Petroleum Engineering MSc

Since its establishment in 1975, the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering (IGE) (originally the Department of Petroleum Engineering) at Heriot-Watt University has delivered its internationally renowned Petroleum Engineering MSc programme, providing thousands of graduates with the knowledge and skills to tackle the oil and gas industry’s most challenging problems across the globe.

The programme includes a combination of lectures, tutorials, field-trips, and self-study using rich course content, real field data, latest industry software and seminars by industry experts. The dynamic nature of our research-led, industry-focussed, multi-disciplinary approach to delivery means that graduates will be technically well-prepared with a sound knowledge of the industry and society requirements. In addition to traditional petroleum engineering topics, the programme now includes material related to energy transition along with data science.

Energy Transition aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security, and support long-term environmental and economic sustainability- enhancing global equity. Petroleum engineering remains vital during the energy transition. Its core skills—subsurface analysis, reservoir management, and fluid flow—are directly applicable to geoenergy solutions like geothermal energy extraction as well as carbon and hydrogen storage. Efficient extraction and utilization of fossil fuels also ensures minimal environmental impact while bridging towards a more sustainable, resource-conscious energy future.

The programme will appeal to science and engineering graduates or those of you from a various numerate academic backgrounds who are interested in developing sustainable oil and gas assets to meet global energy and resource demands. You’ll develop skills in the fundamental concepts, theories, and principles of the main petroleum engineering and geoscience disciplines – through the following eight taught courses, one field development group project and one individual research project:


• Reservoir engineering



• Geoscience with integrated data science



• Drilling engineering



• Formation evaluation



• Reservoir simulation



• Energy project economics



• Production technology



Customise your learning

You’ll take eight mandatory taught courses in semester one and semester two. You’ll be introduced to geoscience and use data to calculate the volume of hydrocarbons in the subsurface. You’ll gain knowledge of drilling engineering, formation evaluation, and reservoir simulation. Petroleum economics and production technology will also be explored, along with learning the fundamentals and applications of well test analysis for improved reservoir management.

In semester three, you’ll strengthen your collaborative and communication skills through the field development project, where you will work in groups and produce a full field evaluation and development plan, using data from a real oilfield.

You can customise your learning in semester three to match your specific interests or desired career pathway by choosing the topic of geoscience and engineering in which you’ll complete your detailed individual project. Projects are offered by the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering and by industry, and normally include a wide choice of experimental research, computer modelling, and real-world problems.

Employability

Graduates of the Petroleum Engineering programme are much sought after by oil operating and oilfield service companies both in the UK and worldwide. Graduates go on to work for major global oil and gas operating companies, service companies as well as smaller consultancies in petroleum engineering. The programme also provides an excellent springboard for graduates wishing to pursue a career in research. Graduate profiles Read our graduate profiles to find out what some of our recent graduates said about their experiences studying Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt.