Dig deeper. Conduct research at North Dakota's only petroleum engineering program.
North Dakota is a leader in producing oil from unconventional sources. The Bakken
Formation is the second-largest producer of oil in the U.S. UND's master's in Petroleum
Engineering, backed by leading industry participants, produces engineers ready work
in the oil industry.
UND's master's in petroleum engineering will prepare you to address challenges in
the oil field. Our graduate students are conducting petroleum research in:
Geomechanics, production and reservoir studies of hydraulic fracturing
Re-fracturing for optimization of production from unconventional shales
Data driven modeling in unconventional reservoirs
Petrophysical and geochemical analysis of shale oil
Geophysics and seismic analysis of unconventional reservoirs
M.S. vs. M.Eng. Master's in Petroleum Engineering
UND offers both Petroleum Engineering Master of Science (M.S.) and Master of Engineering
(M.Eng.) degrees. It is recommended you connect with the Department of Petroleum Engineering before making a final decision. In general, a M.Eng. program is more course-based,
while the more popular M.S. program includes a thesis and/or research project. The M.Eng. option is ideal for non-Petroleum Engineering backgrounds to learn practical
aspects of different oil and gas upstream disciplines from basic to advanced level
in a relatively short period of time with the idea to join the industry even after
the first semester.
Both require a faculty-approved design project. You must also submit a peer-reviewed manuscript
on which you are first author, such as a conference or journal paper or patent application.
Petroleum Engineering Master's Skills
A Petroleum Engineering master's gives you the strategic skills you need, including:
Be on top of the latest trends. Our Industry Advisory Council, represented by some
of the state's biggest companies, regularly helps us refine our curriculum.
All master's in Petroleum Engineering courses all available online.
Gain networking and career opportunities through relationships with the Society of
Petroleum Engineers, North Dakota Petroleum Council and other groups.
Small class sizes + open-door policy among faculty = a rich, personalized learning
experience.
Work in the world’s largest – and only - oil drilling simulator. Train on cutting-edge simulators at our Collaborate Energy Complex.
What can you do with a master's in petroleum engineering?
130K
Median salary in 2020 for a petroleum engineer in the U.S.
Petroleum engineers are in great demand. More than 90% of our petroleum engineering
graduates find jobs in the oil industry. Employers of petroleum engineers are involved
in:
Petroleum exploration
Geologic formation characterization
Drilling and fracturing
Computer simulation
Equipment and process design to optimize recovery
Monitoring of production and processing
In addition, petroleum engineers are involved in:
Refining
Petro-chemical production
Transportation of products
Geosciences
Environmental efforts
International commerce
Jobs with Master's in Petroleum Engineering
UND Petroleum Engineering alumni have gone on to a variety of successful careers with:
Seconn Automated Solutions, LLC
3M Company
Cirrus Design Corporation
The Boeing Company
Center for Energy and Environment
Petroleum Engineering Distance Learning and On-Campus Courses
PTRE 541. Data Mining in Petroleum Engineering. 3 Credits.
This course will provide students with the fundamentals of data mining and machine learning methodologies and their applications in the petroleum industry. Students will become familiar with data mining system architecture, concepts and tasks such as data processing, data integration and classification techniques. Prerequisite: Background/knowledge of Multivariable Calculus. S, odd years.
PTRE 521. Advanced Production Engineering. 3 Credits.
Principles of development and operation of petroleum production systems. Optimization of production systems for various reservoirs. All professional components in artificial technology for oil production operations. Calculation of different skin components. Horizontal well and multilateral well performance. Formation damage. Design and optimization of surface facility. Prerequisite: Background/knowledge of Production Engineering. F, odd years.
PTRE 581. Reservoir Geophysics. 3 Credits.
This fundamental course provides students with the basic knowledge required to understand a typical 2D 3D seismic processing workflow. This covers the processing sequence, parameter selection and how to design and handle a seismic processing project. Prerequisite: Background/knowledge of Petrophysics. S, even years.
PTRE 571. Petroleum Geostatistics. 3 Credits.
The reservoir data including porosity and permeability follow the spatial statistics as there is a dependency between the data depending on their distance and position with respect to each other. This course presents the fundamental of spatial statistics with several case examples in Petroleum Engineering. Prerequisite: Background/knowledge of Calculus-based Statistics. F, even years.
PTRE 561. Natural Gas Engineering. 3 Credits.
Estimation of gas properties for well test or production data analysis using accurate correlations and laboratory data. Gas field development and material balance analysis for gas reserve calculation. Study of production and reservoir characteristics of gas and gas-condensate reservoirs. Skin effects and calculation for non-Darcy flow in gas well. Design, evaluation, and optimization of gas production and transportation system using nodal analysis. Analysis and design of gas well flow systems. Design surface facilities for gas well stream separation, dehydration, and compression. Gas processing, transportation, and metering. Gas hydrate prevention and inhibition. Prerequisite: Background/knowledge of Reservoir Engineering. S, odd years.
PTRE 513. Seismic Geomechanics. 3 Credits.
This advanced course introduces students to the modern geomechanical modeling of anisotropic, heterogeneous media. Topics include the basics of elasticity, a detailed workflow for creating both 3D and 4D mechanical earth models from the creation of horizons to the interpretation, and the methods and experiments to determine the elastic and strength properties. It also covers the importance of boundary condition for numerical solution of the stress equations and production-induced deformation. Rock physics application in geomechanics is deeply explained, and seismic wave velocity in anisotropic mediawill be discussed. Geomechanical effect in time-lapse seismic data, 3D exploration of geonechanical model, and interpretation of 4D MEM is very well established. In addition, this course contains topics of reservoir seismology, production and depletion effects on geomechanics, problems occurring during hydraulic fracturing operations due to geomechanical issues, fracture identification and characterization, and stimulation optimization. Prerequisite: Background/knowledge of Petrophysics. On demand.
Best Petroleum Engineering Master's Online
UND is increasingly regarded as one of the top academic and research institutions
in the USA. Our online Petroleum Engineering master's ranks among the best for educational
quality, affordability, and career outcomes.
