Petroleum Engineering was introduced in GATE as a new paper in the year 2016. Petroleum Engineering (PE) is a multidisciplinary engineering covering exploration and production of oil and gas. Introduced in the late nineties, a relatively new branch, is slowly gaining interest from a lot of engineering aspirants. AfterGraduation brings the Syllabus, books to be referred for Petroleum Engineering GATE preparation, Guidance for preparing well.
Petroleum Engineering is being offered in around 20 institutes in India- some of them well known like University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES)-Dehradun, Dibrugarh University : Institute of Engineering and Technology (DUIET)-Dibrugarh (Assam), Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology-Raebareli, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University – GandhiNagar, and ISM Dhanbad- Dhanbad in addition to some of the IITs and other institutes.
About Petroleum Engineering
- UPSTREAM Sector : Relates to surveys of geological structures that may form oil reservoirs, explore the location of reservoir, planning the technique to extract the oil. This sector covers Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Reservoir characterisation, Formation evaluation, Reserve accretion/estimation, Delineation, Development and Well completion Techniques to safeguard the environment and lives.
- DOWNSTREAM Sector : Relates to execution of the oil extraction and recovery. This sector covers Drilling, Production, EOR, IOR, Transportation, Processing and Refining, Marketing and HSE issues to prevent untoward incidents/hazards to safeguard the environments, fauna, flora and human lives.
Petroleum Engineering is a relatively new paper in GATE, so there are no topics that can be actually segregated as very important and must read. It is highly recommended that for Petroleum Engineering aspirants should study the complete prescribed GATE Syllabus. GATE Petroleum Engineering aspirants must be prepared for the fact there is no general book for preparation and that each topic will have to be studied from individual books authored by domain experts under multinational publishing houses.
Petroleum Engineering (PE) GATE Syllabus
| Topics | For Engineering Mathematics |
| Linear Algebra | Matrix algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and eigenvectors |
| Calculus | Functions of single variable, Limit, continuity and differentiability, Taylor series, Mean value theorems, Evaluation of definite and improper integrals, Partial derivatives, Total derivative, Maxima and minima, Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems. |
| Differential equations | First order equations (linear and nonlinear), Higher order linear
differential equations with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Initial and boundary value problems, Laplace transforms, Solutions of one dimensional heat and wave equations and Laplace equation |
| Complex variables | Complex number, polar form of complex number, triangle inequality |
| Probability and Statistics | Definitions of probability and sampling theorems, Conditional
probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distributions, Linear regression analysis |
| Numerical Methods | Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations.
Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule. Single and multi-step methods for numerical solution of differential equations |
| Topics | Detailed GATE Syllabus For Petroleum Engineering |
| Petroleum Exploration | Classification and description of some common rocks with special reference to clastic and nonclastic reservoir rocks. Origin, migration and accumulation of Petroleum. Petroleum exploration methods |
| Oil and Gas Well Drilling Technology | Well planning. Drilling method. Drilling rigs Rig operating systems. Drilling fluids function and properties. Drilling fluid maintenance equipment. Oil & gas well cementing operations. Drill bit types and their applications. Drill string & Casing string function, operations, selection & design. Drilling problems, their control & remedies. Directional drilling tools. Directional survey. Application of horizontal, multilateral, extended reach, slim wells |
| Reservoir Engineering | Petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks. Coring and core analysis. Reservoir fluid properties. Phase behavior of hydrocarbon system. Flow of fluids through porous media. Water and gas coning. Reservoir pressure measurements. Reservoir drives, drive mechanics and recovery factors. Reserve estimation & techniques. |
| Petroleum Production Operations | Well equipments and completion techniques. Well production problems and mitigation. Well servicing & Workover operations. Workover & completion fluids. Formation damage. Well stimulation techniques. Artificial lift techniques. Field processing of oil & gas. Storage and transportation of petroleum and petroleum products. Metering and measurements oil & gas. Production system analysis & optimization. Production testing. Multiphase flow in tubing and flow-lines. Nodal system analysis. Pressure vessels, storage tanks, shell and tube heat exchangers, pumps and compressors, LNG value chain |
| Offshore Drilling and Production Practices | Offshore oil and gas operations & ocean environment. Offshore fixed platforms, Offshore mobile units, Station keeping methods like mooring & dynamic positioning system. Offshore drilling from fixed platform, jack-up, ships and semi submersibles. Use of conductors and risers. Offshore well completion. Deep water applications of subsea technology. Offshore production: Oil processing platforms, water injection platforms, storage, SPM and SBM transportation and utilities. Deep water drilling rig. Deep water production system. Emerging deep water technologies |
| Petroleum Formation Evaluation | Evaluation of petrophysical of sub-surface formations: Principles applications, advantages and disadvantages of SP, resistivity, radioactive, acoustic logs and types of tools used. Evaluation of CBL/VDL, USIT, SFT, RFT. Production logging tools, principles, limitations and applications. Special type of logging tools. Casing inspection tools (principles, applications and limitations), Formations micro scanner (FMS), NMR logging principles. Standard log interpretation methods. Cross-plotting methods |
| Oil and Gas Well Testing | Diffusivity equation, derivation & solutions. Radius of investigation. Principle of superposition. Horner’s approximation. Drill Stem Testing. Pressure Transient Tests: Drawdown and build up-test analysis. Wellbore effects. Multilayer reservoirs. Injection well testing. Multiple well testing. Interference testing, Pulse testing, well-test analysis by use of type curves. Gas well testing |
| Health Safety and Environment in Petroleum Industry | Health hazards in Petroleum Industry: Toxicity, Physiological, Asphyxiation, respiratory and skin effect of petroleum hydrocarbons, sour gases. Safety System: Manual & automatic shutdown system, blow down systems. Gas detection system. Fire detection and suppression systems. Personal protection system & measures. HSE Policies. Disaster & crisis management in Petroleum Industry. Environment: Environment concepts, impact on eco-system, air, water and soil. The impact of drilling & production operations on environment, Environmental transport of petroleum wastes. Offshore environmental studies. Offshore oil spill and oil spill control. Waste treatment Methods. |
| Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques | Basic principles and mechanism of EOR, Screening of EOR process. Concept of pattern flooding, recovery efficiency, permeability heterogeneity. Macroscopic and microscopic displacement efficiency. EOR methods: Chemical flooding, Miscible flooding, Thermal recoveries (steam stimulation, hot water & steam flooding, in-situ combustion), Microbial EOR |
| Latest trends in Petroleum Engineering | Coal bed methane, shale gas, oil shale, gas hydrate, and heavy oil |
Books to be Referred for GATE Petroleum Engineering
| Books | Authors |
| Oil Well Testing Handbook | Amanat Chaudhry |
| Elements of Petroleum Geology Petroleum Geology Geology Of PetroleumNontechnical Guide to PetroleumGeology, Exploration, Drilling & Production |
Richard C. Selley, Academic Press Second Edition
North, F.K., 1985, Springer Publication A.I. Leverson, 1954,; W. H. Freenan Company Norman J. Hyne |
| Modern Petroleum Technology | Volume-1, Upstream, Edited By Richard A, Dawe, John Wiley & Sons Ltd; 2000 |
| Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering | Dake L P Dake |
| Applied Geophysics | Telford, W.M, Geldart, L.P, Shrieff, R.E, 1990, Cambridge University Press |
| Wellsite Geological Techniques for Petroleum Exploration: Methods and Systems of Formation Evaluation | Bhagwan Sahay, South Asia Books |
| Petroleum refining processes | Rakesh Rathi |
| Drilling Operation Practice Manual
Drilling Engineering |
ONGC’s Publication,
By Dr. J. J. Azar And Dr. G. Robello Samuel |
| Fundamentals of petroleum and petrochemical engineering | Ulag Mahadevan |
| Petroleum Formation Evaluation | Edward J.Lynch, The English Book Depot, Dehra Dun |
| Basic Concepts in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes | M Baviere |
| Enhanced Oil Recovery | Latil.M From Gulf Publishing C, |
| Environmental Technology in the Oil Industry
Health, Safety And Environmental Management In Offshore And Petroleum Engineering |
Stefan T. Orszulik
Srinivasan Chandrasekaran |
Read Too: How To Prepare For GATE – Chemical Engineering
Some Important Guidelines:
- Engineering Mathematics and General Aptitude constitute about 30 marks of the total marks in the GATE question paper. It is imperative that you place emphasis on the preparation of these sections. Preparing for them and doing them well will ensure a good score.
- Take help of your seniors and faculty while preparing for GATE Petroleum Engineering as they are far more experienced able to guide you in this regard.
- Make short notes while preparing for GATE Petroleum Engineering to revise in the last days before the exam.
- Study in the best manner that is suited to you. Scheduling and planning is very important.
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