Petroleum Engineering
Edwy R. Brown Department of Petroleum Engineering and Geology
Website: https://www.marietta.edu/petro-department
Chair: Dave Freeman (freemand@marietta.edu)
Petroleum engineering is a specialized discipline that prepares students primarily for careers in the exploration, production, processing and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. The petroleum engineer deals with a product that cannot be seen, held, examined or tested until it has been located in rock formations deep within the earth and brought to the surface. In light of this, petroleum engineers must be capable of designing, drilling, completing and analyzing subsurface well systems; characterizing and evaluating subsurface geological formations and their resources; designing and analyzing systems for producing, injecting, and handling fluids; applying reservoir and production engineering principles and practices to optimize resource development and management; and applying economics to these tasks under conditions of risk and uncertainty. The engineering science and technology involved in petroleum engineering also has direct application in the fields of environmental engineering and hydrology where subsurface well systems are used to access fluids in the earth.
The department’s vision for the Petroleum Engineering program is to be recognized by the global petroleum industry and educational institutions as one of the premier petroleum engineering programs in the United States. The program’s mission is to graduate well-rounded baccalaureate petroleum engineers who are prepared for entry-level positions in the petroleum industry or graduate school, and for life-long learning, professional development, and becoming professional engineers and leaders in the global petroleum industry. For more on the program and its objectives, goals, and learning outcomes please consult the website.