One of the fundamental challenges associated with hydrocarbon production is ensuring the integrity of the assets used to extract and transport process fluids, particularly from effects such as internal corrosion. As a result, the demand for qualified corrosion engineers with specific expertise in oilfield operations continues to grow.
This course is appropriate for professional engineers in industry who are seeking to expand their expertise, as well as graduate engineers or physical scientists looking to gain specialist knowledge relevant to the oil and gas sector.
The course develops your skills in measuring, predicting and managing corrosion as well as assessing asset integrity. Optional modules allow you to focus on topics relevant to your interests and career plans.
Taught by academic staff at the forefront of their fields, the course enables you to develop a range of skills and a solid knowledge base from which to launch an exciting career within the oil and gas industry.
You’ll learn in a stimulating research environment supported by world-class specialist facilities which support the individual project element of the programme. These include access to equipment such as high temperature/high pressure autoclaves, quartz crystal microbalance, erosion-corrosion rigs/flow loops, rotating cylinder electrodes/bubble cells, visualisation cells and potentiostats with AC/DC capabilities.
The projects are also supported by access to our corrosion lab’s own advanced surface analysis suite, containing optical microscopes, mini-sims, IR/UV spectroscopy techniques, atomic force microscopes and a nano-indenter.
This course is accredited by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council.
Core modules in each semester provide you with a thorough understanding of key aspects of oilfield corrosion engineering. You’ll study topics which cover aspects such as material selection, chemical inhibition, surface engineering technologies, the principles of physical metallurgy, electrochemistry and corrosion management strategies for new or mature assets.
You’ll also select from optional modules that allow you to focus on specific topic areas such as tribology and its impact on mechanism design or engineering computation. Modules are also available through Leeds University Business School covering aspects of operations management, to prepare you for a range of roles in industry.
Throughout the programme you’ll complete your Professional Project – an independent piece of research on a topic within mechanical engineering that allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. In the two taught semesters you’ll review the literature around a specific topic (chosen from an extensive list provided) and plan the project, before completing the design, analysis, computation, experimentation and writing up in the summer months.
Want to find out more information about your modules?
Take a look at the Oilfield Corrosion Engineering module descriptions for more detail on what you will study.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you’ll have regular contact with staff who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with them through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings.
Independent study is also important to the programme, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.
You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including case studies, technical reports, presentations, poster sessions, in-class tests, assignments and exams. Optional modules may also use alternative assessment methods.
The professional project is one of the most satisfying elements of this course. It allows you to apply what you’ve learned to a piece of research focusing on a real-world problem, and it can be used to explore and develop your specific interests.
Most projects are experimentally based and linked with companies within the oil and gas industry to ensure the topic of research is relevant to the field whilst also addressing a real-world problem.
Recent projects for MSc Oilfield Corrosion Engineering students have included:
With this qualification, excellent career options are open to you to practise as a professional corrosion engineer and play a major role in ensuring the safe and efficient recovery of natural resources.
Graduates have gone on for a range of companies such as BP, Petronas, Wood Group Kenny and EM&I.
You’ll also be well prepared to continue with research in this field, either within industry or at PhD level within academia.
You’ll have access to the wide range of engineering and computing careers resources held by our Employability team in our dedicated Employability Suite. You’ll have the chance to attend industry presentations book appointments with qualified careers consultants and take part in employability workshops. Our annual Engineering and Computing Careers Fairs provide further opportunities to explore your career options with some of the UKs leading employers.
The University's Careers Centre also provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This programme will provide you with the advanced knowledge and skills to pursue a successful career in the oil and gas industry.
You’ll study modules covering core topics related to the downstream activities of the industry including drilling and production technology, oilfield chemistry and corrosion, and chemical reaction processes. You’ll also have the option to take modules in topics such as separation processes, process optimisation and control, and multi-scale modelling and simulation.
Practical work supports your lectures and seminars, as you split your time between the lab and the classroom. You’ll also undertake a major research project investigating a specific topic in petroleum production engineering, which could relate to your own interests or career intentions. Taught by experts in our world-class facilities, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to thrive in a challenging and exciting industry.You’ll benefit from the chance to study in cutting-edge facilities where our researchers are pushing the boundaries of chemical and process engineering. We have facilities for characterising particulate systems for a wide range of technological materials, as well as facilities for fuel characterisation, environmental monitoring and pollution control. In our Energy Building, you’ll find an engine testing fuel evaluation and transport emissions suite and other characterisation equipment.
We are seeking accreditation from the Energy Institute.
Most of the course revolves around core modules, giving you a range of knowledge relating to different aspects of downstream petroleum production processes. These will include chemical reaction processes, drilling and production technologies and oilfield chemistry and corrosion.
You’ll look at the principles of process performance analysis, refining theory, enhanced oil recovery, chemicals used in corrosion control and strategies for new or mature assets. On top of this, you’ll take an optional module that allows you to develop your knowledge in an area that suits your own interests.
In the summer months you’ll undertake a research project, which will demonstrate the skills you’ve gained and may even be linked to your future career plans.
Want to find out more about your modules?
Take a look at the Petroleum Production Engineering module descriptions for more detail on what you will study.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you’ll have regular contact with staff who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with them through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings. Independent study is also important to the programme, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.
You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including case studies, technical reports, presentations, in-class tests, assignments and exams. Optional modules may also use alternative assessment methods.
The research project is one of the most satisfying elements of this course. It allows you to apply what you’ve learned to a piece of research focusing on a real-world problem, and it can be used to explore and develop your specific interests.
Examples of project topics would include:
A proportion of research projects are formally linked to industry, and can include spending time at the collaborator’s site over the summer.
The programme’s main focus is on downstream petroleum industry activities such as drilling, production, refining and distribution.
With an MSc degree in Petroleum Production Engineering you could expect to pursue a successful career in the oil and gas industries in a wide range of areas as diverse as field engineering, production drilling engineering, pipeline and transportation logistics, refinery operations and management, refinery control and optimisation, and sales and marketing.
You’ll have access to the wide range of engineering and computing careers resources held by our Employability team in our dedicated Employability Suite. You’ll have the chance to attend industry presentations book appointments with qualified careers consultants and take part in employability workshops. Our annual Engineering and Computing Careers Fairs provide further opportunities to explore your career options with some of the UK’s leading employers.
The University's Careers Centre also provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
Offered as part of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme.
Full-time and part-time students study a number of one-week short-course modules comprising lectures, laboratory sessions and tutorials.
The modules cover metals, polymers, ceramics, composites, nanomaterials, bonding, surfaces, corrosion, fracture, fatigue, analytical techniques and general research methods. Each module is followed by an open book assessment of approximately 120 hours.
There is also a materials-based research project, which is made up of the Research Project Planning and the Project modules.
The MSc in Advanced Materials is accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) when a Project is undertaken.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time over five academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a compulsory Project.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Professional practical skills
Key / transferable skills
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
The Advanced Master is the ideal stepping-stone to a high-level job in the field of welding and joining technology. In many countries, there is a permanent and growing demand for scientists and engineers who are knowledgeable and trained at an academic level in the field of welding engineering.
The programme is indispensable (and obligatory) for engineers seeking to work as Responsible Welding Coordinators. Engineers interested in R&D, quality, design, production, maintenance and particularly welding metallurgy will also find the programme instructive.
4 Clusters in the programme:
Upon successful completion of the entire programme (60 ECTS), you will be awarded the degree of MSc in Welding Engineering.
Upon successful completion of the course (40 ECTS), you gain access to the International Institute of Welding oral examination. A passing score results in IIW accreditation as a certified International Welding Engineer (IWE) and European Welding Engineer (EWE).
The green KU Leuven Technology Campus De Nayer, near Mechelen, is certified as an Authorised Training Body for International Welding Engineering by the Belgian Welding Association (BVL), which represents the International Institute of Welding (IIW).
This advanced master's programme strives to offer students a complete training in the professional niche of Welding Engineering. The programme has the following goals:
To this end, students must acquire sufficient knowledge, skills and abilities in order to:
This programme opens up a wide spectrum of professional possibilities and exposes you to an extremely varied field of action: petrochemistry, the aviation and aero-space industry, civil construction, assembly plants, the nuclear sector, shipping and logistics, general construction, and more. As a welding engineer, you will carry out a wide range of duties, including research, design, production, maintenance, sales and quality inspection.
Our graduates find employment in local SMEs, large multinational industrial companies as well as private and public organisations at home and abroad. There is a real need for experts with the capability to conduct research, carry out quality control analyses, and perform inspections, monitoring and certification in the broad field of welding. Some graduates start a career as independent consultants.
