How to Become a Petroleum Engineer?

Among the popular engineering degrees, petroleum engineering is an emerging field that offers a wide scope for students. Petroleum engineers fuel the world as they extract natural oil and gas from within the earth. In our daily lives, the use of vehicles is gradually increasing with the increase in the population and so does the need and use of petroleum expands. Skilled and trained petroleum engineers are required for the derivation of these natural resources. In this blog, we will discuss how to become a petroleum engineer.

What is Petroleum Engineering?

Petroleum Engineering is a branch of engineering which deals with designing and creating methods and techniques of extraction and transit of crude oil. It also focuses on petroleum geology and geophysics. Petroleum geology covers the study of a static description of hydrocarbon reservoir rock whereas the engineering part of the course focuses on a detailed understanding of the physical behaviour of oil, water and gas and its extraction through well drilling machines and other such tools at very high pressure.

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What does a Petroleum Engineer do?

Petroleum Engineers implement their disciplines of engineering including mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and civil engineering. They design and develop different techniques of acquiring natural gas or crude oil from the earth’s surface. They also master at deciding the extracting tools and drills to use in the process of extraction from new as well as old wells. Each engineer specializes in different departments and several brains work together to implement the ideas and innovative strategies at work. They have numerous responsibilities such as:

•  Monitoring at the sites regularly.
• Planning and implementing plans in regards to exacting natural resources
• Constant measures to keep the cost of production down.
• Design treatment facilities and recovery schemes.
• Ensuring the proper working of oilfield equipment. 

 Also read: ONGC Recruitment

Types of Petroleum Engineers

Candidates can search for or apply for various career possibilities for petroleum engineering that are available based on their interests after completing their undergraduate and graduate degrees in their respective professions. There are numerous subfields within petroleum engineering, including drilling engineers, reservoir engineers, etc.

The following are the most sought-after petroleum engineering job profiles:

• Reservoir Engineers 
• Drilling Engineers
• Production Engineers 
• Completion Engineers

Eligibility Criteria 

The general criteria to become a petroleum engineer is to gain UG and PG degrees from recognised institutions and universities. A detailed description of the eligibility criteria is mentioned below:

• For a bachelor’s degree, the candidate must secure at least 60% marks in class 12th with chemistry, physics and mathematics as core subjects.
• The entrance exams accepted for petroleum engineering are JEE Advanced, COMEDK UGET, JEE Main, KCET.
• BE/B. Tech with min CPI of 6.5 or 60% marks in the same specialization.
• Attaining qualifying marks in GATE.

Skills Required

Being a Petroleum Engineer, with it comes many responsibilities and expectations. You need to have the required skills to work in good-paying and respected companies. Mentioned below are the minimum required skill sets.

• Technical Skills
• Reasoning, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Physical ability and stamina
• Complete computer-aided design knowledge
• Ability to interpret blueprints
• Knowing geophysics
• Aptness in artificial lift systems.
• Information on petroleum geology
• Reservoir simulation knowledge

Petroleum Engineering Courses

There are various courses for students who wish to pursue their studies in this field. Tabulated below are the various courses across various study levels. 

Bachelors	B.E./B.Tech in Petroleum Engineering  B.Tech in Petrochemical Engineering B.Tech in Applied Petroleum Engineering B.Tech in Petroleum Refinery Engineering B.Tech in Petroleum Reservoir and Production Engineering
Masters	M.E./M.Tech in Petroleum Exploration M.Tech Petroleum Refinery Engineering M.Tech in Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Engineering
PhD and Diploma Courses	Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering Petroleum(By Research) Doctor of Philosophy  in Petroleum Engineering Diploma in Heavy Oil Power Engineering

Check out the List Of Engineering Courses After 12th

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Top Universities Abroad

The most popular course amongst the international students is B.Tech which not only allows the students to enhance their skills but also paves their path towards a high paying career. We have listed the colleges abroad offering bachelor and master courses.

University	Fee
North- Caucasus Federal University, Russia	3850 USD (INR 2.84 Lakh)
MAHSA University, Malaysia	4800 USD (INR 35 Lakh)
Platov South- Russian State Polytechnic University	4000 USD (INR 2.95 Lakh)
University of Nicosia, Cyprus	11180 USD (INR 8.24 Lakh)
University of Wyoming	17570 USD (INR 12.96 Lakh)
University of Kansas, USA	26960 USD (INR 19.89 Lakh)
Louisiana State University, USA	28700 USD (INR 21.17 Lakh)
University of Tulsa, USA	42950 USD (INR 31.68 Lakh)
MAHSA University,Malaysia	4800 USD (INR  3.54 Lakh)

Top Colleges in India

The top colleges and universities in India that provide courses in this stream are:

University	Fees	Exams Accepted
IIT, Mumbai	9.08 lakhs	JEE Advanced
IIT, Madras	8.04 lakhs	JEE Advanced
School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies	17.15 lakhs	UPESEAT
Presidency University, Bangalore	7.21 lakhs	COMEDK UGET, JEE Main, KCET
Graphic Era University, Dehradun	11.78 lakhs	JEE Main
IIT, Guwahati	9.04 lakhs	JEE Advanced
IIT Dhanbad	10.83 lakhs	JEE Advanced
NMIMS University, Jaipur	2 lakhs	–
ITM University	7.84 lakhs	JEE Main
Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Noida	6.22 lakhs	–

Also Read: Best Countries for Engineering Courses

Scope and Salary 

Engineers in this stream have very alluring salaries which justifies the complex course that they pursue to become successful engineers. Let’s have a look at the job profiles and salaries that people get after graduation.

Job Profile	Average Salary
Drilling Engineer	$90k- 153K (INR 1.12 Crore)
Production Engineer	$56k-$78k (INR 57 Lakh)
Reservoir Engineer	$56k-$78k (INR 57 Lakh)
Offshore Drilling Engineer	$90k-$153k (INR 1.12 Crore)
Chief Petroleum Engineer	$84k-$142k (INR 1.04 Crore)
Completions Engineer	$58k-$95k (INR 70 Lakh)
Mining and Geological Engineer	$43k-$70k (INR 51 Lakh)
Petroleum Geologists	$74-$150k (INR 1.10 Crore)

With a variety of options and job opportunities, petroleum engineering is a lucrative career option for students. Moreover, both in India and abroad reputed universities provide courses in this field. If you wish to build a career in this field, contact our experts at Leverage Edu who will guide you with the most suitable courses and universities to kickstart your career.