Petroleum Engineering
THE PETROLEUM ENGINEERING PROGRAMME
The department's curriculum is based on fundamental studies in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and geology.
The first year courses are common to the chemical engineering programme.
THE COURSE STRUCTURE
YEAR ONE SEMESTER ONE
COURSETPC
CHE 151 Inorganic Chemistry For Engineers 2 1 2
CHE 153 Organic Chemistry For Engineers 2 12
CHEM 169 Practical Chemistry I 0 6 3
EE 151 Applied Electricity 2 2 3
ENGL 157 Communication Skills I 2 0 2
ME 159 Technical Drawing 2 0 2
MATH 151 Mathematics I 4 0 4
14 10 18
YEAR ONE SEMESTER TWO
COURSE T P C
CHE 156 Physical Chemistry For Engineers 20 2
CHE 158 Introduction to Information Technology 1 2 2
CHEM 170 Practical Chemistry II 0 6 3
EE 152 Basic Electronics 2 0 2
ENGL 158 Communication Skills II 2 0 2
MATH 152 Mathematics II 4 0 4
PHY 156 Properties of Matter 3 0 3
14 8 18
YEAR TWO SEMESTER ONE
SECOND YEAR T P C
ChE 253 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I 2 0 2
ENGL 263 Literature in English I 1 0 1
MATH 251 Mathematics III 4 0 4
SES 171 Basic Swimming 0 6 2
PETE 251 Petroleum Engineering Calculations 3 0 3
PETE 253 Introduction to Petroleum Engineering 1 0 1
PETE 255 Strength of Materials for Petroleum Eng. 3 0 3
PETE 257 Industrial Safety & Environ. Protection 2 0 2
16 6 18
COURSE T P C
CHE 254 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II 2 0 2
CHE 256 Heat Transport Processes 3 0 3
CHE 258 Drawing for Engineers 0 2 1
ENGL 264 Literature in English II 1 0 1
MATH 252 Mathematics IV 4 0 4
ME 162 Basic Mechanics 3 0 3
PETE 252 Petroleum Engineering Systems 1 0 1
PETE 254 Reservoir Fluid Transport 3 24
17 419
YEAR THREE SEMESTER TWO
COURSE T P C
GE 174 Photo Interpretation 1 3 2
PETE 350 Petroleum Engineering Numerical Methods 2 3 3
PETE 352 Petroleum Geology 2 3 3
PETE 354 Petroleum Laboratory Analysis
0 9 3
PETE 356 Drilling and Production Systems
2 3 3
PETE 358 Well Performance 3 0 3
PETE 360 Geostatistics 3 0 3
14 15 18
YEAR FOUR SEMESTER ONE
COURSE T P C
PETE 451 Petro-Technical and Economics 3 0 3
PETE 453 Technical Presentations II 1 3 2
PETE 455 Reservoir Development 2 3 3
PETE 457 Reservoir Models 3 0 3
PETE 459 Well Drilling 3 0 3
PETE xxx Elective I (Ref. to Elective I courses below) 2 0 2
14 6 16
YEAR FOUR SEMESTER TWO
COURSE T P C
PETE 452 Petroleum Project Evaluation 3 0 3
PETE 454 Reservoir Description 2 3 3
PETE 456 Well Completion and Stimulation 3 0 3
PETE 458 Advanced Drilling Engineering 3 0 3
PETE xxx Elective II (Ref. to elective II courses below) 2 0 2
XXX xxx Elective III(Ref. to elective III courses below) 2 0 2
15 3 16
ELECTIVES IN PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
ELECTIVES I T P C
PETE 461 Topics in Reservoir Engineering 2 0 2
PETE 463 Petrochemical Engineering 2 0 2
PETE 465 Topics in Environmental Engineering 2 0 2
ELECTIVES II T P C
PETE 462 Petroleum Business: Structures, Logistics 2 0 2
PETE 464 Advanced Combustion Process 2 0 2
PETE 466 Selected Topics in Petroleum Technology 2 0 2
ELECTIVES III
Approved Electives in Physics T P C
PHY 462 Advance Topics in Geophysics 2 0 2
Approved Electives in Chemistry T P C
GEO 358 Principles of Geochemistry 2 0 2
Approved Electives in Chemical Engineering T P C
CHE 466 Production and Properties of Explosives 2 0 2
CHE 468 Advanced Equilibrium Stage Operations 2 0 2
DETAILS OF SYLLABUS – COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
FIRST YEAR COURSES
CHE 151: Inorganic Chemistry For Engineers (2,1,2)
Atomic structure, Qualitative wave mechanics. Periodic Table and Periodicity, Reactivity Parameters. Chemical bonding - Ionic bond, Covalent bond, Dative (coordinate) bond. Valence bond theory, Resonance, Multiple bonds, shapes of molecules, Hybridisation of non-transition elements. Forces within molecules, Bond strength, Bond energy, Polarity, Continuity of bonds. Crystal structure. Chemistry of groups I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and III elements. Transition metals: Characteristic general properties.
CHE 153: Organic Chemistry For Engineers (2,1,2)
Molecular composition and structure of organic compounds: determination and calculation of empirical and molecular formulae, pictorial treatment of hybridization. Organic Reactions: Bond formation and fission, classification of reagents and reactions, reaction intermediates: Carbocations, free radicals, carbanions. Hydrocarbons: (aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic), structure and nomenclature. Homologous series, and gradation of properties, preparation, reactions.
CHE 156: Physical Chemistry For Engineers I (2,1,2)
States of matter: Gas laws, Ideal and real gases; Kinetic theory of gases.
Thermodynamics: The First law, Heat Engines, Heat Capacity, Enthalpy and Thermochemistry. Chemical Kinetics: Elementary chemical kinetics, Basic rate laws, Effect of temperature and the Arrhenius Equation.
Equilibrium I: Description of chemical equilibria, Equilibrium constant calculations, Predicting direction of equilibria, Heterogeneous equilibria. Response of equilibria to conditions: Pressure, Temperature and added reagents. Acids, bases, and salts. Definitions of strong and weak acids and bases, pH, Salts as acids and bases, Titration curves, Solubility equilibria, Ksp. Thermodynamics II: Second and Third Laws. Entropy and Free Energy of Chemical Reactions.
CHE 158: Introduction To Information Technology (1,2,2)
The nature of computing and computers. Components of a PC and their functions. Storage and retrieval of information. Introduction to MS-DOS. Editors, compilers and linkers. FORTRAN programming. ASPEN, Process Simulation Models.
CHEM 169: Practical Chemistry I (0,6,3)
Experiments in organic, inorganic, analytical and physical chemistry.
CHEM 170: Practical Chemistry II (0,6,3)
Selected integrated practical chemistry
ENGL 157: Communication Skills I (2,0,2)
English grammar: tense, concord, punctuation, etc. Error analysis: identification, analysis and correct grammatical errors. Taxonomy of reading and conversation skills, pragmatics and meaning and educated Ghanaian English. Acquisition of practical knowledge of salient aspects of the eight parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, preposition, interjection, conjunction, adverbs and pronoun.
ENGL 158: Communication Skills II (2,0,2)
Communication process, skills in communication, channels of communication in an organization, preparation of official documents such as letters, memos, reports, minutes and proposals. Oral presentation skills. Formal speech making. Conducting interviews and meetings.
EE151: Applied Electricity (2,2,3)
Network theorems. Alternating voltage and current. A.C. circuits. Magnetic circuits.
EE 152: Basic Electronics (2,1,2)
Nature of atom; The vacuum valves (diode, triode, tetrode, pentode); Basic concepts of semiconductors charge carriers; Effective mass; Mobility; Conductivity; Life time and recombination; Continuity equations; Flow equations; Hall effects PN junctions; Choke; Rectification and Filtration; Bipolar transistors: Characteristics, CB, CC, CE configurations; The transistor as a switching device (ac-dc load lines); Small signal amplifiers.
MATH 151: Mathematic I (4,0,4)
Complex numbers. Vector algebra and its applications. Differentiation: Rolle’s theorem, mean value theorems, Taylor’s theorem. Repeated differentiation. Parametric differentiation, with application to plane curves. Indeterminate forms. Series: convergence of series. Power series. Taylor and Maclaurin series. Numerical differentiation.
MATH 152: Mathematics II (4,0,4)
Introduction to matrix algebra systems of linear equations. Integration - techniques of integration, including integration by parts, reduction formulae, advanced methods of substitution. Improper integrals. Application of integration. Functions of several variables. Partial differentiation and total derivatives. Numerical integration.
ME 159: Technical Drawing (1, 3, 2)
Geometrical construction, orthographic projection and other projections; descriptive geometry; intersections and development.
PHY 156: Properties of Matter (3,0,3)
Liquids: Diffusion, Viscosity, Surface Tension. Review of Kinetic theory of gases and Applications. Principle of equipartition of energy. Molecular Collision.
SECOND YEAR COURSES
ChE 253: Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I (2,0,2)
First law of thermodynamics; basic concepts: reversibility, equilibrium. Volumetric properties of pure fluids. Second law of thermodynamics. Entropy. Thermodynamic properties of fluids. Thermodynamics of flow processes and applications to fluid transporting equipment. Conversion of heat into work by power cycles. Refrigeration and liquefaction.
ChE 254: Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II (2, 0, 2)
Thermodynamic properties of fluid mixtures. Systems of variable compositions (ideal and non-ideal). Phase equilibria. Solution thermodynamics. Chemical reaction equilibria. Thermodynamic analysis of real processes.
CHE 256: Heat Transfer Processes (3,0,3)
Modes of heat transfer-conduction, convection and radiation. Thermal conductivity. Steady and unsteady state heat conduction. Convective heat transfer coefficients. Heat transfer with laminar and turbulent flows. Design of heat exchange equipment: double-pipe, shell-and-tube heat exchangers. Condensers, reboilers.
CHE 258: Drawing for Engineers (0,2,1)
Geometric construction. Sectioning and dimensioning, limits and fits. Chemical process symbols, valves and flow sheeting.
ENGL 263: Literature in English I (1,0,1)
Literature as Poetry: What is a poem, and its characteristics? Difference between a poem and a song. The figure of speech and the literary device. Practical Appreciation. Literature as Drama: What is a play, and its characteristics? Drama as Theater. Shakespeare. The Modern Play. Texts to be studies: Selected African and English poems. One Shakespeare play and one Modern African play.
ENGL 264: Literature in English I (1,0,1)
Continuation of ENGL 263. Literature as Narrative. Traditional (19th Century) Narrative Contemporary narrative. The African Novel. Text to be studies: One African Novel and One English Novel.
ME 162: Basic Mechanics (3,1,3)
Introductory concepts of engineering mechanics involving basic principles in statics and dynamics with simple applications; simple machines and conservation laws.
MATH 251: Mathematics III (4, 0, 4)
Ordinary differential equations. First order differential equations. Second order linear differential equations. Systems of linear equations with constant coefficients. Laplace Transforms. Differentiation under integral sign. Multiple integrals; line, surface and volume integrals. Triple scalar and vector products, differentiation of vectors. Vector fields.
MATH 252: Mathematics IV (4 0,4)
Solution in series. Fourier series. Classification of second order linear partial differential equations, and reduction to canonical forms. Solution of a simple boundary value problems by separation of variables. Simple numerical methods of solution of differential equations. Differentiation of implicit functions. Extrema. Gamma and Beta functions.
PETE 251: Petroleum Engineering Calculations (3,0,3)
Gas reservoir; Calculation of gas in place by volumetric method, Calculation of unit recovery from volumetric Gas Reservoirs, Calculation of unit recovery from gas reservoirs under water drive. Material balances in gas reservoirs, use of material balances with retrograde condensate Reservoir, calculation of oil in place by volumetric method and estimation of oil reservoir, rock compressibility water influx independent of material balance. Simultaneous calculation of initial oil in place and Water influx, displacement of oil by gas, permeability, gravitational segregation and internal gas drive.
PETE 252: Petroleum Engineering Systems. (1,0,1)
Introduction to petroleum engineering reservoir, drilling, formation evaluation, and production systems, including fundamental petroleum engineering concepts, quantities and unit systems.
PETE 253: Introduction to Petroleum Engineering (1,0,1)
Overview of petroleum industry and petroleum engineering including nature of oil and gas reservoirs, petroleum exploration and drilling, formation evaluation, completion and production, surface facilities, reservoir mechanics, and improved oil recovery.
PETE 254: Reservoir Fluid Transport (3,3,4)
Thermodynamic behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures; evaluation and correlation of physical properties of petroleum reservoir fluids including laboratory and empirical methods.
PETE 255: Strength of Materials for Petroleum Engineers (3,0 3)
Moments of Higher Order: Theory and application; Application of Theory of moments; Moment-operational method: Theory and application; Rigidity of non-uniform beams; Multiplan Non-uniform Beams; on elastic foundation; Beams under combined flexure and compression; Application of Moment-Operational Method to certain complex problems
PETE 257: Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection (3,3,4)
Introduction to labour safety and accidents, Courses and costs, Environmental Protection, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Environmental Preservation.
SES 171: Basic Swimming (2,0,2)
Practical and Theory to be taken in the sports department
THIRD YEAR
PETE 350: Petroleum Engineering Numerical Methods (2,3,3)
Use of numerical methods in a variety of petroleum engineering problems; numerical differentiation and integration; root finding; numerical solution of differential equations; curve fitting and interpolation; computer applications; introduction to the principles of numerical simulation methods.
Green's functions, statistical methods, and nonlinear optimization techniques to petroleum engineering.
PETE 351: Physical Geology (3,3,4)
Introductory Geology; Solar System and origin of the Earth; Rotation and the figure of the Earth Gravity. Principles and applications of gravity, magnetic, seismic refraction and seismic reflection methods; nature and properties of seismic waves; acquisition of seismic data in land and marine environments; fundamentals of signal processing; processing of seismic reflection data; interpretation of seismic results; three-dimensional and four-dimensional (time lapse) seismic methods; inversion of seismic traces; amplitude variation with offset (AVO); vertical seismic profiling (VSP); integration of geology and geophysics in petroleum exploration and development programs.
PETE 352: Petroleum Geology (2,3,3)
Petroleum generation, including maturation migration, entrapment and degradation processes; sedimentology of petroleum-bearing sequences; features of sedimentary rocks, with special reference to reservoir materials; primary and secondary porosity; introduction to clay minerals; structural and stratigraphic traps including diapirs and fractured rock reservoirs; coal-bed methane, oil shale and other non-conventional petroleum sources; geological setting of the West African petroleum basins; exploration and evaluation of petroleum deposits, including an introduction to geophysical techniques.
PETE 353: Formation Evaluation (3,3,4)
Introduction to modern well logging methods, engineering, and core-log integration. Techniques for subsurface evaluation of oil and gas reservoirs emphasizing quantitative interpretation of electric, sonic, and nuclear logs by overlay, cross-plot, and digital evaluation methods; multiple tool logging programs that provide comprehensive description of reservoir content and productivity.
PETE 354: Technical Presentations I (1,0,1)
Preparation of a written technical paper on a subject related to petroleum technology and an oral presentation of the paper in a formal technical conference format; oral presentations judged by petroleum industry professionals.
PETE 355: Petroleum Laboratory Analysis (0,6,3)
Investigation of fundamental properties of reservoir rocks and fluids; preparation of core samples; porosity measurements; single phase permeability and investigation of Klinkenberg effect; two phase relative permeability measurements; and capillary pressure characteristics of fluid-rock systems. Sieve analysis; electrical resistivity; viscosity; specific gravity; fluid saturation; surface tension; composition analysis; pressure, volume, and temperature (PVT) analysis; physical and chemical properties of drilling fluids
PETE 356: Drilling and Production Systems (2,3,3)
Introduction to drilling systems: components; drilling fluids, pressure loss calculations; well cementing; and directional drilling; theoretical and laboratory prediction of flowrates and pressure drops through conventional petroleum production networks; calculation of static and flowing bottomhole pressures in oil and gas wells; well deliverability via inflow (IPR)/outflow (VLP) methods; gas lift; pump lift; gas compression.
PETE 357: Reservoir Petrophysics (3,0,3)
Properties of rocks and fluids that affect the distribution and movement of fluids such as oil, gas, water, or contaminants in porous media including porosity, permeability, capillary pressure, surface and interfacial tension, wettability, and viscosity; basic formation evaluation methods used to analyze oil and gas bearing rock formations and ground-water systems; various forms of Darcy’s Law; introduction to engineering design; use of microcomputers in solution of problems and presentation of results.
PETE 358: Well Performance (3,0,3)
Steady-state, pseudosteady-state, and transient well testing methods to determine well and reservoir parameters used in formation evaluation; applications to wells that produce gas and liquid petroleum; rate forecasting; deliverability testing.
PETE 359: Reservoir Methods (3,0,3)
Reservoir fluid and rock properties; reservoir types; calculation of hydrocarbons in place by volumetric method; generalized material balance equation; steady, pseudosteady, and unsteady state flow of reservoir fluids; water influx; reduced forms of material balance equation; performance prediction; computer applications.
GE 183: Principles of Land Surveying (2,3,3)
Chain Surveying, spirit leveling. Longitudinal and cross sections. Contouring. Compass traversing. Simple plane coordinate calculations. Simple area and volume calculations. Measurement of theodolite horizontal and vertical angles. Introduction to plane tabling. Setting out buildings, gradients, slope stakes, and ordinary circular curves, Errors. The calibration and permanent adjustment of equipment are excluded. GPS Survey. Determination of area and volume. Definition and setting out of circular and transition curves on roads and railways. Underground surveying. Taking and plotting of soundings.
GE 174: Photo Interpretation (1,3,2)
Definitions, aims, scope of applications, Types of photography: vertical, oblique, terrestrial, Terminology. Indications on Photography Geometry of vertical and tilted photographs: scale, relief displacements, calculation of heights from relief displacement and shadows.
Elementary stereoscopy: stereoscopes, parallax bar, basic parallax formula and its application for determination of heights, formation of stereo model. Nosaics and photomaps.
Photographic Interpretation: Definition principles, techniques, Photography: Black-and-white, colour, infrared, etc and applications. Photo grey cones, texture, size, shape pattern, landforms, landuse. Applications for photo interpretation in engineering, geology, agriculture, forestry, geography, planning, architecture, etc. Introduction to satellite remote sensing techniques.
PETE 360: Geostatistics (3,0,3)
Introduction to geostatistics; basic statistics concepts; univariate distributions and estimators; measures of heterogeneity; hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression; analysis of spatial relationships, modeling geological media, and use of statistics in reservoir modeling.
FOURTH YEAR
PETE 451: Petro-Technical and Economics (3,0,3)
Economic appraisal methods for oil field developmental project evaluations including risk analysis, probability, and statistics in decision making and evaluations. Case studies. Designed to present an advanced knowledge of economic analysis of petroleum production leading towards increasing cost efficiency in the petroleum and related industries. The course objectives provide qualitative and qualitative description of production forecasts and reserve estimation; oil and gas pricing; cash flow analysis; risk and uncertainty of operation of oil and gas production (financing, debt/equity ratio, depreciation and taxation).
PETE 452: Petroleum Project Evaluation (3,0,3)
Analysis of investments in petroleum and mineral extraction industries. Depletion, petroleum taxation regulations, and projects of the type found in the industry. Mineral project evaluation case studies.
PETE 453: Technical Presentations II (1,3,2)
Preparation of a written technical paper on a subject related to petroleum technology and an oral presentation of the paper in a formal technical conference format; oral presentations are judged by petroleum industry professionals.
PETE 454: Reservoir Description (2,3,3)
An integrated reservoir description experience for senior students in petroleum engineering, geology and geophysics; includes using geophysical, geological, petrophysical, and engineering data; emphasis on reservoir description (reservoir and well data analysis and interpretation), reservoir modeling (simulation), reservoir management (production optimization), and economic analysis (property evaluation).
PETE 455: Reservoir Development (2,3,3)
An integrated reservoir development experience for senior students in petroleum engineering; emphasis on reservoir description (reservoir and well evaluation), reservoir modeling (simulation), production optimization (nodal analysis, stimulation, artificial lift, facilities), reservoir management (surveillance and reservoir optimization), and economic analysis (property evaluation and risk analysis).
PETE 456: Well Completion and Stimulation (3,0,3)
The design and evaluation of well completions--including placement of casing, liners, and well tubing; perforating, gravel packing; sand control; acidizing fundamentals, design and evaluation of acidization treatments; hydraulic fracturing fluid loss, conceptual models, design and implementation, evaluation; performance of horizontal wells; surface facilities.
PETE 457: Reservoir Models (3,0,3)
Determination of reserves; material balance methods; aquifer models; fractional flow and frontal advance; displacement, pattern, and vertical sweep efficiencies in waterfloods; enhanced oil recovery processes; design of optimal recovery processes.
PETE 458: Advanced Drilling Engineering (3,0,3)
Fundamental principles of drilling, drilling practices, drilling fluids, and drilling problems dependent on mud control. Measurement of physical properties of drilling mud; optional BOP certification and drilling rig operation experience during spring break.