Applications for the 2008/2009 Vacation Student program positions in Australia have now closed

ExxonMobil offers a 12-week paid Summer Vacation Work Program to Australian engineering students in their penultimate year of study.

The program is designed to provide:

• A real engineering project that is current and important to the business

• An opportunity to apply your University skills to a practical real world engineering problem

• A competitive salary with additional scholarships on offer to support high performing vacation students through their final year of University.

• Useful skills for future employment

• First hand experience of an engineering work environment

• Opportunities to experience what it’s like to work for ExxonMobil, a dynamic, global organisation that maintains its leadership position through its highly talented workforce and superior technology.

As part of the Summer Vacation Work Program, each student is assigned a recent graduate engineer mentor and encouraged to participate in various induction, orientation and training activities. Students are given real work projects of current business importance and have the opportunity to report back on these projects to the management team. They work closely with our recent graduate engineers as well as our senior technical engineering experts. They are also given the chance to experience what it's like to work for ExxonMobil, a dynamic, global organisation that maintains its leadership position through its highly talented workforce and superior technology.

Interaction and visits to processing sites is an integral part of successfully completing vacation employment objectives. Projects support our various operations: Offshore Bass Strait, Longford Crude Oil Stabilisation and Gas Processing Plant, Long Island Point Fractionation Plant, Altona Refinery, marketing and distribution.

Vacation students will receive a competitive salary with additional scholarships on offer to support high performing students through their final year of University.

Students may be offered graduate employment positions at the end of their 12 week placement to take up on completion of their studies depending on their performance and available opportunities.

Read more about some of our young engineers .

Examples of projects undertaken as part of the 2007/08 vacation program: 

1. Technical Analysis of an Offshore Oil and Gas Field
Reservoir Surveillance Group, Southbank
A small oil and gas field, located in Bass Strait, was discovered in 1983 however has not been considered of sufficient size to develop. Recently additional seismic (geological imaging) data has been obtained which has allowed ExxonMobil geoscientists to re-examine the field. Using state of the art industry tools and a new geological interpretation, perform an initial investigation into development options. Predict oil and gas rates under different scenarios and recommend a forward plan for more detailed analysis.

2. Work Class Remote Operated Vehicle Evaluation
Inspection Engineering Group, Southbank
ExxonMobil uses Remote Operated Vehicles or ROVs in its offshore operations for inspecting the integrity of underwater structures. Evaluate the opportunity to purchase a Work Class ROV which is also capable of performing medium complexity tasks such as non-destructive testing and clearing of marine growth. Examine the relative economic benefits of purchasing a new ROV, including which work tasks can be accomplished by the ROV, changes to existing work methods and estimates of schedule efficiency. Prepare a technical recommendation including minimum ROV specifications consistent with ExxonMobil's investment criteria.

3. Optimise the Management of Sulphur Guard and Caustic Use in Alkylation Unit
Process Engineering Group, Altona
Caustic and sulphur guard are both used within the refinery's Alkylation Unit to remove sulphur. Sulphur guard consists of a fixed bed containing copper oxide on alumina, and has a design life of approximately one year. The life of the sulphur guard is heavily dependent on the use of caustic, as additional caustic use lowers the quantity of sulphur which the sulphur guard is required to remove. Develop an optimal strategy around the management of sulphur guard and caustic with a view to adjusting the caustic use depending on relative incentives.

4. Optimise Longford Gas Liquid Recovery During Peak Gas Sales
Onshore Facilities Surveillance Group, Longford
During the winter of 2007, record gas sales were made from the Longford Plants. On some days, due to capacity constraints, a proportion of gas may be routed to bypass sections of the plants and flow directly into the sales gas pipeline. Operating the plant in such a manner can impact liquids recovery from the gas. Develop a model to evaluate liquids recovery impacts to plant operations through different bypass strategies (rich gas bypass vs. cold gas bypass) and calibrate models against observed data. Develop a recommendation on how to optimise plant operations on an ongoing basis during periods of high gas demand.

5. Improve and Expand Compression Surveillance System
Maintenance and Reliability Group
The gas compression system is critical to maintaining production in Bass Strait. As part of the management of the compressors, routine surveillance and monitoring activities are carried out by the Maintenance and Reliability Group to ensure the units are performing optimally. Real-time and historical data is available for engineers to analyse at their desktop. Examine the effectiveness of the current system and identify opportunities to upgrade the software and improve functionality. Develop the system to address gaps in data coverage, verify data maintained on the system and improve the overall surveillance capability.

6. Improve Formulation of Isolating Fluids used in Bass Strait Well Workovers
Subsurface Engineering Group
When undertaking mechanical workover operations on offshore wells, a special fluid is often used in the wellbore to ensure the well is unable to flow while the workover is taking place. Isolating fluids are designed to take into account various reservoir characteristics such as porosity, permeability, pressure and temperature. Evaluate the current methodology for isolation fluid selection and recommend improvements to ensure minimum damage to the reservoir during workover operations while retaining total formation isolation.