Petroleum Engineering - BS

Petroleum Engineers provide the world with energy while safeguarding the environment.  Petroleum Engineering is concerned primarily with the safe and economic extraction of oil, gas, and other natural resources from the earth.  Oil and gas is produced through the design, drilling and operation of wells and well systems, and the integrated management of the underground reservoirs in which the resources are found.

The mission of the Petroleum Engineering Department is to create, preserve, integrate, transfer and apply petroleum engineering knowledge and to enhance the human capability of its practitioners.  The Petroleum Engineering Program has two educational objectives:

  • graduates will have the technical depth and breadth to be successful professionals early in their careers; and
  • graduates will have the broad technical knowledge and soft skills needed to rise to positions of professional leadership.

In essence, the goal of the Petroleum Engineering curriculum is to provide a modern engineering education with proper balance between fundamentals and practice, and to graduate engineers capable of being productive contributors immediately who are also prepared for life-long learning.  The curriculum includes study of:

  • design and analysis of well systems and procedures for drilling and completing wells;
  • characterization and evaluation of subsurface geological formations and their resources;
  • design and analysis of systems for producing, injecting and handling fluids;
  • application of reservoir engineering principles and practices for optimizing resource development and management; and
  • use of project economics and resource valuation methods for design and decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty.

There is a heavy emphasis on mathematics, computer applications, communication skills and interdisciplinary problem solving.  As a result, Aggie petroleum engineers are in high demand in the industry, and their starting salaries are consistently among the top in the University and the nation.

The department is well known for its curriculum, facilities and faculty, and its undergraduate program is recognized as one of the top petroleum engineering programs in the United States.  The Bachelor of Science program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.