Masters Degrees (Petrophysics)

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.

Course details

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.

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.

What you study

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.

Core modules
-Drill Engineering and Well Completion
-Hydrocarbon Production Engineering
-Material Balance and Recovery Mechanisms
-Petroleum Chemistry
-Petroleum Economics and Simulation
-Petroleum Reservoir Engineering
-Practical Health and Safety Skills
-Research and Study Skills

MSc candidates
-Research Project

Modules offered may vary.

Teaching

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.

Facilities include:
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.

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.

Employability

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.

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, and it is therefore expected that recruitment will continue, especially for those with motivation and the appropriate qualifications.

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Your programme of study

This is a highly specialised area of oil and gas engineering in which you learn the discipline and wider areas that feed into it. You are taught by industry respected researchers and academics who have followed the oil and gas industry since the 1970s and its inception in Aberdeen city. Aberdeen is at the heart of the oil and gas industry in Europe and is known worldwide as a major energy hub.

Reservoir Engineering is a highly specialised but essential part of upstream oil and gas extraction process. It requires detailed knowledge of geology, performance and management of reserves. Often these reserves are deep in oceans or land and in very difficult and hard to reach locations with complex geology  so it is essential to have a high degree of skills and knowledge to understand how best these reserves can be tapped into in critically sensitive environments.

There is a recognised, global shortage of practitioners in the area of reservoir engineering which is addressed by the programme. You study a wide spectrum of reservoir phenomena, and to evaluate them in the context of petroleum engineering and cognate areas of petroleum Geoscience, within the economic context of the hydrocarbon industry. You have employment options worldwide in the oil and gas industry with plenty of options to travel to growth markets and untapped areas of reserves within multinationals and consultancies. 

Courses listed for the programme

Semester 1

Fundamentals of Petroleum Geo-science

PetroPhysics, Core Analysis, and Formation Evaluation

Reservoir Engineering

Introduction to Energy Economics

Semester 2

Reservoir Sedimentology and Structure

Group Project and Research Skills

Semester 3

Project

Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/283/reservoir-engineering/

Why study at Aberdeen?

• You study with world renowned researchers at University of Aberdeen which has had a close connection with the energy industry based in the city since the 1970s
• You take part in a field trip to experience application of theory and practical understanding of elements to the programme
• You learn a wide range of skills applicable to this programme but also employable in their own right such as Energy Economics, Petrophysics, Core Analysis and Formation Evaluation. This adds value to your specialism in reservoir engineering.

Where you study

• University of Aberdeen
• 12 Months Full Time
• September start

International Student Fees 2017/2018

Find out about fees:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php

*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.

Scholarships

View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/finance-funding-1599.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/

Living in Aberdeen

Find out more about:

• Your Accommodation
• Campus Facilities
• Aberdeen City
• Student Support
• Clubs and Societies

Find out more about living in Aberdeen:

https://abdn.ac.uk/study/student-life

Living costs

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/finance.php

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Geophysics is the remote study of the Earth's interior through physical techniques – principally analysing seismic data, but also applying gravity, magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic methods.

It is a key element of oil, gas and mineral exploration, environmental and archaeological assessment, and engineering site investigation.

This course prepares you to embark on a career in resource exploration, environmental and engineering geophysics.

Running continuously for over 50 years it is very firmly established and has strong links to industry. It provides you with a broad range of practical skills, underpinned by a theoretical understanding that equips you to become a professional in your chosen field.

You will also undertake a four-month individual project, mostly in association with an external company or institute and often in their offices.

Demand for geophysicists continues to be high and this well-established course has an exceptionally good record of job placement for both UK/EU and overseas students.

Course highlights:

• Network with energy, geophysical acquisition, processing and software companies, who visit regularly to engage and recruit our students.
• Complete a 4 month individual project, mostly in association with an external company or institute and often in their offices.
• Access our state-of-the-art computer suite that runs a comprehensive range of industry-standard software on hi-spec twin-screen workstations.
• Develop your field skills with our sector-leading portfolio of field geophysical equipment.
• Apply for a scholarship – we have a large number of School and dedicated external (industry) scholarships for UK/EU applicants.

Course content

You will study 8 taught modules and an individual project.

Taught modules cover a broad range of geophysical disciplines as applied to resource, environmental and engineering industries.

The individual project is the most challenging and exciting part of the course. It runs from May to September and tests your skills in applying the experiences acquired over the year to a specific problem.

Most projects have an association with an exploration company or other external organisation and you could work alongside geoscience professionals in the offices of industrial partners.

Projects typically include investigations of specific geological prospects, comparisons of novel seismic processing algorithms and integrated geophysical investigations from basin to quarry scale.

Course structure

Compulsory modules

• Exploration Geophysics: Project and Dissertation 60 credits
• Computational Inverse Theory 15 credits
• Petrophysics and Petroleum Geology 15 credits
• Seismic Reservoir Evaluation and Recent Developments 15 credits
• Geophysical and Geological Field Methods and Geological Interpretation 15 credits
• Gravity and Magnetic Methods 15 credits
• Seismic Fundamentals and Acquisition 15 credits
• Seismic Data Processing 15 credits
• Seismic Reflection Interpretation and Sequence Stratigraphy 15 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Exploration Geophysics MSc in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

Be taught by leading academic geoscientists, with input from industry experts throughout the course.

Learn through field-based and practical-based (individual and group) training, while your lectures and seminars are supplemented by desk-based and workstation-based practicals and fieldwork.

Facilities

The School's £23m building gives you access to world-class research, teaching and laboratory facilities.

As a Masters student you will have access to specific facilities as well as the general facilities available through the School and the University.

Ongoing investment in leading geophysical survey equipment means that you can effectively demonstrate and practise a range of techniques in the field including shooting seismic reflection surveys.

Equipment includes seismic, gravity, magnetics, GPR, resistivity/IP, EM, GPS/positioning. These datasets are subsequently used in your classroom/computer exercises to establish a practical link between field practice and data quality and interpretability.

A dedicated computer lab containing a suite of high-powered computers enhances your learning experience by providing you with access to a comprehensive range of industry-standard geophysical processing and interpretation software packages, e.g. MESA, SeisSpace/ProMAX®, KINGDOM, Petrel™, Geosoft and RokDoc.

You can use these for individual projects, or in workstation-based teaching sessions. The software will also facilitate your individual and team-based exercises designed to simulate industry practice, e.g. processing a reflection seismic line, assessing a hydrocarbon prospect for a drilling/ license bid.

Assessment

You will be assessed on your written exams, coursework (both in-class and independently completed), project report writing and group presentations.

Industry links

Strong links with industry reinforce this vocational Masters degree, helping you to develop a grounded perspective, as well as providing you with recruitment possibilities.

In addition to the industrial experience of many School staff and contributions from University of Leeds geoscience spin-out companies, you will have numerous contacts with industry representatives throughout the year.

We have many visits from energy, geophysical acquisition, processing and software companies, primarily to engage with you and recruit Masters students throughout their degree. These visits include recruitment information, technical showcases and case studies of integrated geoscience in practice, as well as opportunities for you to network with geoscience professionals.

You will have the opportunity to attend the EAGE (European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers) annual meeting in May/June. This provides you with a chance to find out about the latest technological developments and to meet industry experts, including potential employers.

Your summer project is mostly carried out either with collaborating companies or institutes. These projects are linked to current activities, representing actual problems for which a research or business outcome is sought. Some are field-based: with placements often overseas, while others result in journal publications or conference presentations. The projects finish with an Open Day where you will present your work to a range of industry visitors.

Career opportunities

Demand for geophysicists has always been high. A Masters is generally considered an appropriate level to embark on a career in resource exploration and the course at Leeds has an exceptionally good record of job placement for both UK/EU and overseas students.

Many energy, and service-sector companies target the course directly for recruitment with numerous company visits through the year. Other opportunities arise from project placements, the EAGE, or the September Open Day of project seminars and presentations, with which the programme closes.

Most students join energy or minerals companies, or geophysical acquisition, processing, interpretation or software companies. 

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Your programme of study

This course is ideally situated to take advantage of the oil and gas industry in Aberdeen city and its industry experts who also have a strong input into the programme content and structure. This combination of academic overview and industry expertise ensures that you have a good range of skills and knowledge which is applicable to the global oil and gas and energy market so ideal if you are international or work or want to work internationally. Your skills are ideally placed to scope out maximising oil field recovery from declining field areas on top of upstream geoscience knowledge from initial exploration to mature and declining field recovery.

Aberdeen has been running this programme since 1973 to the current day, learning with the energy industry which is located in Aberdeen itself. This means that the programme is not only robust drawing on historical learning relevant to the current day, but highly regarded internationally. This strength of knowledge feeds down directly to you as a student and afterwards as a highly trained professional within the energy market.

Regarded as the best of its kind in the world the programme gives you vocational training in geoscience skills for minerals exploration and production, including: seismic interpretation, petrophysical analysis, geochemical evaluation, sedimentology, structural analysis, and reservoir modelling.

Courses listed for the programme

Semester 1

Geophysics and Petrophysics

Applied Sedimentology

Semester 2

Production Geology

Regional Exploration

Professional Skills Incorporating Field Trip

Semester 3

Project in Integrated Petroleum Geosciences

Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/138/integrated-petroleum-geoscience/

Why study at Aberdeen?

• One of the best in the world in the heart of the European oil industry in Aberdeen
• The programme focuses on upstream geoscience from initial exploration to recovering declining fields
• You learn how to work in multidisciplinary teams involved in hydrocarbon exploration
• You join 98% of graduates in the past decade employed immediately in the oil and gas industry

Where you study

• University of Aberdeen
• Full time
• 12 Months
• September start

International Student Fees 2017/2018

Find out about fees:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php

*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.

Scholarships

View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/finance-funding-1599.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/

Living in Aberdeen

Find out more about:

• Your Accommodation
• Campus Facilities
• Aberdeen City
• Student Support
• Clubs and Societies

Find out more about living in Aberdeen:

https://abdn.ac.uk/study/student-life

Living costs

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/finance.php

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Your programme of study

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.

Courses listed for the programme

Semester 1

Fundamentals of Petroleum Geoscience

Petrophysics, Core Analysis, and Formation Evaluation

Reservoir Engineering

Well and Production Engineering

Semester 2

Reservoir Simulation

Well Test: Analysis and Design

Field Development and Petroleum Economics

Enhanced Oil Recovery

Semester 3

Project in Petroleum Engineering

Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/222/petroleum-engineering/

for online visit:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/1076/petroleum-engineering/

Why study at Aberdeen?

• You get accreditation from the Energy Institute and Institute of Mechanical Engineers
• The programme is jointly delivered from the department of Geology and Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering is highly regarded and designed with the industry
• This programme is also delivered in an online version

Where you study

• University of Aberdeen
• 12 Months Full Time or 24 Months Part Time
• September or January start
• There is an online programme available from University of Aberdeen to study flexibly (details above)

International Student Fees 2017/2018

Find out about fees:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php

*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.

Scholarships

View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/finance-funding-1599.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/

Living in Aberdeen

Find out more about:

• Your Accommodation
• Campus Facilities
• Aberdeen City
• Student Support
• Clubs and Societies

Find out more about living in Aberdeen:

https://abdn.ac.uk/study/student-life

Living costs

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/finance.php

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Your programme of study

If you have an interest in the earth in relation to minerals extraction Geophysics has plenty of scope to get involved in the profession itself and expertise required to explore different types of terrain but in a newly evolving landscape of assistive technology companies offering the latest methods of discovering production and risk issues beneath the earths surface. You learn these latest methods of finding out data to understand risk and potential engineering issues in difficult to reach places. Signal processing uses the latest advances in sensor development to set up an alert system to monitor specific areas which are normally difficult to reach. Seismic processing looks at how the earth moves not only in times of earthquakes but natural movement from chemical reactions beneath the surface of the earth.

Borehole extraction is used in mineral extraction but also to determine if reserves are live or loading is safe and much and more. The skills you learn apply equally to current and future mineral extraction as they do to land and sea where extraction has historically taken place and where there is application for a different use from a remediated coal mine for example where loading can be critical to risk for future use. The programme equips you with skills in hydrocarbon, minerals and associated industries or research. You understand structure from near surface to deep interior learning from geophysical data analysis and interpretation.

Courses listed for the programme

Semester 1

Earth Physics, Structure and Processes

Seismic Reflection Processing, Imaging and Quantitative Interpretation

Time Series Analysis and Signal Processing

Geophysical Inverse Theory and Statistics

Semester 2

Seismology and Earth Imaging

Field Geophysical Data Acquisition

Borehole Geophysics', Including Petrophysics and Well- Log Analysis

Topics in Advanced Applied Geophysics

Semester 3

Project in Geophysics

Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/102/geophysics/

Why study at Aberdeen?

• You will gain hands on experience within our facilities with a large range of relevant equipment
• Join the Aberdeen Geological Society for guest lectures and learning and networking opportunities
• Study in a department ranked no 1 in Scotland for Earth Sciences
• We research Earth Science over time, with strengths in Geology, Sedimentology, Geochemistry and more.

Where you study

• University of Aberdeen
• Full time
• 12 Months
• September start

International Student Fees 2017/2018

Find out about fees:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php

*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.

Scholarships

View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/finance-funding-1599.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/

Living in Aberdeen

Find out more about:

• Your Accommodation
• Campus Facilities
• Aberdeen City
• Student Support
• Clubs and Societies

Find out more about living in Aberdeen:

https://abdn.ac.uk/study/student-life

Living costs

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/finance.php

Read less