Petroleum Geoscience: The University of Manchester

Course description

Petroleum Geoscience MSc at Manchester becomes the first Masters course to be fully accredited by the Geological Society of London.

The programme is accredited for a period of 5 years from 1st June, 2007. Students on course and graduating this year will be the first cohort to be deemed to have an accredited degree.

The MSc in Petroleum Geoscience is a new programme, but with a strong legacy; the course was established in 2004 following relocation of staff from Oxford Brookes to the University of Manchester. The University of Manchester one of the largest Universities in Europe has  firmly established this course as a centre of excellence for Petroleum Geoscience for both UK and worldwide recruitment.

Petroleum Geoscience Centre: The Petroleum Geoscience Centre at The University of Manchester combines postgraduate MSc and PhD training, industry professional development programmes and internationally renowned research within one of the leading Earth Science Schools in the UK. Further industry scholarships will be advertised as available.

World-Class Infrastructure: The University of Manchester has world-class research and teaching facilities, including geochemical, sedimentological and geophysical laboratories. The Petroleum Geoscience Centre runs three workstation laboratories: two are dedicated research environments using clusters of Unix workstations, and Linux/Windows PCs running the Schlumberger GeoFrame suite, Paradigm VoxelGeo, Petrel, Kingdom Suite, GoCad, ER Mapper and Arc-Info, plus various well-log analysis packages. The third is a dedicated new teaching facility comprising a 12-workstation.

Established Petroleum Geoscience MSc: The programme has strong links with international oil companies and a proven track record for training in exploration and production geoscience to meet the needs of the oil industry. The teaching team is led by Dr Jonathan Redfern (Director of the Petroleum Geoscience Msc, who has many years experience with international oil companies) and includes leading researchers and experienced petroleum geoscientists from the Basin and Stratigraphic Studies Group headed by Professor Rob Gawthorpe. There is a strong industrial component with several course units taught by industry specialists and the potential to undertake research projects linked to oil companies.

Course aims

The Petroleum Geoscience MSc is a dynamic integrated course dedicated to providing students with the essential training needed to have the skill base required for employment within the exploration, appraisal and production sectors of the oil industry or to undertake further research in geosciences. The course offers a carefully balanced mix of vocational and academic courses, taught by leading academics from the University of Manchester and experienced professionals from the oil industry. The MSc has new dedicated facilities, including a large computing and teaching suite, and access to world class research facilities supported by one of the UK's leading Universities.

Module details

• Geophysical Imaging and Interpretation
• Petroleum Economics and Risk Analysis
• Basin Analysis and Modelling
• Petroleum Geochemistry
• Petrophysics/Formation Evaluation
• Play Fairway and Prospect Evaluation
• Reservoir Characteristics and Modelling
• 3D Seismic Interpretation and Visualisation
• Wellsite and Operations Geology
• Management and Communication Skills

Career opportunities

Graduates from this programme typically follow career paths in the petroleum sector; with major international oil companies, service companies or the growing number of consultancies, government institutions or in the financial sector. Others have continued their studies with PhD training.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview: A good Honours degree in Geology, Geophysics, Petroleum Engineering or related discipline. Work experience may also be taken into account.

English language: Overseas students would also need to demonstrate competence in English language, for example, a minimum IELTS score of 6.5.