Kish International Campus

Ph.D. Degree Program in

Petroleum Engineering- Reservoir Engineering


Introduction:
Petroleum engineering is the strand of engineering concerned with upstream operations of producing oil and gas from underground reserves. Reservoir engineering is a subdivision of Petroleum engineering that deals with modeling the reservoir fluid movement and maximizing oil and gas recovery. The main topics of study in reservoir engineering are: phase behavior of fluids in a reservoir, reservoir rock properties, fluid flow in porous media, reservoir simulation, rock-fluid interactions, well testing, well performance, material balance, natural reservoir drive mechanisms, and various methods of improved and enhanced oil recovery.
The tasks of the reservoir engineer are centered on answering the following questions: How much oil and gas is originally in place? What are the drive mechanisms for the reservoir? What are the trapping mechanisms for the reservoir? What will be the recovery factor for the reservoir by primary depletion? What will be the future production rates from the reservoir? How can the recovery be increased economically?

 


Master Degree Curriculum in Petroleum Engineering- Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

Degree Requirements


A Masters in Petroleum Engineering-Reservoir engineering requires thirty two (32) credit hours of approved courses for admitted students with B.S. in Petroleum Engineering.  Admitted students with a different undergraduate degree are also required to complete a few credits of leveling courses which prepare such students for success in the Masters in Petroleum Engineering-Reservoir engineering.   
A minimum GPA of 14 over 20 must be maintained each semester and in total average for graduation.
Leveling Courses (not applicable to degree)
The Masters in Petroleum Engineering- Reservoir engineering curriculum assumes strong undergraduate academic preparation in math, science, and a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering. Any student holding any other undergraduate degree besides Petroleum Engineering will be required to complete the following leveling courses that are designed to provide an overview of petroleum engineering.  These leveling courses are not counted for graduate credit towards the Masters in Petroleum Engineering degree.

 

  • Principles of Reservoir Engineering
  • Geology of Petroleum

Part A: Core Courses

 


#

Course Name

Credits

Hours
(Theory)

Hours
(Practical)

     1 

Phase Behavior of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids

3

48

  

2

 Fluid Flow in Porous Media

3

48

  

3

 Fractured Reservoir Engineering

3

48

  

4

 Petroleum Reservoir Simulation

3

48

  

5

 Seminar

2

    

Total

14

    

Part B: Elective Courses (4 Courses must be elected)

 


#

Course Name

Credits

Hours
(Theory)

Hours
(Practical)

1   

Well Testing

3

48

  

2

Well Logging

3

48

  

3

 Production Engineering

3

48

  

4

 Drilling Engineering

3

48

  

5

Geostatistical Reservoir Modeling

3

48

  

6

Advanced Engineering Mathematics

3

48

  

7

Special Topics in Petroleum Engineering

3

48

  

8

Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods

3

48

  

9

Multiphase Flow in Wellbore and Pipes

3

48

  

Total

12

    

Part C: Thesis

 


#

Course Name

Credits

Hours
(Theory)

Hours
(Practical)

1

Thesis

6

    

Total

6

    

Courses description:

 

Phase Behavior of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids

Course content:

Petroleum Reservoir Fluids, Sampling, Quality Control, and Compositional Analyses, PVT Experiments, Equations of State, C7+ Characterization, Flash and Phase Envelope Calculations, PVT Simulation, Physical Properties, Regression to Experimental PVT Data, Transport Properties, Wax Formation, Asphaltenes, Gas Hydrates, Compositional Variations with Depth, Minimum Miscibility Pressure, Formation Water and Hydrate Inhibitors, Scale Precipitation
References

[1]

K. S. Pedersen, P. L. Christensen and J. A. Shaikh, Phase Behavior of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids, Tailor and Francis, 2015.

[2]

A. Danesh, PVT and Phase Behaviour Of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids, Elsevier, 1998.

Porous Media Transport Phenomena

Course content:

Pore Structure, Capillarity in Porous Media, Single-Phase Transport Phenomena in Porous Media, Selected Operations Involving Transport of a Single Fluid Phase through a Porous Medium, Multiphase Flow of Immiscible Fluids in Porous Media, Miscible Displacement and Dispersion
References

[1]

F. A. Dullien, Porous Media: Fluid Transport and Pore Structure, Academic Press, 2012.

[2]

F. Civan, Porous Media Transport Phenomena, wiley, 2011.

[3]

J. Bear, Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media, NEW YORK: Dover Publications, 2013.

Fractured Reservoir Engineering

Course content:

Fracture detection and evaluation, Fractured reservoirs, case history, Physical properties of rocks, Logging versus fracture evaluation, Flow of fluids towards a well in non-porous fractured Rock, Flow towards a well in fractured rock of double porosity , Special problems of flow toward a well, Fluid displacement process in a single matrix block, Production mechanism of a fractured reservoir, Fractured Reservoir examples
References

[1]

W. M. Ahr, Geology of Carbonate Reservoirs: The Identification, Description and Characterization of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in Carbonate Rocks, Wiley, 2011.

[2]

T. v. Golf-Racht, Fundamentals of Fractured Reservoir Engineering, Elsevier, 1982.

Petroleum Reservoir Simulations

Course content:

Single-Phase Fluid Flow Equations in Multidimensional Domain, Flow Equations Using CVFD Terminology, Simulation with a Block-Centered Grid, Simulation with a Point-Distributed Grid, Well Representation in Simulators, Single-Phase Flow Equation for Various Fluids, Linearization of Flow Equations, Methods of Solution of Linear Equations, Introduction to Modeling Multiphase Flow in Petroleum Reservoirs
References

[1]

J. Abou-Kassem, S. Farouq-Ali and M. Islam, Petroleum Reservoir Simulations, Elsevier, 2013.

[2]

H. Yaghi, Petroleum Reservoir Simulation, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing , 2013.

[3]

J. R. Fanchi, Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation, Elsevier, 2006.

Well Test Design & Analysis

Course content:

Pressure Transient Analysis in Drawdown and Buildup, Wellbore Storage and Type Curve Matching, Semi infinite System Late Transient Analysis, Well in a Bounded Drainage Area, Variable Rate Well Test Analysis, Channel Sands and Parallel Faults, Constant Pressure Boundaries, Vertically Fractured Wells, Dual Porosity Systems, Limited Entry and Double Permeability Systems, Radial Composite Systems, Horizontal Wells, Gas Well Testing, Automatic Model Matching, TwoCell Compartmentalized Systems, Well Test Design, Multiphase Flow, Numerical Well Testing, Layered Well Testing, Deconvolution in PTA
References

[1]

G. Stewart, Well Test Design & Analysis, PennWell Corporation, 2011.

[2]

G. D. Prat, Well Test Analysis for Fractured Reservoir Evaluation, Elsevier, 1990.

 


Petroleum Production Engineering

Course content:

Well Components, Properties of Petroleum Fluids, Reservoir Deliverability, Wellbore Flow Performance , Choke Performance, Well Deliverability, Forecast of Well Production, Production Decline Analysis, Well Tubing and Packers, Separation Systems, Transportation Systems, Well Problem Identification, Acidizing, Hydraulic Fracturing, Well Workover, Sucker Rod Pumping, Gas Lift, Other Artificial Lift Methods, Gas Hydrate Control, Other Flow Assurance Issues
References

[1]

B. Guo, X. Liu and X. Tan, Petroleum Production Engineering, Elsevier , 2017 .

[2]

M. J. Economides, A. D. Hill, C. Ehlig-Economides and D. Zhu, Petroleum Production Systems, Prentice Hall, 2012.

[3]

B. Guo, X. ". Liu and X. Tan, Petroleum Production Engineering: A Computer-assisted Approach, Elsevier , 2017.

Oilwell drilling engineering

Course content:

Drilling rig requirements, selection, and evaluation, Drilling fluids, including functions, types, selection criteria, evaluation, rheology, Drilling fluid hydraulics and design requirements, Drillstring mechanics, Drill bit mechanics, including types, operational requirements, optimization, Well control mechanics, Pore and fracture pressures prediction and application, Directional, horizontal, and multilateral well drilling, Cementing and casing design, Drilling problems and solutions, Overview of underbalanced, slim hole, and coiled tubing drilling
References

[1]

J. J. Azar and G. R. Samuel, Drilling Engineering, PennWell Books, 2007.

[2]

H. Rabia, Oilwell drilling engineering: principles and practice, Graham & Trotman, 1985.

[3]

B. A. Gow and S. Gow, Roughnecks, Rock Bits and Rigs, University of Calgary Press, 2005.

Geostatistical Reservoir Modeling

Course content:

Modeling Principles, Modeling Prerequisites, Modeling Methods, Model Applications, Special Topics
References

[1]

M. J. Pyrcz and C. V. Deutsch, Geostatistical Reservoir Modeling, OUP USA, 2014.

[2]

J. L. Jensen, Statistics for Petroleum Engineers and Geoscientists, Elsevier, 2007.