Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering

Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering: PGE

Lower-Division Courses

PGE 301. Engineering, Energy, and the Environment.

Enrollment limited to beginning students in petroleum and geosystems engineering. Introduction to the field of petroleum engineering. Overview of energy supply and demand. Studies subsurface engineering and engineering problem-solving methods, with an emphasis on fossil energy exploitation and geologic CO2 storage. Includes aspects of basic petroleum geology. Two lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit with a grade of at least C- or registration for Geological Sciences 401 or 303.

PGE 305. Energy and the Environment.

The forms of current and potential energy sources, and how these might impact the earth's environment. Three lecture hours and one and one-half laboratory hours a week for one semester. May not be counted toward a degree in geological sciences, geosystems engineering and hydrology, or petroleum engineering.

PGE 310. Formulation and Solution of Geosystems Engineering Problems.

Introduction to mathematical equations typically encountered in petroleum and geosystems engineering; methods to solve equations graphically, analytically, and with numerical methods; applications of computers to problem solving. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Physics 303K and 103M and credit or registration for Mathematics 427J or 427K.

PGE 312. Physical and Chemical Behavior of Fluids I.

Principles of organic chemistry; phase behavior; properties of hydrocarbon gases and liquids and oil field waters; overview of laboratory phase behavior measurements; material balance calculations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 312 and 427 may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Chemistry 302 with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 119S, 219S, 319S, 419S, 519S, 619S, 719S, 819S, 919S. Topics in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering.

Used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad adviser in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. Transfer credit is awarded for work in an affiliated studies program. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.

Upper-Division Courses

PGE 421K. Physical and Chemical Behavior of Fluids II.

Applications of thermodynamics and physical chemistry to petroleum and geosystems engineering. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 326.

PGE 322K. Transport Phenomena in Geosystems.

Applications of mass, heat, and momentum balances to fluid flow problems; shell balances; non-Newtonian fluids; transport processes through permeable media. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Engineering Mechanics 306, and Mathematics 427J or 427K with a grade of at least C- in each.

PGE 323K. Reservoir Engineering I: Primary Recovery.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Classification of subsurface reservoirs by type and recovery mechanism; reserve estimates based on material balance; steady-state and transient fluid flow in permeable reservoir rocks as applied to subsurface engineering problems. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: The following with a grade of at least C-: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 310, 326, and 427; and credit with a grade of at least C- or registration in 322K; and credit or registration in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 424.

PGE 323L. Reservoir Engineering II: Secondary and Tertiary Recovery.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Introduction to reservoir displacement processes; water and gas injection; enhanced recovery. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit with a grade of at least C- for Mathematics 427J or 427K, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 310, 322K, 323K, and 424.

PGE 323M. Reservoir Engineering III: Numerical Simulation.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Mathematical equations governing fluid flow in reservoirs; numerical methods to solve the equations; numerical reservoir simulation; treatment of wells; history matching; a simulation project performed using a commercial simulator. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 323L with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 424. Petrophysics.

Properties of rocks; measurement and interpretation of petrophysical properties; application of petrophysics to subsurface engineering problems; interaction of resident fluids with rocks. Extensive written reporting. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Geological Sciences 416M or 316P, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 333T and Physics 303L with a grade of at least C- and credit or registration with at least a C- for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 322K.

PGE 325L. Cooperative Engineering.

This course covers the work period of petroleum engineering students in the Cooperative Engineering Program. Forty laboratory hours a week for three semesters. The student must complete Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 325LX, 325LY, and 325LZ before a grade and degree credit are awarded. Prerequisite: For 325LX, application to become a member of the Cooperative Engineering Program, approval of the dean, and appointment for a full-time cooperative work tour; for 325LY, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 325LX and appointment for a full-time cooperative work tour; for 325LZ, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 325LY and appointment for a full-time cooperative work tour.

PGE 225M. Cooperative Engineering.

Covers the work period of petroleum engineering students in the Cooperative Engineering Program. Forty laboratory hours a week for two semesters. The student must complete Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 225MA and 225MB before a grade and degree credit are awarded. Prerequisite: For 225MA, application to become a member of the Cooperative Engineering Program, approval of the dean, and appointment for a full-time cooperative work tour; for 225MB, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 225MA and appointment for a full-time cooperative work tour.

PGE 125N. Cooperative Engineering.

Covers the work period of petroleum engineering students in the Cooperative Engineering Program. One lecture hour a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 325L or 225M, application to become a member of the Cooperative Engineering Program, approval of the dean, and appointment for a full-time cooperative work tour.

PGE 326. Thermodynamics and Phase Behavior.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Basics of phase behavior, classical thermodynamics in terms of material and energy balances, and applications to changes of state of petroleum fluids. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Chemistry 302 with a grade of at least C-, and credit with a grade of at least C- or registration for Mathematics 427J or 427K.

PGE 427. Properties of Petroleum Fluids.

Restricted to students admitted to major sequence in geosystems engineering and hydrogeology or petroleum engineering. Principles of organic chemistry, phase behavior of multicomponent mixtures, properties of hydrocarbon gases and liquids and oil field waters, overview of laboratory phase behavior measurements, and material balance calculations. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 312 and 427 may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Chemistry 302 and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 326 with a grade of at least C- in each.

PGE 430. Drilling and Well Completions.

Elements of rock mechanics, drilling fluids, factors affecting rate of penetration, and well completions, including casing and tubing design. Three lecture hours and one and one-half laboratory hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Engineering Mechanics 319 with a grade of at least C-, credit with a grade of at least C- or registration for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 322K.

PGE 333T. Engineering Communication.

Advanced technical communication skills, with emphasis on writing strategies for technical documents, oral presentations, and visual aids. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Rhetoric and Writing 306 with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 334. Reservoir Geomechanics.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Basic stress and strain analysis; pore pressure and in situ stress estimation and measurement; deformation mechanisms in rock; rock fracture description and analysis; wellbore stresses and failure; wellbore stability analysis; fault stability analysis; depletion-induced reservoir deformation; and hydraulic fracturing. Emphasis on applications to petroleum engineering. Two lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Engineering Mechanics 319 and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 301 with a grade of at least C- in each.

PGE 337. Introduction to Geostatistics.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Basic probability and statistics, study of correlated variables, statistical interpolation and simulation, and global optimization. Emphasis is on the ways the results of these procedures are related to geology and fluid flow. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Mathematics 408D or 408M, and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 310 with a grade of at least C- in each.

PGE 358. Principles of Formation Evaluation.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Integrated petrophysical interpretation of well logs, core laboratory measurements, and geological data for static, dynamic, and geophysical appraisal of subsurface rock formations. Three lecture hours per week for one semester. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 358 and 368 may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit for Geological Sciences 416M or 316P, Physics 303L and 103N and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 424 with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 361. Advanced Reservoir Engineering.

Secondary recovery methods; computer simulation of reservoir performance; applications to field problems. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 326 and 323K.

PGE 362. Production Technology and Design.

Restricted to petroleum engineering majors. Analysis, specification, and characteristics of production systems; inflow performance; wellbore and tubing hydraulics; and artificial lift. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit with at least a C- or registration for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 430.

PGE 363. Petroleum Leasing Regulations and Practices.

Restricted to petroleum engineering majors. Domestic and worldwide regulations associated with petroleum leasing, including offshore areas, and environmental provisions concerning petroleum exploration and production. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit with a grade of at least C- or registration for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 365.

PGE 364. Natural Gas Engineering.

Production, transportation, and storage of gas; metering and gauging; performance of wells; estimation of gas reserves; prevention of waste and utilization of natural gas. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: For petroleum engineering majors, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 326, 323K, and 362; for others, upper-division standing and consent of instructor.

PGE 365. Resource Economics and Valuation.

Restricted to petroleum engineering majors. Derivation of profitability criteria for earth resource investments, project analysis in terms of the interrelation of technical and economic factors, investment analysis in the presence of uncertainty, and project planning. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 310 and 323K with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 368. Fundamentals of Well Logging.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Principles, applications, and interpretation of well logs as used in exploration and evaluation of subsurface formations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 358 and 368 may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit for Geological Sciences 416M or 316P, Physics 303L, and 103N and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 424 with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 371. Energy Finance.

Restricted to petroleum engineering majors. Fundamentals of finance as applied to the petroleum industry, including petroleum project financing techniques, investigating sources of capital, and methods used to evaluate an oil company's financial performance. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Credit with a grade of at least C- or registration for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 365.

PGE 372. Advanced Drilling and Well Completions.

Applications of geomechanics in wellbore and near-wellbore problems encountered in drilling and completing high-pressure, high-temperature wells on land and water locations. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 372 and 379 (Topic: Advanced Drilling and Well Completions) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 430 and 334 with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 373L. Geosystems Engineering Design and Analysis.

Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Team-oriented design projects involving the application of geologic and engineering methods to the solution of subsurface problems, using field case histories. Projects are selected for each student based on his or her petroleum engineering technical area option. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester, with additional hours to be arranged. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 323K, 323L, 362, and 368 with a grade of at least C- in each.

PGE 176, 276, 376. Special Problems in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering.

Independent investigation of an advanced subject in petroleum and geosystems engineering, for superior students only. Conference course. Prerequisite: Admission to an appropriate major sequence in engineering and written consent of instructor.

PGE 377. Deepwater Operations.

Restricted to students admitted to major sequence in geosystems engineering and hydrogeology or petroleum engineering. Overview of various technical, logistical, and managerial elements that are functionally integrated in deepwater operations, with emphasis on applications in the Gulf of Mexico. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 323K, 430, 334, and 362.

PGE 378. Applied Reservoir Characterization.

Restricted to petroleum engineering and geosystems engineering and hydrogeology majors. Reservoir modeling using software tools for statistical analysis of reservoir data; variogram analysis and modeling; spatial interpolation (kriging); tools for data integration in kriging; stochastic simulation of rock-types (lithology), pay thickness/porosity, and permeability; inputting geological models into flow simulation; uncertainty assessment. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Geological Sciences 416M or 316P with at least a C-, and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 310, 337, and 323M with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 379. Studies in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering.

Special courses or seminars on recent developments in engineering. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Admission to an appropriate major sequence in engineering or consent of instructor; additional prerequisites vary with the topic.

Topic 10: Artificial Lift. Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology and petroleum engineering majors. Life of a well, well testing, gas and plunger lift, progressive cavity pumps, electric submersible pumps, and beam lift. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Artificial Lift) and 379 (Topic 10) may not both be counted. May be used to fulfill the technical elective requirement for the Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering degree. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 430 and 362 with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 11: Facilities Management. Restricted to geosystems engineering and hydrogeology or petroleum engineering majors. Petroleum fluid characteristics, process control, separators, metering, produced water, tanks, gas processing, gas compression, and liquid pumps. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Oil and Gas Production Facilities Design) and 379 (Topic 11) may not both be counted. May be used to fulfill the technical elective requirement for the Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering degree. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 362 with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 12: Blowout Prevention and Control. Background in hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, hydraulics, geomechanics, mechanical systems, and procedures as they apply to well control. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Blowout Prevention and Control) and 379 (Topic 12) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 430 with at least a C-.
Topic 13: Fundamentals of Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques. Overview of the fundamental displacement concepts of chemical, miscible, and thermal enhanced oil recovery methods. Also includes the concept of phase behavior in each process. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Fundamentals of Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques) and 379 (Topic 13) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 323L (or 323) with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 15: E4: The Earth, Natural Resources, and Sustainability. Application of logic, common sense, the fundamental laws of mass and energy conservation, as well as more advanced thermodynamics to evaluate overall efficencies of major human energy supply schemes such as fossil, nuclear, solar, wind, and biomass to define and quantify the irreversible linear processes and sustainable/unsustainable cycles. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: E4: Earth, Environment, Energy) and 379 (Topic 15) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing; and credit with a grade of at least C- in each of the following: Chemistry 302, Mathematics 408C or 308K, Physics 303K, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 310, and 326.
Topic 16: Hydraulic Fracture Design and Evaluation. Overview of Formation evaluation; elasticity; in situ stress calculation and measurement; fracture initiation; basic equations of fracture mechanics; 2-and-3-dimensional fracture models; fluid rheology; proppant settling; pipe friction/surface pressure calculations; treatment pressure analysis; fracture diagnostics; fracturing from horizontal and deviated wells; and treatment design and completions. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Hydraulic Fracture Design and Evaluation) and 379 (Topic 16) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 334 (or 432) with a grade of at least C.
Topic 17: Applied Subsurface Geology. Principles and techniques for subsurface geologic interpretation, including subsurface mapping; construction of cross-sections; core description and analysis; stratigraphic interpretation of well logs; and stratigraphic and facies interpretation of seismic data. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Applied Subsurface Geology) and 379 (Topic 17) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Geology 416M or 316P with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 18: Wellbore Mechanics and Managed Pressure Drilling. Operational topics will draw from drilling fluids engineering; drilling system engineering; rig and wellbore hydraulics; ROP parameters and drilling optimizations; wellbore stability; fracture and pore pressure gradients; mud weight windows; in-situ and near-wellbore stress states; lost circulation; pressure control; pipe sticking; and other situations common to drilling operations. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Wellbore Mechanics and Managed Pressure Drilling) and 379 (Topic 18) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 430.
Topic 19: Advanced Well Construction. Focus on advanced topics in drilling fluids, cementing, hydraulics, managed pressure and dual gradient drilling, advanced well control and casing design, complex well design (DW, HPHT, Arctic), and well completions. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Advanced Well Construction) and 379 (Topic 19) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Chemistry 302, Mathematics 408D, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 326, 430, Physics 303K, 103M.
Topic 20: Drilling Engineering and Operations Management. Restricted to non-petroleum engineering majors. A broad overview of the key elements of today's drilling engineering discipline, including an understanding of rigs and rig equipment, familiarity with drilling fluids, cementing, directional drilling techniques etc., up to understanding of casing design, well control and the application of new & emerging drilling and completion technologies. Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 379 (Topic: Drilling Engineering and Operations Management) and 379 (Topic: 20) may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Additional prerequisite: Mathematics 408D, Physics 303K, 103N, and Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 326 with a grade of at least C-.

PGE 679H. Undergraduate Honors Thesis.

Research performed during two consecutive semesters under the supervision of an engineering faculty member; topics are selected jointly by the student and the faculty member with approval by the director of the Engineering Honors Program. The student makes an oral presentation and writes a thesis. Individual instruction for two semesters. Students pursuing both the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II, and a bachelor's degree in engineering may use this course to fulfill the thesis requirement for the Bachelor of Arts, Plan II. Prerequisite: For 679HA, enrollment in the Engineering Honors Program; for 679HB, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering 679HA and enrollment in the Engineering Honors Program.