Specialisation

MSc Programme

Petroleum Engineering

Applied Earth Sciences

Faculty of Civil Engineering

and Geosciences

The specialisation in Petroleum Engineering

addresses all aspects of the extraction of
underground fluid energy resources (e.g. oil,
natural gas and geothermal energy), as well as
new ways of exploiting the deep underground
(e.g. CO 2 storage). The wide variety of topics
addressed in this specialisation include the
description of the geological structure of
reservoirs; the management of underground
flow, drilling, and production techniques; field
management and economic analyses.
Students are trained in multidisciplinary collaboration.
Following the successful conclusion of the programme,
they will have the knowledge and skills that they need
in order to develop oil and gas fields and to arrive at
solutions for meeting future challenges (e.g. capturing
the energy available from geothermal sources and the
underground storage of CO 2). In the coming decades,
oil and natural gas will remain important, not only as
sources of energy but also as feedstocks for the
chemical industry. Because the conventional and
most easily accessible reserves are being exhausted,
it is becoming increasingly necessary to turn to
unconventional sources, including very heavy oil or
tight gas, tar sands and gas hydrates. The exploitation
of these sources demands innovative solutions and
technologically complex methods.The knowledge
that has been developed for these purposes is also
appropriate for the exploitation of geothermal energy
and the underground storage of CO 2.

Programme specialisation

Beyond conventional
approaches

Petroleum Engineering is one of two specialisations

within the MSc track in Petroleum Engineering
and Geosciences. In this specialisation, you will learn
about the development of production plans in which
you specify the best sites in which to drill and which
production strategies should be employed in order to
extract the gas and oil most efficiently. Through field
work and research activities, you will also acquire
practical knowledge and experience. Throughout this
internationally oriented programme, you will acquire
extensive knowledge of geology, along with a wide
variety of engineering skills.

Delft truly provides you with

the opportunity to develop yourself and prepare for the world.

In addition to the fundamentals of current oil and gas

exploitation technology, you will learn how to optimise
production from conventional and unconventional reserves.
Considerable attention is devoted to the flow behaviour of
liquids in rock and to new techniques (e.g. smart wells
technology and foam and polymer injection).

Career prospects
With its emphasis on both geology and engineering skills, the
Petroleum Engineering specialisation offered by TU Delft is
unique in the world. Graduates are in high demand, and they
find opportunities in a range of fields. They can move into
positions as engineering or geology specialists, as well as
interdisciplinary generalists. Graduates find employment with
oil and gas firms and service companies as well as research
institutes, engineering firms and companies active in the fields
of geothermal energy and underground CO 2 storage. Many
graduates of the programme find either short-term or longterm employment outside the Netherlands.

Asli Altintas is a passionate reservoir engineer.

She studied Petroleum and Natural Gas
Engineering at the Middle East University and
subsequently completed a Masters degree in
Applied Earth Sciences. She is very happy with
the combination of the two universities.
In Turkey, the study programme was very
theoretical, whereas Delft was very hands-on.
In other words, it was a good match.
Altintas worked for Shell in the wilds of Siberia,
where she provided logistics and monitored
equipment at the Salym Smart Well. She drove
out to the wells at night when it was -40C.
It was tough, but great. I think you really
find out what you are made of under such
demanding, stressful circumstances.
In addition, she collaborated on the
development of the Assisted History Matching
tool a methodology that helps to optimise
existing simulation models and allows the
visualisation of problematic areas in the
modelling of the subsurface. Together with her
team, she also began using the tool as a
platform for communication and cooperation
between the various disciplines in oil
production. Altintas went to Moscow to
demonstrate the methodology to the industry
and spent three and a half years in Russia,
using the method on Sakhalinsk, a Russian
island located to the north of Japan.
The next step for Altintas will involve four years
in New Zealand, where she will be responsible
for a gas field. This will be a huge shared
responsibility. If your calculations are wrong,
enormous negative financial consequences,
negative environmental impact or even fatalities
may occur.

Source: Shell

Alumna Asli Altintas

(Turkey)

Curriculum Petroleum Engineering

First Year
1 st semester

2 nd semester

Image Analysis (1 EC)

Reservoir Engineering (2 EC)

Matlab / Programming (2 EC)

Reservoir Simulation (2 EC)

Properties of Hydrocarbons & Oilfield Fluids (3 EC)

Production Optimisation (3 EC)

Introduction to Petroleum Engineering and NAM Visit (3 EC)

Rock Fluid Physics (3 EC)

Fundamentals of Borehole Logging (4 EC)

Modelling of Fluid Flow in Porous Media (3 EC)

Log Evaluation (2 EC)

Drilling & Production Engineering (4 EC)

Seismic Interpretation (3 EC)

Geological Fieldwork (3 EC)

Sedimentary Systems (3 EC)

Reservoir Characterisation & Development (4 EC)

Geostatistics (2 EC)
Quantification of Rock Reservoir Images (1 EC)
Petroleum Geology (3 EC)
Mathematics, Special Subjects (4 EC)
Electives (5 EC)

Second Year
Field Development Project (9 EC)
Electives (5 EC)
Company visits/ Excursion (1 EC)
Thesis (45 EC)

1 EC = 28 hrs study, according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) One academic year = 60 EC Total number of credits in the MSc specialisation in
Petroleum Engineering = 120 EC

For more information on all courses: www.studyguide.tudelft.nl.

Admission requirements
and application procedures

For further information

BSc degree from a Dutch university

Please visit the webpage for all

details, complete requirements,
deadlines and contact information
www.aes.msc.tudelft.nl

In most cases, if you hold a BSc degree and the

Masters degree programme is closely related to your
Bachelors degree programme, you will be admitted
directly into the programme. However, if the Masters
degree programme is not a direct extension of your
undergraduate programme, you will be required to
take additional courses in what is called a bridging
programme. This may be a standard programme, or it
may be customised to suit your specific situation.
To see which Masters programmes are open to you on
completion of your Bachelors degree Dutch university,
go to www.doorstroommatrix.nl.
Application goes through Studielink: tudelft.studielink.nl.

Degree from a Dutch university of

applied sciences (Dutch HBO)
An HBO Bachelors degree does not qualify you for
direct admission to a TU Delft Masters degree
programme. To start a Masters degree programme, you
will first need to complete a supplementary programme
in order to bring your knowledge to the required level.
You can do this during your HBO programme by
completing a bridging minor (advantage: no study
delay!), or by means of a bridging programme after
securing your HBO diploma. Entrance requirements for
mathematics and English (some exceptions) apply for
both the bridging minor and the bridging programme.
See www.hbodoorstroom.tudelft.nl for detailed
information. Application goes through Studielink:
tudelft.studielink.nl.

Marion van Eijck

International Coordinator
Education and Student Affairs CEG
T +31 (0)15 27 81174
E m.vaneijck@tudelft.nl
CEG Faculty
Stevinweg 1
2628 CN Delft
www.citg.tudelft.nl
www.facebook.com/TUDelft
@DelftUniversity

For international students, the application period starts

in September and closes on 1 April. To start an MSc
application, complete the online applicationand pay the
non-refundable application fee of 50. Then send hard
copies of the application documents to the TU Delft
International Office. Please note that you should apply
early if you wish to apply for a scholarship as well.
For more information about the application procedure,
go to www.admissions.tudelft.nl.

International applicants
To be considered for admission to a MSc Programme
youll need to meet TU Delfts general admission
requirements.
1. A BSc degree (or proof that you have nearly
completed a BSc programme) in a field closely
related to the MSc programme
2. A BSc Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
of at least 75%of the scale maximum
3. Proof of English language proficiency
A score of at least 90 on the TOEFL
(internet-based test)
or an overall Band score of at least 6.5 on
the IELTS (academic version)

Examples of graduation projects

History matching of the Fensfjord reservoir and
optimization of the Integrated Production Model
for the Brage Field
Shale Gas Hydraulic Fracturing in the Dutch
Posidonia Shale
Effect of over-displacement of hydraulic proppantfracturing treatments on the productivity of shale
gas reservoirs
Experimental Investigation of Non-Optimum
Conditions of Alkaline Surfactant Polymer Flooding