Bobby Montgomery (BS Geology, 2007)

I am currently working as a field engineer for Schlumberger in Rock Springs, Wyoming since September, 2007. Schlumberger is the leading service company for the oil and gas industry. I work in the wireline segment on cased wells and perform a number of different services including well logging and perforating. I use a number of different tools at the end of a wireline cable to create well logs that give information on rock properties, fluid properties both in the formation as well as those being produced, casing integrity, and cement bond to the casing and formation. I also create production logs that are used to determine the amount of oil, gas, and water that are being produced from each production zone.

My favorite part of the whole job is that I get to use shaped charges in a string of "guns" to perforate through the casing, cement, and into the formation at zones that have been interpreted from other well logs to contain either oil or gas. I work 12 days on and then get 6 days off in 12 hour shifts. I love this job because it is very hands on and mechanical, deals with geology, and it pays well.

So far, living in Wyoming is a lot like Ellensburg except colder and with no trees in sight (or basalt, thank God, but I do miss it sometimes). I'm not married - yet, but Megan Lunde ('07) and I are still together and she feeds me well. I haven't really had much free time yet because of all the training that I have had to go through, but there are a lot of cool things to do outdoors in Wyoming.

Although CWU Geology does not have any type of reservoir engineering courses, many of the courses I took helped prepare me for this job - including stratigraphy, structure, and surprisingly hydrogeology. And of course GEOL 210 in Bishop, CA. I think that the department could teach a reservoir geology class or at least something to do with the oil and gas industry. I'm sure that a lot of students would be interested in something like that.

I definitely have no regrets about choosing geology as a career choice, and I have a lot of good memories from all of the great field trips. In the future, I might consider going back to school for awhile to possibly pursue a Masters degree in reservoir engineering.