Petroleum Engineering Notes | About, Highlights, Duration, Eligibility Criteria, Admission Process, Curriculum, Job Prospects.

Petroleum Engineering Details: Petroleum engineering is the branch of science that deals with study and understanding of the production of hydrocarbons, which can be from both crude oil and natural gas. Production and Exploration are considered to resign within the upstream division of the gas and oil industry.

Earth scientists and petroleum engineering exploration warrants that the oil and gas industries are the two main subsurface disciplines, which converges on progressing economic restoration of hydrocarbons from subsurface reservoirs.

Petroleum Engineering Notes & Course Syllabus

The course curriculum for the Petroleum Engineering programme offered in India consists of eight semesters. Here is a list of the core subjects of Petroleum Engineering

Linear Algebra Reservoir Engineering
Calculus Petroleum Production Operations
Differential equations Production Practices and Offshore Drilling
Complex variables Petroleum Formation Evaluation
Probability and Statistics Oil and Gas Well Testing
Numerical Methods Environment and Health Safety in Petroleum Industry
Petroleum Exploration Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques
Gas and Oil Well Drilling Technology Latest trends in Petroleum Engineering

Avail subject-wise B.Tech Notes related to Engineering Departments like ECE, CSE, Mech, EEE, Civil, etc. all in one place at BTech Geeks and plan your preparation according to your requirements.

A brief on Petroleum Engineering: Petroleum is one of the primary sources of energy that is widely used in the 21st century. The career in this field is challenging and attractive. Petroleum engineering requires an understanding of many other methods such as petroleum geology, geophysics, drilling, economics, formation evaluation, reservoir simulation, well engineering, reservoir engineering, artificial lift systems, etc.

To make a future in the field of Petroleum Engineering, aspirants can pursue degree, diploma and certificate programmes. Students aiming to pursue a career in the field of Engineering can also go for undergraduate bachelors courses such as BE or BTech, whereas at the PG level applicants can pursue courses such as MTech and then go for PhD. A qualified Petroleum Engineer can work in various fields. The average salary of a petroleum engineering graduate starts from Rs 6 lakh onwards.

Course Highlight

Course Name Petroleum Engineering
Course Level B.Tech, M. Tech, PhD
Course Duration Four years
Course Eligibility Completion of 10 + 2
Job Opportunities Government or Private sectors, Public, Sector Undertakings, Institutions, and IT Sectors.
Employment Roles
  • Drilling Engineer
  • Production Engineer
  • Chief Petroleum Engineer
  • Offshore Drilling Engineer
Average Income Rs 6 lakhs onwards
Top Companies
  • Lukoil
  • Chevron
  • ExxonMobil
  • BP Plc
  • China National Petroleum Corp

Skill Set Required

Students pursuing  Petroleum Engineering must have a good knowledge of geology, reservoir fluids, well drilling, fluid flow, petroleum production, and reservoir analysis. Job possibilities for the specialists of this field also exist in foreign countries like the United States. Petroleum engineering degree holders can also begin their career in the teaching area. Candidates should have a basic concept about the engineering subjects. Here is a list of a few more skill sets required for a Petroleum Engineer.

  • Numerical and analytical skills
  • Conceptualization skills
  • Problem Solving Skills
  • Team Working Skills
  • Learning Enthusiasm
  • Communication skills
  • Organisational skills

Course Duration

Petroleum engineering is an interesting field of technology and engineering. Petroleum Engineering can be pursued at both graduate and postgraduate level.

  • The duration of the B. tech program is four years.
  • Students can complete their M.Tech in 2 years and
  • Students can complete their PhD within 4 to 5 years.

Petroleum Engineering Eligibility Criteria

  • Students who have completed their 10 + 2 with PCMB subjects with at least 60 per cent marks from a recognised school or university can pursue the Petroleum Engineering course.
  • Students who have completed three years of Diploma in Petroleum Engineering can also pursue Petroleum Engineering Course.
  • Candidates who have pursued the B Tech degree from a recognised university can also apply for the postgraduate level in petroleum engineering.
  • Students can also pursue a PhD after the completion of M Tech.

Admission Protocol

  • The admission protocol for Petroleum Engineering course programmes occurs through a national level or institutional-level entrance examinations.
  • The admission process for Petroleum Engineering varies from one institute to another.
  • Students can attend the national level entrance examination JEE Main organised for the B.Tech programme admissions.

Entrance exam

The admission for BTech, BE,  MTech programmes for Petroleum Engineering are based on entrance exam scores in most of the institutes. Here is a list of entrance exams for the Petroleum Engineering Course.

JEE Main LPU-NEST AUEET
JEE Advanced COMEDK Assam CEE
BITSAT WBJEE GEEE
UPSEE GATE HITSEEE
KCET SITEEE VSAT
CUSAT CAT HS TES VTUEEE
LPU NEST UPESEAT SMIT
IPU CET REAP SAAT
JKCET BCECE AP EAMCET
BITSAT KEAM KIITEE
MHT CET SRMJEEE TS EAMCET
WBJEE COMEDK UGET TNEA
CG PET MET UKSEE

Fees Structure

The average course fee for the Petroleum Engineering course programme is from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakhs per annum. However, governmental institutions offer lesser fee programmes as compared to private institutions.

Top Institutes for Petroleum Engineering

Some of the top institutes to pursue  Petroleum Engineering are :

  • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay
  • Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
  • Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
  • University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun
  • Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar
  • Dibrugarh University
  • Aligarh Muslim University
  • Anna University, Chennai

Job Prospects

An Engineering degree can initiate many career paths. Petroleum engineers are required globally. There are plenty of jobs that are open to the experts of this field. Various gas and petroleum companies offer jobs to petroleum engineers. Petroleum engineers can also work in drilling sites. Job possibilities for the specialists of this field also exist in foreign countries like the United States. Petroleum engineering degree holders can even begin their career in the teaching area.

Some of the examples of Petroleum Engineers are given below –

Completions Engineers: The job of the completion engineers is to work with building wells, ensuring a smooth operation of the flow of oil and gas from underground. It can incorporate the utilisation of tubing, pressure control techniques or hydraulic fracturing

Drilling Engineers: They are in charge of the safe gas and oil wells drilling process, which is sustainable and efficient.

Production Engineers: Their work follows drilling processes. They ensure stable production of oil and gas and  are invested in increasing the output

Reservoir Engineers: They are tasked with outlining the reservoir characteristics critical for recovering the hydrocarbons. Also, they are entrusted with devising and implementing methods to extract the most out of the hydrocarbon reserves.

Some of the other job profiles for Petroleum Engineers  are :

Industrial Engineers Materials Scientists and Chemists
Petroleum Geologists CNG Operation, PNG & Distribution Engineer
Pipeline Transportation Engineer Refinery Manager
Simulation Engineer and Natural Gas Modeling Geoscientists

Areas of Employment

Graduates in the field of Petroleum Engineering get employed in areas such as –

  • Government or Private sectors
  • Institutions
  • IT Sectors

Top Recruiters

Some of the top-level companies that recruit Petroleum Engineers are listed below :

Bharat Petroleum Aban Offshore
Aban Offshore Limited Abhay Ocean India Pvt Ltd
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Adani Group
Aquarius International Aryatech Marine and Offshore Services
Aryavartha Design Consultants LLP Bengal Sun Solar Energy India Pvt. Ltd.
Bharat Oil & Waste Management Ltd. Cairn India
Castrol India Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
Coastal Energen Pvt. Ltd. CubicWheels Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd.
Delhi Aviation Fuel Facility Pvt. Ltd. Essar Oil Limited
Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) GE Oil and Gas India
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) Oil India Limited

Salary Prospects

The salary of a professional Petroleum Engineer depends on the knowledge and experiences of the candidate. It also depends on the section and prominence of an organisation. A fresher in this field gets a monthly salary of Rs 6 lakhs per year. A mid-level Electrical Engineer earns between Rs 9 to 11 lakhs per year. A specialist in this field can get up to 15  to 18 lakhs per annum in India. The average salary of a petroleum engineer in the US can be from 104000 dollars annually.

Frequently Asked Question

Q1. What are the skills required to become a successful Petroleum Engineer?

Answer: To become a successful Petroleum Engineer one needs to have a good understanding of the Science and Mathematics subjects. They should also have good problem-solving and presentation skills.

Q2. Name some of the reference books for Petroleum Engineering.

Answer: Some of the reference books for Petroleum Engineering are :

  • D.R. Skinner – Introduction to Petroleum Production
  • Chierici, Gian.L. – Principles of Petroleum Reservoir Engineering
  • TA. Al-Sahhaf, M.A. Fahim,  A.S. El Kilani- Fundamentals of Petroleum Refining

Q3. What is the eligibility criteria for Petroleum Engineer?

Answer: Students who have completed their 10 + 2 with PCMB subjects with at least 60 per cent marks from a recognised school or university can pursue the Petroleum Engineering course.

Q4. Define the term Petroleum Engineering.

Answer: Petroleum engineering is the branch of science that deals with study and understanding of the production of hydrocarbons, which can be from both crude oil and natural gas.

Conclusion

The Petroleum Engineering course article presented above is aimed to assist the students.  It will help the students to improve the understanding of the subject with in-depth knowledge and understanding of the course.