Introduction to Petroleum Engineering (Coursera)

Throughout the course, we will address the following topical areas:

• History of oil and gas application, international petroleum reserves.

• Fundamentals of Petroleum Geology: rock cycle; oil, gas and water deposits; oil and gas composition; oil generation; prospecting for oil and gas fields.

• Major exploration techniques, seismic methods, well testing; basics of reservoir engineering and modelling.

• Basics of well drilling and production.
What You Will Learn

- Analyse and apply theoretical knowledge in the area of petroleum geology, reservoir engineering and production technology

- Describe major exploration and production techniques and processes

- Distinguish between major enhanced oil and gas recovery techniques

- Understand application areas of petrochemical products

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Introduction: petroleum in our life

This module serves as a basic introduction to the petroleum industry. You will learn about the history of oil discovery and production, as well as its very first use cases. The module highlights the geographical distribution of hydrocarbons, the structure of the petroleum industry, price formation, and current trends and challenges that face oil and gas companies around the globe.

WEEK 2

Petroleum geology

This module invites you to learn about petroleum field development and what geologists need to know. Before we are able to produce oil, we need to find a field with sufficient hydrocarbon reserves. To determine whether a given area has any commercial petroleum deposits, it is important to know the rock cycle and various types of sedimentary rocks, understand how oil and gas fields are formed, estimate and analyse reservoir properties.

WEEK 3

Exploration Geophysics. Well Logging. Well Testing

This module gives you a basic overview of exploration geophysics, petrophysics, and well testing. You will learn about different methods and techniques geologists and geophysicists use to build maps and study rock outcrops, determine reservoir properties, and find out whether it contains oil and gas.

WEEK 4

Reservoir Engineering

This module describes the main field development stages, which form the complete field life cycle. You will learn about the difference between geological and hydrodynamic models, what recovery methods exist, what well patterns are, and how to use waterflooding. This new knowledge will help you to predict a reservoir’s behavior in response to various development scenarios.

WEEK 5

Drilling

This module provides a general description of the well construction process, which is the essential part of oil or gas field development. You will get to know major drilling-related terms and procedures, learn different types of wells and equipment used to assemble drilling rigs, extract oil from underground reservoirs, and make a well ready for production. This process could be rather challenging, thus you will also gain a basic understanding of drilling complications.

WEEK 6

Production Technology

This module describes the techniques petroleum engineers use to extract hydrocarbons from an underground reservoir and keep the flow of formation fluid steady up to the surface. You will also learn about various lift methods and types of equipment, understand the difference between gas and oil well operations, as well as the ways of production from multiple formations with only one well.

WEEK 7

Enhanced Recovery Techniques

This module is dedicated to reservoir stimulation operations that restore and improve well performance. You will learn how to select wells for stimulation, what techniques to choose, how to perform hydraulic fracturing and acidizing. These skills will help you to control the field development process and keep the desired oil production rate.

WEEK 8

Exam