LSU PETE Senior Accepts Job Offer From BP

LSU Petroleum Engineering senior Jackson Dreffs is just a few months away from graduating and moving to Houston where he will start his new job as a wells engineer with BP (formerly British Petroleum). For the past four years at LSU, Dreffs has known what he wanted to do and will start off making a handsome salary in the oil and gas industry, which is also bringing him closer to his hometown of McKinney, Texas.

Dreffs initially planned to major in architecture at LSU until he realized it wasn’t heavy on math and science, so he changed his major to general engineering. He then met a fellow student on campus, who would later become his roommate of three years, who was majoring in petroleum engineering, which Dreffs found interesting.

“Previously, I had discounted going into oil and gas because I questioned whether I would have a job in the next 15 years,” he said. “I did some research and found the Energy Intelligence Agency projects the total world hydrocarbon consumption to be the same, if not greater than what it is now, in 2050. So, I switched my major to petroleum and I’ve been loving it ever since.”

Dreffs even did some research on salaries of petroleum engineers, which further encouraged his decision.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks how much money each occupation makes in the U.S., and petroleum engineers make far more than any other engineering profession,” he said.

Dreffs had his first internship with Hilcorp, one of the U.S.’s largest privately-owned oil and natural gas producers that operates in nine states, including Louisiana. Dreffs served as a field engineer while working for them in New Mexico. He began his second internship in the summer of 2024 with Halliburton in Lafayette, La., where he served as a cementing field engineer.

Though presented with a full-time job offer from Halliburton, Dreffs chose to explore his options and ultimately applied for and was offered a job as a wells engineer with BP after three rounds of interviews with the Houston-based company. Dreffs is part of a three-year Early Careers program with BP designed to give him breadth of experience and the opportunity to build technical depth. He will also have a dedicated support network to provide guidance on the program and advice on career development.

“ In our Drilling 4045 class, we have a cementing chapter, so I felt like having that experience in the classroom gave me a leg up since I was able to understand things on a technical level quicker than the other interns. ”

“I’ll be a key member of the wells community with events, socials, and the opportunity to network with other Early Career program members,” Dreffs said. “I will also have access to technical coaches to support my technical development.”

Dreffs credits his LSU Engineering classes with helping him prepare for not only his upcoming job, but the two internships prior.

“When I worked for Halliburton, it was in cementing,” he said. “In our Drilling 4045 class, we have a cementing chapter, so I felt like having that experience in the classroom gave me a leg up since I was able to understand things on a technical level quicker than the other interns. Also, when I went to my second BP interview, it was about a blowout situation. Having experience with that in my Drilling class helped me with those concepts presented to me in the interview.”

Dreffs also credits one professor, in particular, who helped him along on his engineering journey.

“I had Dr. Karsten Thompson for Rock and Fluid Properties,” Dreffs said. “He’s the best professor ever. He kills it. He explains things so clearly, concisely and logically, which makes all of his material extremely easy to digest. Our class had to study less because of how well he explained things in class. He’s a great professor.”

Dreffs is excited to not only start his new job with BP, which could have him working offshore for at least a year, but to also move back to Texas.

“I think working offshore will be fun and exciting,” he said. “I’m also looking forward to being in Houston since it’s such a big and exciting city.”

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