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.

Constructed in 1955 for use by the Petroleum and Geology Departments, the Edwy Rolfe Brown Building underwent major interior renovations in Fall 2005. It houses:

• professors' offices,
• smart classrooms,
• a conference room,
• a core and drilling laboratory,
• a natural gas laboratory,
• a student lounge, and
• petroleum and geology capstone rooms for seniors completing their capstone project.

View a photo gallery of the building.
Download a Campus Map (PDF).

The department's vision for the Petroleum Engineering program is to be recognized by the petroleum industry and other educational institutions as one of the premier petroleum engineering programs in the United States.

The program has set itself the goal of graduating at least fifteen well-educated baccalaureate petroleum engineers each year who are prepared for entry-level positions in the petroleum industry, graduate school, and life-long learning and professional development, and are capable of becoming professional engineers and leaders in the global petroleum industry.

(740) 376-4775 (Phone)

(740) 376-4777 (Fax)

petr@marietta.edu

Department of Petroleum Engineering
215 Fifth Street
Marietta, OH 45750