Want to become a Petroleum Engineer but confused as how to give it a start after 12th, this article shall provide you knowledge about what is Petroleum Engineering and all details and information regarding its courses, career options and admission processes to get into good colleges or institutes offering this subject of your choice, so that you get one step ahead to shape your dreams.
INTRODUCTION TO PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
Petroleum Engineering is that field of engineering where activities concerning the production of Hydrocarbons, can be either crude oil or natural gas. There are various processes and activities involved in the petroleum sector, where these processes are broadly categorized according to the flow of operations like:
· EXPLORATION
· EXTRACTION
· REFINEMENT
· TRANSPORTATION
· MARKETING
As stated by the earth scientists, Exploration and Petroleum Engineering are the two main subsurface disciplines of the oil and gas industry, which emphasizes on maximizing economic recovery of Hydrocarbons from subsurface reservoirs. Petroleum Engineering focuses on estimation of the physical behavior of oil, water and gas within porous rock at a high pressure. This field of engineering requires a good knowledge of many combined disciplines such as petroleum geology, geophysics, well logging, economics, drilling, reservoir simulation, reservoir engineering, petroleum production engineering, etc. People who are recruited to this industry particularly belong from various disciplines ranging from physics, mechanical engineering, and chemical and mining engineering etc. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is the largest professional society for petroleum engineers and publishes much technical information and other resources to enhance and support the gas and oil industry. The society provides free online education through webinars; mentoring and access to SPE connect. This platform provides members to interact and discuss technical issues, best practices, and various other topics.
SKILLS REQUIRED
A well-certified petroleum engineer is equipped with all such knowledge pertaining to all activities involved in extracting mineral oil and gas from the earth’s core. An aspirant who wishes to become a petroleum engineer should have strong technical skills along with the ability to handle the team and work as a member solving engineering problems, should also have the ability to work under pressure enabling to face challenges and bringing forth solutions as well, should have the drive and enthusiasm to carry forward every task with immense dedication and passion on the field, must have great analytical skills and should have good health and must maintain immense fitness to work actively.
COURSES OFFERED IN THE FIELD OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL (4 YEAR COURSES)
· B.E./B.Tech in Petroleum Engineering
· B.Tech in Petrochemical Engineering
· B.E. /B.Tech in Applied Petroleum Engineering
· B.Tech in Petroleum Refinery Engineering
· B.E./B.Tech in Petroleum Reservoir and Production Engineering
POSTGRADUATE LEVEL (2 YEAR COURSES)
· M.E./M.Tech in Petroleum Exploration.
· M.E./M.Tech in Petroleum Refinery Engineering.
· M.E./M.Tech in Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Engineering
DUAL DEGREE COVERING BOTH UG AND PG (5 YEAR COURSE)
Specialized B.Tech + M.Tech courses in petroleum engineering provide dual degree with a specialization in a sub-field of PE.
POSTGRADUATE LEVEL (RESEARCH-BASED)
M.S in PE(typically 3 years) or related fields can be obtained after a post-graduation level research thesis is completed with minimum course work.
DOCTORAL PROGRAMME (RESEARCH-BASED)
The research-based programs are 4-5 years for Ph.D. students. Ph.D. with a specialization in Petroleum Engineering and other related areas can be obtained after writing a novel research thesis in the particular field. A candidate must strive to secure a seat in one of the best petroleum engineering colleges under a central university in order to get a doctoral degree.
*The Research-based programs can even take as long as 7-8 years and depend entirely on the research circumstances and advisor and the progress made.
COURSE SUBJECTS
Basic subjects in Petroleum Engineering include:
ENGLISH/LANGUAGE
APPLIED MATHS(I)
ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS( III)
ENGINEERING PHYSICS
ENGINEERING DRAWING
ENGINEERING MECHANICS
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND UTILIZATION
ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
COMMUNICATION AND LIFE SKILLS
APPLIED MATHEMATICS (III)
SPECIALISATION IN PE INCLUDES:
PRODUCTION ENGINEERING
OIL RECOVERY SCIENCE
MACHINES AND EQUIPMENT
GEOLOGY OF PETROLEUM
TRANSPORTATION
RESERVOIR DESIGN
DRILLING AND WELL COMPLETION
GEOMECHANICS
CHEMICAL KINETICS
ENGINEERING CONTROL AND MEASUREMENT
DEEP-SEA PRODUCTION SYSTEM
DRILLING AND EXPLORATION
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
· For undergraduate programs, the eligibility into government colleges is 75 % in class 12 with the subjects Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
· The eligibility criteria are reduced by 5% for the SC/ST/PWD category students and the requirements also vary greatly for the private colleges or institutes.
· The postgraduate (M.Tech.) Petroleum Engineering course has an eligibility criteria which includes an undergraduate B.E. or B.Tech degree with a minimum of 60% marks or 6.0 out of 10.0. Grade Point Average (GPA) in the disciplines of PE from an AICTE-approved institution Or Parliamentary Act Approved central or state university.
· For a Diploma course in PE, the eligibility criteria would be a minimum of 55% aggregate marks in the class 10 Board exam. The required percentage for the other categories is relaxed.
ADMISSION TO PETROLEUM ENGINEERING AFTER CLASS 12
· The admission criteria for applicants or candidates required to apply for the course after class 12th would be to qualify the entrance examination apart from having good grades in class 12th Boards.
· The acceptance of scores for entrance examinations of UG and PG courses varies from one university/college to another.
· For Diploma programs in PE, individuals need to qualify for college-based admission tests as conducted.
· For UG programs, the score of JEE Main is accepted valid by many colleges and universities
· For Postgraduate programs, the major entrance exam is the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), the score of which is considered almost by all reputed colleges.
· There are only a few IITs offering B.Tech in PE.
TOP COLLEGES IN PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
· Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
· Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
· Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
· University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun.
· Chandigarh University.
· MIT College of Engineering.
· Presidency University, Bangalore.
· Aditya Engineering College, Surampalem.
· Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University College of Engineering, Kakinada.
· OPJS University, Rajgarh.
· Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (Gujarat).
· Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad (IIT) (Indian School of Mines) , Jharkhand.
CAREER OPTIONS/ PROSPECTS
A basic classification of having a career in Petroleum Engineering would be like:
1. UPSTREAM ENGINEERING IN PE, which involves the initial exploration of petroleum along with the identification of various extractions methods possible.
2. DOWNSTREAM ENGINEERING IN PE, includes processing and refining of crude oil for obtaining final products or derivatives.
Some of the evergreen options are:
· Research Associate.
· Field Operator.
· Program Management Analyst.
· Technician
· Junior Engineer position.
· Project Associate.
· Advisor/Consultants.
· Senior Exploration Geologist.
· Petroleum Technologist and Drilling Engineer.
· Technical Support Engineer.
· Process Engineer.
· Reservoir Engineer.
· Geosciences Pressure Expert.
· Research Engineer position.
FAQs
Q: Is class 12 marks enough to get admission into this course of Petroleum Engineering?
A: No, even qualifying in the entrance exams is a must.
Q: What are the eligibility criteria for the other categories for getting admission in a UG level course in Petroleum Engineering?
A: The eligibility criteria are reduced by 5% for the SC/ST/PWD category students and the requirements also vary greatly for the private colleges or institutes.
Q: What is an estimated salary on an average per month?
A: It varies depending on the job profile but on average, it is estimated around Rs 4-6 lakhs.
Q: Can you estimate the maximum course fees of both UG and PG level in government and private colleges if one applies for this course?
A: For UG, (PRIVATE- 16.41 Lakhs, and GOVERNMENT – 10. 12 Lakhs.)
For PG, (PRIVATE: 8:00 Lakhs, GOVERNMENT- 1.80 Lakhs).
Q: What scope does this field provide?
A: In India, there are abundant natural resources of crude oil and natural gas and these natural reserves have given rise to a flourishing petroleum industry in India.
By Tunisha Banerjee
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