Energy at nexus of future, author says

Mines engineers in pivotal position, Yergin tells grads

By Janet Forgrieve, Special to the Rocky Friday, May 9, 2008

Darcy Souta didn't have to search long for a job in her field of petroleum engineering. Souta was among 512 seniors awarded bachelor's degrees from the Colorado School of Mines on Friday - the same day oil hit a record $126 a barrel.

This fall, Souta will head to Conoco Phillips in Houston for a job in an industry that's clamoring for new engineers and offers an average annual starting salary of more than $80,000.

Souta and the other graduates listened raptly during the ceremony as keynote speaker and honorary Ph.D. recipient Daniel Yergin told them about the great need for their skills at a time when the world energy situation is facing a crisis and more than half the qualified engineers in the field are slated to retire within the next decade.

"There's no question it's a time of high anxiety when it comes to energy," Yergin said. "A week ago when I was working on this speech, oil was $110 a barrel; now it's $126."

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