Petroleum Engineering
Natural resource discovery, production, processing, and transportation, as well as carbon separation and reuse, are the main areas of focus for petroleum and natural gas engineers. While attending West Virginia University, students learn about carbon sequestration techniques, simulation design, drilling engineering, production engineering, and reservoir engineering.
Petroleum engineers are involved in drilling oil wells, safe and cost-effective oil and gas extraction, petroleum development and processing, and production process management. Work in specialized roles such as production engineer, drilling engineer, or reservoir engineer.
What does an engineer in petroleum do?
The development of more effective techniques for extracting oil and gas from the Earth’s interior is primarily the responsibility of petroleum engineers. These resources are stored in subterranean reservoirs.
In addition to their main responsibilities, they might also engage in a variety of other tasks, such as:
- Developing strategies for oil and gas exploration and recovery
- Making assumptions about the well’s anticipated yield and coming up with strategies to
- Maximize extraction from reserves
- Designing tools to make oil and gas extraction easier
- Determining whether potential well sites are viable
- Calculating the drilling operation’s costs ensuring the equipment is installed, used, and
- Maintained correctly evaluating of the production levels and worth of existing wells.
How to get into Petroleum Engineering
A bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering or a related field, such as mechanical, civil, or chemical engineering, is typically required for petroleum engineers. Programs for cooperative education, which let students earn academic credit while gaining real-world experience, might be useful.
Eligibility requirements
Numerous other disciplines, including geophysics, petroleum geology, formation assessment, drilling, economics, reservoir simulation, reservoir engineering, well engineering, artificial lift systems, etc. are required for petroleum engineering.
To be eligible for admission to a bachelor’s program, applicants must complete the 12th grade in the science stream from an accredited educational board.
The prerequisite degree for admission to the master’s program is a bachelor’s in the relevant field.
Petroleum Engineering at WVU is well-liked
West Virginia University awarded 67 petroleum engineering bachelor’s degrees during the 2020–2021 academic year. Due to this, among all colleges and universities that provide this degree, the school was ranked #5 in terms of popularity. This represents a 23% decline from the 87 degrees awarded the year before.
Seven students graduated from WVU with master’s degrees in petroleum engineering in 2021. As a result, it is the country’s #11 most sought-after school for students seeking master’s degrees in petroleum engineering.
Best Petroleum Engineering Schools in West Virginia
| Institution | Category | Location | website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources | University department | 1306 Evansdale Dr | http://statler.wvu.edu/ |
| Petroleum and Natural Engineering Department | University department | 401 Evansdale Dr | https://pnge.statler.wvu.edu/ |
| WVU Tech | Public university | 507 S Kanawha St | http://www.wvutech.edu/ |
| West Virginia University | University | +1 304-293-0111 | https://www.wvu.edu/ |
| Pierpont Community & Technical College | Technical school | 500 Galliher Dr | http://www.pierpont.edu/ |
| Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design | University department | 333 Evansdale Dr | http://davis.wvu.edu/ |
| West Virginia University - Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering | University department | 1220 Evansdale Dr | https://lcsee.statler.wvu.edu/ |
| West Virginia Northern Community College Wheeling Campus | Community college | 1704 Market St | http://www.wvncc.edu/ |
| Marshall University | Public university | 1 John Marshall Dr | http://www.marshall.edu/ |
Beginning Your Career as an Energy Engineer
Mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering design are just a few of the many disciplines that are covered by the field of petroleum engineering. If you’re thinking about working in this industry, start by learning the fundamentals of petroleum engineering.
This includes studying fluid mechanics and thermodynamics laws, as well as the characteristics of crude oil and other petroleum-based products. You can start to specialize in one or more areas of petroleum engineering once you have mastered these fundamentals. Reservoir engineering, production engineering, and environmental engineering are a few of the more well-liked specialties.
Opportunities for petroleum engineers
The field of petroleum engineering presents numerous opportunities for professional advancement. While there are many opportunities to work in research and development, marketing, and other areas, the field may necessitate a certain level of technical expertise. Additionally, because the field of petroleum engineering is constantly changing, there are constantly new obstacles to overcome and chances to seize.
Salary for petroleum engineers
Petroleum engineering salaries Petroleum Engineering majors who earn their bachelor’s degree from WVU go on to work in positions with median annual salaries of $74,468. This is less than the national median for bachelor’s degree recipients who majored in petroleum engineering, which is $80,660.
Future Growth and Scope
There are numerous opportunities for career advancement in petroleum engineering. We will look at some career options for petroleum engineers in this section of the blog.
- First, working in a variety of industries is a fantastic opportunity provided by petroleum engineering. Petroleum engineers can work in the extraction of oil and gas, refinement, building and maintaining pipelines or developing new fuels. Petroleum engineers can select a profession that matches their interests and abilities thanks to the abundance of available options.
- Second, the field of petroleum engineering is developing. Petroleum engineers are expected to be in high demand in the upcoming years as the world’s reliance on oil and gas resources grows. This indicates that there will be many job opportunities shortly for talented petroleum engineers.
- Finally, petroleum engineering has great benefits and pay. Most jobs in the industry pay well and include a variety of benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.
