Top companies in the energy sector

Whether you’re technical or business-focused, you can find a fascinating, global career in the energy sector. Check out these top energy firms for some great internship and graduate opportunities.

Royal Dutch Shell is one of the largest companies in the world, and one of the top companies in the energy sector. It covers every area of the oil and gas industry, from exploring new sources of oil to running more than 47,000 service stations worldwide.

Shell is headquartered in London and the Netherlands and operates worldwide. It has a very large US presence through its subsidiary, Shell Oil Company.

Shell’s programme for penultimate year students is known as an Assessed Internship. It’s split into a large number of specialised fields, from trading to legal to mining. Because it’s assessed directly, it’s an excellent route into the graduate programme.

The Shell graduate programme exposes you to all areas of the business. It’s split into three streams – Commercial (eg. sales and marketing, supply chain), Corporate Functions (eg. finance, HR) and Technical (eg. process engineering, petrophysics). It’s particularly known for its friendliness, its social elements, and the availability of senior staff.

Culturally, Shell is a place for the intelligent and the talented – its backbone is its vast engineering expertise, leading to a culture of excellence. If you’re well-rounded, sophisticated and bright, you’ll fit in well at Shell.

ExxonMobil is the fourth-largest of the eight ‘supermajor’ oil companies, producing 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent every day. While it focuses on oil exploration, extraction and wholesale, it also has downstream and chemical divisions.

ExxonMobil is a US corporation headquartered in Texas. Its UK head office is in Leatherhead, Surrey, with manufacturing plants in Fawley, Mossmorran near Fife, and Newport.

The ExxonMobil graduate scheme covers a wide range of areas. Some require a specific degree, while others, such as finance and HR, are open to everyone. The scheme boasts a generous starting salary of £41,000.

ExxonMobil is an informal, down-to-earth place to work. You’re expected to be a team player and focus on results. Given the company's global presence, the graduate scheme also gives you great opportunities to work in any number of countries.

National Grid is responsible for transmitting the UK’s electricity, as well as maintaining much of the gas transmission network. It also transmits gas and electricity between the UK and Europe. National Grid USA transmits gas and electricity in the Northeastern United States.

National Grid is headquartered in Warwick and has offices around the UK. Its US offices are in Massachusetts and New York.

As one of the top energy companies in the UK, National Grid has several highly regarded and extremely popular student and graduate development programmes, covering a wide range of areas from gas engineering to financial analysis. Graduate programme salaries start at an above-average £34,895.

The company is known for its focus on personal development. It invests in its graduates, and you can expect excellent training and support.

bp is a global energy provider, one of the eight 'supermajor' oil and gas companies in the world. Its workforce of over 87,000 undertake processes across the sector, including exploration and extraction, refining, distribution and marketing, power generation and trading.

Originally a UK-based company, bp is headquartered in London, and operates in nearly 80 countries worldwide. 

bp offers a range of well-paid early careers options, including internships and apprenticeships, industrial placements and graduate opportunities. They're designed to increase your development and expose you to as much of the business as possible – and with a graduate starting salary of £39,100 in engineering and non-engineering fields, and a reputation for a good work–life balance, it's a great place to start your energy sector career.

Centrica is the owner of the British Gas brand, which, as of 2021, supplied energy to over 6.3 million homes and businesses. Other subsidiaries are involved in energy storage, exploration and even plumbing.

Centrica has its headquarters in Windsor, with other offices and headquarters of its brands around the UK. Other locations include the North Sea, the Netherlands and North America.

Centrica runs graduate programmes in everything from commercial analyst roles to subsurface exploration. Many require a specific undergraduate or graduate degree, and you’ll need to be flexible and willing to work in different locations. Graduate programme starting salaries range from £31,000 to £38,000.

Centrica’s ten-week summer internship programmes are designed to develop your employability and give an insight into working at Centrica as a graduate.

Centrica looks for people who can create a positive environment, so you can expect friendly colleagues and supportive managers.

EDF Energy is a UK-based energy company which generates electricity and sells gas and electricity to homes and businesses. It's currently most reliant on nuclear energy (62%), but is increasingly investing in renewable solutions and supplied over 30% of the UK's low-carbon energy in 2020.

EDF is a UK-based company with its headquarters in London and all of its interests in the UK – including 37 wind farms and eight nuclear power stations, but is wholly owned by Électricité de France.

EDF offers a broad range of opportunities for young people at the start of their careers, including a virtual work experience programme open to those aged 14 and over!

Apprenticeships and industrial placements provide scope for learning practical, on-the-job skills, and there are both graduate and postgraduate schemes across all areas of the business for generalists and those who have already specialised in a certain area of STEM or engineering.

Graduate salaries start at £35,000, and support and growth is a focus within the company.

With over 12,000 members of staff, SSE is one of the largest and most diverse energy companies in the UK and Ireland, split across seven business units. It's a leading operator and developer of renewable energies in particular.

Formerly Scottish and Southern Energy, SSE has its headquarters in Perth in central Scotland.

SSE runs competitive Graduate Development Programmes across its various business units – including Land & Consents, Engineering and IT – with a focus on green energy and a starting salary of around £34,000. It takes pride in offering flexible working and a range of benefits, and other early careers options include summer placements for students and apprenticeships, as well as active involvement in STEM at school.

• Always research the company you’re applying to, including recent developments they’ve undertaken on UK soil. 
• Show you’re aware of how the energy sector affects the public, with supporting evidence showing how good you are as a communicator. 
• Make sure you demonstrate a real love for scientific advancement in energy acquisition. 
• Pick out examples of a hard task that was seen through to the end by your perseverance.
• Showcase any relevant work experience, whether that’s a placement at university or a summer job.