Career as Petroleum Engineer

Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum Engineers help to discover natural sources of oil and examine the same. They design, test and implement methods for oil exploration. They also work in the area of developing the latest machines and equipments which can be used in the extraction and processing of oil. When placed on the sight they operate the sophisticated machinery and equipment and also help the software engineers write the code for making operating system for these machinery. They also do financial analysis to find out the extent of extraction so that the operations remain profitable.

Petroleum Engineering is divided into two parts -

Upstream Sector - The upstream sector consists of activities like exploration, production and exploitation of oil and natural gases. After gaining a qualification in petroleum engineering, the engineers work in the exploration and production activities of petroleum and other related products. Using the latest drilling technology and geophysics for the exploration of oil reservoirs, they exploit the same for maximum output.

Downstream Sector - The downstream sector consist activities such as the refining, marketing and distributing of petroleum products. Production is not the only work carried out in a petroleum company and the job of petroleum engineer does not get over as the oil is produced, rather, it starts at this stage. Refining process is crucial for an oil product as then only it can be used. Marketing and distributing department may require a petroleum engineer to have some management degree.

Courses & Eligibility

B.Tech in petroleum engineering/ Applied petroleum engineering/ petrochemical engineering/ Petroleum Refining and Petrochemicals Engineering/ Petroleum Refining Engineering/ Petroleum Reservoir And Production Engineering, these are 4 year courses and science students with physics, chemistry and mathematics are eligible for this.

Post graduate program in the field can be done after the completion of BE/BTech degree in the relevant subject. MSc in Chemistry course passouts are also eligible to do post graduation in petroleum engineering. Research can be done in the fields of petroleum refining and petrochemicals, petroleum exploration and production and mechanical or petroleum science, etc.

Admissions are through entrance exams. 

Course Fee

Doing a course in petroleum engineering is expensive as setting up of a lab for this course needs expensive equipments and lot of experiments are done. BTech or BE in Petroleum Engineering can cost between Rs 6 to Rs 8 lakhs. Similarly, MTech in petroleum engineering can cost more than Rs 3 lakhs.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) scholarships are offered to SC/ST students who want to do research in engineering. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd offers attractive scholarships for engineering students interested in doing research in petroleum energy. Indian Oil Corporation under its corporate social responsibility offers 100 scholarships to engineering students wherein students can avail Rs 2000 per month for four years bachelor degree. 

Where To Study/Colleges

1. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Rae Barely offers B Tech Petroleum Reservoir and Production Engineering and B Tech in Petroleum Refining Engineering
2. IIT Guwahati
3. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar
4. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
5. University of technology and Management, Shillong
6. Institute of Petroleum Studies and Chemical Engineering, Aligarh
7. University of Petroleum Studies, Dehradun (BEST COLLEGE) Get ADMISSION
8. Institute of Cheminformatics Studies, Noida
9. Singhania University, Jhunjhunu Rajasthan
10. Anna University Chennai offers B Tech and M tech
11. BHU, Varanasi offers M Sc
12. Nagpur University, Nagpur Offers B Tech and M Tech

Salary

Best Salary

One can get best salary.Passouts of reputed institutes get good start at Rs. 6 lakhs a year and the salaries increase with experience.

Career Prospects

Career prospects are quite attractive in petroleum sector and salaries are good. The demand for petroleum and petroleum products is only expected to increase and thus demand for petroleum engineers. They get employment not only with the state oil companies but also with national and international private companies involved in both upstream and down stream sectors. There is also scope for work in the research and development departments of these companies.


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