The worldwide median base pay for engineers who belong to the Society of Petroleum Engineers is $118,250, according to an expanded SPE compensation survey conducted this summer.

With additional compensation items included, such as a car allowance, the median total compensation was $146,194. (All data collected in local currencies was converted to U.S. dollars using the exchange rate as of July 1.)

More than 10,000 SPE members worldwide, working in some 91 countries, participated in the survey, the society's largest ever. By comparison, last year's survey collected data from just 2,751 members.

This year, the survey included anonymous responses from 4,635 members working in the U.S. and 5,412 people working outside the U.S., about five times the amount recorded in prior surveys.

The two regions showing the highest average base pay were the North Sea/North Atlantic and the U.S. The lowest-paid engineers are working for energy companies in Southeast Asia and Mexico/ South America/Carib­bean.

In the U.S., the base pay for drilling engineers with zero to 10 years of experience averaged $96,332; for those with 21 to 25 years on the job, it was $154,696.

Reservoir engineers made more, with the average base pay being $99,833; for those with 21 to 25 years of experience, it was $157,646. U.S. members overall reported having an average 21 years of experience, the most of any region.

SPE members worldwide reported receiving an average annual raise of 8.3% to their base pay.

The percentage reporting having a car allowance varied widely from region to region, from a low of 23.2% in Canada's oil patch to a high of 53.5% in Africa. No region's average age was younger than 39 or older than 46.

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