I was curious if any Bama folks were familiar with the area, either living there or having relatives/friends working at those locations.</p>
<p>I’m not sure oil is big at/in Bama - maybe I just wasn’t attentive enough. Exxon and Chevron recruit at Bama but the positions are not located in Alabama. BP has a site in Decatur (not sure if this is even an oil refining site) but they don’t recruit at Bama. A small company named Hunt Refining recruits at Bama and has a site located in Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>Maybe the dept head of Chem E needs to be asked this question.</p>
<p>David W. Arnold
Professor and Departmental Undergraduate Coordinator
Office: SEC 3478
Phone: (205) 348-1741
Fax: (205) 348-7558
Email: <a href=“mailto:DARNOLD@eng.ua.edu”>DARNOLD@eng.ua.edu</a></p>
<p>Education:</p>
<p>•Ph.D. Purdue University, 1980
•M.S. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1976
•B.S. University of Alabama, 1971 </p>
<p>Related Experience:
Process Engineer, Exxon</p>
<p>[Department</a> of Chemical and Biological Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://che.eng.ua.edu/]Department”>http://che.eng.ua.edu/)</p>
<p>BP in Decatur is chemicals…no oil refining.</p>