Since the 1970s Aberdeen has been the main European and often world centre of energy production where FTSE 100 multinationals sit alongside learning in disciplines across the energy supply chain, the latest of which is decommissioning. University of Aberdeen has followed this learning and knowledge across this time to develop one of the most informed universities in terms of how the industry has grown, innovated, been regulated, managed risk and changed over time and many experts have come to the university after years within the industry.
Petroleum Energy Economics and Finance is one of the most highly regarded and intellectually challenging programmes to keep you up to date with the energy industry. The programme with an international reputation is taught by experts such as Professor Alexander Kemp OBE on North Sea Oil and Gas. The programme focuses on the government and business of petroleum industries addressing finance skills required for complex decision making in areas such as investment analysis, Government petroleum policies, decommissioning, energy demand. You will not only learn from experts in the field but you will also benefit from the years of experience of a research lead university which has continuously provided skills, theory and knowledge to professionals in the energy industry and vice versa.
Aberdeen is one of the World’s Oil Capitals, with a very high population of oil industry professionals and international oil companies within Aberdeen city and surrounding area. You will benefit from studying at a traditional UK university, which has been disseminating knowledge and understanding of key concepts and practises for over 500 years but you will be very much in the 21st century in understanding how this knowledge and the latest changes to the energy industry are supported in your profession.
First Semester
Second Semester
Third Semester
Find out about fees
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
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Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
Teesside is a major European centre for the chemical and petroleum processing sector and our MSc helps you gain knowledge and develop skills with industrial relevance. Petroleum reservoir engineering, well drilling, petroleum chemistry and economics of the oil and gas sector are just some of the topics covered.
There are three routes you can select from to gain a postgraduate Master’s award:
The one-year programme is a great option if you want to gain a traditional MSc qualification – you can find out more here. This two-year master’s degree with advanced practice enhances your qualification by adding to the one-year master’s programme an internship, research or study abroad experience.
The MSc Petroleum Engineering (with Advanced Practice) offers you the chance to enhance your qualification by completing an internship, research or study abroad experience in addition to the content of the one-year MSc.
The programme of lectures and project work encompasses a range of petroleum fundamentals, pertinent to the modern petroleum industry. Project work provides an opportunity for ideas and methods, assimilated through lectures and tutorials, to be applied to real field evaluation and development design problems.
Professional accreditation
Our one-year MSc Petroleum Engineering course is accredited by the Energy Institute under licence from the Engineering Council. This means that it meets the requirements for further learning for Chartered Engineer (CEng) under the provisions of UK-SPEC.
By completing this professionally accredited MSc you could benefit from an easier route to professional membership or chartered status, and it can help improve your job prospects and enhance your career. Some companies show preference for graduates who have a professionally accredited qualification. The earning potential of chartered petroleum engineers can exceed £100,000 a year.
The two-year MSc Petroleum Engineering with Advanced Practice incorporates all the elements of the one-year MSc and adds to these the advanced practice module. The new title is being prepared for formal recognition as accredited title.
Teesside University Society of Petroleum Engineering student chapter
Our Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE) student chapter is one of only nine in the UK. SPE is the largest individual member organisation serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals worldwide in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry. Through our SPE chapter we can invite professional speakers from industry, and increase industrial networking opportunities for students.
For the MSc with advanced practice, you complete 120 credits of taught modules, a 60-credit master’s research project and 60 credits of advanced practice.
You select your master’s research project from titles suggested by either industry or our academic staff but you may also, with your supervisor’s agreement, suggest your own titles.
Student projects
Here are some examples of the Major Project module developed by our MSc Petroleum Engineering students.
Course structure
Core modules
Advanced Practice options
Modules offered may vary.
This course provides specialist education tailored to the upstream and downstream petroleum industry. The relevance of this education, combined with our careful selection of candidates, has encouraged oil and gas companies to target our graduates for recruitment over the years.
The petroleum industry is subject to dramatic changes of fortune over time, with the oil price capable of very rapid rates of change in either direction. Petroleum, however, remains the dominant source of energy with current world production of oil and gas at record rates. In this environment, companies face increasing technological and commercial challenges to keep their wells flowing and are increasingly dependent on input from petroleum engineers and geoscientists.
It is widely recognised that a steady influx of fresh people and ideas is vital for the longer-term success and stability of an organisation. As a result, it is expected that recruitment will continue, especially if you have the motivation and appropriate qualifications.
Petroleum engineering is key to the functioning of the modern world, providing both energy and materials for industry. Teesside is a major European centre for the chemical and petroleum processing sector, making it an ideal location for individuals seeking to study for an MSc with industrial relevance.
The programme of lectures and project work, encompasses a wide range of petroleum fundamentals, pertinent to the modern petroleum industry. Project work provides an opportunity for ideas and methods, assimilated through lectures and tutorials, to be applied to real field evaluation and development design problems. The course is applied in nature and has been designed so that on completion, you are technically well prepared for a career in industry.
Professional accreditation
Our MSc Petroleum Engineering is accredited by the Energy Institute, under licence from the Engineering Council. This means that it meets the requirements for further learning for Chartered Engineer (CEng) under the provisions of UK-SPEC.
By completing this professionally accredited MSc you could benefit from an easier route to professional membership or chartered status, and it can help improve your job prospects and enhance your career. Some companies show preference for graduates who have a professionally accredited qualification, and the earning potential of chartered petroleum engineers can exceed £100,000 a year.
Teesside University Society of Petroleum Engineering student chapter
Our Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE) student chapter is one of only nine in the UK. SPE is the largest individual member organisation serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals worldwide in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry. Through our SPE chapter we can invite professional speakers from industry, and increase the industrial networking opportunities for students.
For the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) award you must successfully complete 120 credits of taught modules. For an MSc award you must successfully complete 120 credits of taught modules and a 60-credit master's research project.
You select your master’s research projects from titles suggested by either industry or our academic staff, but you may also, with your supervisor’s agreement, suggest your own titles.
Student projects
Here are some examples of the Major Project module developed by our MSc Petroleum Engineering students.
Course structure
Core modules
MSc candidates
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
The course is delivered using a series of lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions.
Our MSc Petroleum Engineering is supported by excellent laboratory and engineering machine workshop facilities including fluid flow measurement, computer modelling laboratories, other laboratories and workshops, an excellent library and computing facilities. We have invested around £150,000 in laboratory equipment particularly in within core analysis and enhanced oil recovery.
We have several computer laboratories equipped with specialised and general-purpose software. This generous computing provision gives you extended access to industry-standard software – it allows you to develop skills and techniques using important applications. For upstream processes, Teesside University has access to educational software packages like Petrel, Eclipse, CMG, PIPESIM and Ecrin to simulate the behaviour of oil reservoirs, calculating oil in situ, and oil and gas production optimisation. As for downstream processes, you can use HYSYS to test different scenarios to optimise plant designs.
Petroleum Experts Ltd has donated to Teesside University a network system and 10 educational licences for the IPM suite (Integrated Production Modelling software) which includes Prosper, Gap, Mbal, Pvtp, Reveal and Resolve. This £1.3m system and software is used by our students to design complete field models including the reservoir tanks, all the wells and the surface gathering system.
Petroleum laboratory facilities
Enhanced oil recovery and core analysis laboratory
The flow through porous media, enhanced oil recovery techniques and core analysis is done in the core flooding lab. The lab is equipped with core plugging and trimming, core preparation and conventional core properties measurement equipment. At a higher level, the lab is also equipped to perform some special core analysis measurements such as fluid relative permeabilities as well as rock surface wetting quantification.
Petrophysics laboratory
The petrophysics lab allows you to study the properties of rocks, particularly the measurement of porosity and evaluation of permeability. The lab is equipped with sieve analysis equipment to investigate grain sorting and its effect on permeability and the porosity of rocks. You are able to gauge saturation and fluid flow through porous media.
Surface characterisation laboratory
The rock surface characterisation lab is equipped with a zeta analyser to measure the rock surface electric charge. You study the rock surface wetting state, adsorption and desorption potential using digitised contact angle apparatus and thermos-gravimetric apparatus respectively.
Drilling laboratory
The drilling lab is equipped with mud measurement equipment including mud density, mud rheology and mud filtration systems to enable you to measure mud cake and formation damage. The lab highlights the importance of oilfield drilling fluids.
How you are assessed
Assessment varies from module to module. The assessment methodology could include in-course assignments, design exercises, technical reports, presentations or formal examinations. For your MSc project you prepare a dissertation.
These courses provide specialist education tailored to the requirements of both the upstream and downstream petroleum industry. The relevance of this education combined with careful selection of candidates has encouraged oil and gas companies to target our graduates for recruitment over the years.
The petroleum industry is subject to dramatic changes of fortune over time, with the oil price capable of very rapid rates of change in either direction. Petroleum, however, remains the dominant source of energy, with current world production of oil and gas at record rates. In this environment, companies face increasing technological and commercial challenges to keep their wells flowing and are increasingly dependent on input from petroleum engineers and geoscientists.
If have an engineering, science or mathematics degree and you are considering work in the oil and gas industry worldwide Petroleum Engineering can provide you with a wide range of knowledge and skills within the upstream oil and gas extraction area. The programme mainly focuses on the skills you need to extract oil which can be the initial geoscience knowledge through to core analysis and reservoir engineering. Within reservoir and well engineering there are several areas of analysis, testing and development you then specialise in. This ensures you have a very robust approach to offshore production with the type of advanced skills to problem solve and troubleshoot different situations.
The programme also develops your skills in formation evaluation, simulation, and appraisal plus safe production and enhancing the recovery of hydrocarbon oil and gas. This programme is highly regarded in the industry internationally and it is recognised by all major players in the oil and gas industry. Careers can be anything from Drilling, Operations, Piping Specification, Production, Reservoir, Subsurface and Wellhead Engineer. The degree hold accreditation from the Energy Institute and Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
This programme is relevant for any oil and gas professional or professional interested in working in the industry worldwide. It is taught by world renowned international experts from the industry, researching and teaching the skills and knowledge necessary. Aberdeen is seen as the oil and gas European capital of the industry with major FTSE 100 multinationals located in the city.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
for online delivery
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
Other engineering disciplines you may be interested in:
There is a lot you can do with data in any organisation. With the increase in technology and IOT plus the 'Big Data' revolution the collation of data and the power it holds to transform organisations, ensure health and safety in difficult to reach places, keep ahead of life cycles, drive change and innovation has huge potential for any organisation. Within the oil and gas and energy sectors and related supply chain the revolution of supply and demand is already happening.
If you already work in data either in the energy sector or other related sectors this programme specialises in its application to the oil and gas sector and it is partnered with Common Data Access Ltd which is a not for profit subsidiary of Oil and Gas UK. It provides data management services to the oil and gas industry. The programme is developed with academics at University of Aberdeen and industrial partners and it covers data protection, governance and quality plus project and data management and legal commercial and security aspects of data management.
The programme develops your key data management requirements working in interdisciplinary teams in the energy industry and is sponsored and input by multinationals within those industries. You can study this programme either on campus full time or part time or online part time from anywhere with an internet connection. The part time delivery is designed to fit around your work and life.
Campus Delivery
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Online Delivery:
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page for campus delivery and online delivery
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
You may also be interested in:
This programme will equip you with the essential knowledge for engineering careers in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.
Upon completion of the course you will have gained a comprehensive understanding of oil refining and associated downstream processing technologies, operations and economics; process safety and operations integrity; and methods for the optimal design of process systems.
You will learn about the general economics of the energy sector, oil exploration and production, as well as renewable energy systems.
Furthermore, your study of the various aspects of petroleum refining will be augmented by unique work assignments at a virtual oil-refining and chemical company.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time students must study at least two taught technical modules per academic year. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation.
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 aims to provide a highly vocational education that equips the students with the essential knowledge and skills required to work as competent engineers in the petrochemical sector.
This is to be achieved through combining proper material in two popular and complementary topics: process systems engineering and petroleum refining. The key objective is to develop a sound understanding of oil refining and downstream processing technologies, process safety and operation integrity, as well as systems methods for the optimal design of process systems.
A balanced curriculum is provided with essential modules from these two areas supplemented by a flexible element by way of elective modules that permit students to pursue subjects of preference relevant to their backgrounds, interests and/or career aspirations.
An integrated approach is taken so as to provide a coherent view that explores the interrelationships between the various components of the programme.
Knowledge and understanding
The programme aims to develop the knowledge and understanding in both petroleum refining and systems engineering. The key learning outcomes include:
Intellectual / cognitive skills
The programme aims to strengthen cognitive skills of the students, particularly in the aspects of problem definition, knowledge and information acquiring, synthesis, and creativity, as collectively demonstrable through the successful completion of the research dissertation.
The key learning outcomes include the abilities to:
Professional practical skills
The programme primarily aims to develop skills for applying appropriate methods to the design and operation of petroleum refining processes. The key learning outcomes include the abilities to:
Key / transferable skills
The programme aims to strengthen a range of transferable skills that are relevant to the needs of existing and future professionals in knowledge intensive industries irrespective of their sector of operation.
The key learning outcomes include the further development of the skills in the following areas:
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.
You gain two complementary areas of knowledge in studying Oil and Gas Law and Economics to understand the complex environment of state controlled hydrocarbon and mineral extraction in a high risk industry in terms of extraction safety, risks, reliability, environment and returns. On the legal side you understand the regulation of the oil and gas industry from the heart of the industry in Aberdeen gaining valuable teaching rooted in research and learning from decades of studying and collaborating with the energy industry. On top of this huge knowledge base across the supply chain you gain further knowledge of managing uncertainty, licensing, taxation, and contracts which require a degree of legal and economic knowledge. University of Aberdeen is already well known and highly regarded due to its ability to interpret the needs of the industry and close collaboration often with Advisory Boards from the industry.
Within the world of academia the programmes of note are MSc Petroleum, Energy Economics and Finance, LLM International Commercial Law and LLM in Oil and Gas and Energy which have consistently trained top professionals in the industry.. Aberdeen provides a high international profile of energy specialists in the University and expertise in the industry. You benefit from world leading researchers in Energy Economics such as Professor Alex Kemp, OBE. You benefit from access to the Aberdeen Institute of Energy, powered by the University and our strong links with industry and policymakers.
Our MSc in Law and Economics of Oil and Gas is intellectually challenging and provides career-ready credentials to help increase your employability in legal and financial oil and gas contexts. If you want to improve your oil and gas knowledge, work globally or locally to specific hubs career opportunities could include: Commercial Adviser, Energy and Business Consultant, Investment Analyst, Market Analyst, Oil and Gas Associates, Project Manager
Themes include:
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
Find out more about fees and living costs
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
Ageing infrastructure from the golden days of the oil and gas and energy industry is now being identified for decommissioning. Some of it is in the North Sea but many other countries are increasingly realising that they need to decommission properly and effectively due to environmental regulation. Building a platform has provided a rapid and continuous learning process since the start of the energy industry but learning how to decommission a platform has now started a rapid learning experience about best practise methods across the supply chain and facilities available to deal with entire platforms and their various facilities are now an important concern.
The degree will cover all aspects of decommissioning process including engineering, legal, environmental regulation, business and project management risks and challenges across the oil and gas industry, You study the important aspects of offshore subsea systems, well plugging, offshore installations, project evaluating and economics, environment impact assessment process an regulation, and a group project in comparative assessment. You also look at process shutdown and disposal. This is a highly complex area due to the level of environmental contaminants and different types of facilities to take down.
There are many oil and gas companies now decommissioning with the Brent Delta platform being a highly publicised example. You may be interested in reading about decommissioning from the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy which gives you more information about the process, the companies involved and some examples of environmental statements and other useful information
There is also a Decommissioning MSc delivered online by University of Aberdeen listed below:
SEMSTER 1
SEMESTER 2
Optional x 2
1 course from the option below:
*Suitable only for students with Engineering, Maths or Physics
SEMESTER 3
Find out more from the Decommissioning web page
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
You may also be interested in the online Decommissioning MSc
Other engineering disciplines you may be interested in:
This is an online delivery of the on campus degree which you can take flexibly part time whilst you work anywhere in the world. The degree comes from Aberdeen University and city in the heart of the European oil and gas industry where the university provides postgraduate degrees worldwide to international students in the oil and gas industry.
Ageing infrastructure from the golden days of the oil and gas and energy industry is now being identified for decommissioning. Some of it is in the North Sea but many other countries are increasingly realising that they need to decommission properly and effectively due to environmental regulation. Building a platform has provided a rapid and continuous learning process since the start of the energy industry but learning how to decommission a platform has now started a rapid learning experience about best practise methods across the supply chain and facilities available to deal with entire platforms and their various facilities are now an important concern.
The degree will cover all aspects of decommissioning process including engineering, legal, environmental regulation, business and project management risks and challenges across the oil and gas industry, You study the important aspects of offshore subsea systems, well plugging, offshore installations, project evaluating and economics, environment impact assessment process an regulation, and a group project in comparative assessment. You also look at process shutdown and disposal. This is a highly complex area due to the level of environmental contaminants and different types of facilities to take down.
There are many oil and gas companies now decommissioning in the North sea with the Brent Delta platform being a highly publicised example. You may be interested in reading about decommissioning from the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy which gives you more information about the process, the companies involved and some examples of environmental statements and other useful information
Year 1
Compulsory
Year 2
Optional
*suitable for students with engineering, math or physics background
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
You may be interested in the on campus Decommissioning MSc delivered at University of Aberdeen
Other engineering disciplines you may be interested in:
