As the world’s population grows – estimated to reach 7.5 billion by 2015 – so does the demand for energy. With climate change arguably the greatest challenge of this century and renewable sources unlikely to provide the world's energy needs for some time (maybe 20 or 30 years or more) there has never been a more interesting time to begin a graduate career energy.

The energy industry faces highly controversial issues and growing public demand, not only to discover ways of extracting, processing and using current energy sources more effectively, but also to develop clean fuels that do no long-term damage to people or the planet. A graduate career in energy could give you the unique opportunity to be part of cleaning up the environment and developing renewable sources of energy. And that is precisely why the energy industry needs to attract talented graduates to develop new technology, to promote innovation and apply it at scale.

Can you create more energy for the world without compromising the resources or the future of the planet? People need heat, light and mobility – and in the developed world most of us take it for granted. Despite this, the energy industry and companies like BP are often in the firing line, held responsible for increasing energy consumption and depleting resources as well as for the environmental effects of using carbon-based fuels.

Companies like BP offer formal graduate training programmes* across the spectrum of technical disciplines, including automotive engineering; chemistry; chemical/ process engineering; information technology; drilling and completion engineering; geoscience; health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) technology; instrument, control and electrical engineering; marine engineering/naval architecture; mechanical engineering; offshore engineering; operations and project engineering; petroleum engineering and reservoir engineering.

And energy is big business, so there is also a demand for functional experts in commercial areas including marketing and business analysis; in financial control and accounting; procurement and supply chain management, and of course, human resources. BP is unusual in that it also offers graduates the opportunity to become traders – linking its experience as a leading energy producer with experience of working in global markets to provide customers with the energy products and services they need, whether oil, gas, power, chemicals, finance, or a combination of these.

Open to people with an excellent academic background (the equivalent of 2.1 or higher in the UK) in a relevant discipline, where required, formal graduate training programmes typically last three to five years and involve two or more different roles. Mobility is also usually a requirement, as most graduates are expected to move around and experience different projects, teams and working environments. BP is typical in expecting graduate recruits to complete structured courses and personal study so that, where appropriate, individuals can gain relevant professional qualifications – for example, chartered accountant or engineer status.

The focus for BP and for many of our major counterparts is to find ways to improve our own operational efficiency as well as to deliver viable alternatives such as solar, wind, hydrogen and other sustainable energy sources. And despite the growing media emphasis on developing renewable energy, effective hydrocarbon recovery remains an important part of the story.

The energy industry uses some of the world’s most advanced equipment and technology for exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, and increasingly for production and processing of renewable and cleaner energy sources. So if research or technical development is your main interest, you’ll have the chance to work on leading edge projects using enormous bits of kit, literally worth millions!

BP can illustrate this with a few of its own examples:

The BP operated Thunder Horse development in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most ambitious offshore field developments ever undertaken – the reservoir lies beneath some 6,000m of mud, rock and salt, topped by 1,900m of ocean. To reach the oil requires some of the longest deviated wells in the world, each of which costs more than $60 million.

BP has been responsible for building the world’s longest pipeline from Baku to Turkey at a cost of over $3,000 million.

The topside facility for BP’s Clair field, developed off Scotland, is believed to be the heaviest object ever to be moved on wheels in the world – it weighed 11,000 tonnes.

Because many of the major players in the energy industry are global organisations, the scope of work tends to be vast and this is also reflected in most of the commercial roles you might undertake. If you’re working in finance, you are likely to be working with very large numbers. In procurement, you’ll be responsible for big spending – BP’s annual expenditure, for instance, is in the region of 40 billion US dollars.

Global perspective also means you may have the opportunity, in time, to move across business areas and to travel to a wide variety of different places. A graduate career in energy gives you unrivalled opportunities to travel and experience a wide variety of places. Few businesses have the luxury of being able to look 10 or 20 years ahead. The nature of the energy industry means that companies like BP have to project activity and assess risks long into the future, which is very good news for those who choose to start their graduate careers in energy.