Integrated Petroleum Geoscience

Course description

Aberdeen has a long history of petroleum exploration and production, and the City is regarded as a world-leading hub for energy expertise and technologies. This is the only programme of its kind that is sitting directly at the heart of the UK energy industry. Running since 1973, the one-year MSc course in Integrated Petroleum Geoscience is internationally regarded as one of the top vocational training pathways into the energy industry. The programme equips students with the knowledge and skills to understand the subsurface and hydrocarbons stored there. The IPG programme is supported by a number of industry partners, including BP, Chrysaor, Equinor and Shell.

Providing world-renowned training in the practical and technical skills required by the global hydrocarbon exploration and production industry. The programme receives detailed input and support from industry, ensuring it remains current and relevant, particularly moving forward to a Net Zero economy.

IPG focuses on all aspects of upstream geoscience, from exploration, field appraisal and development, maximising recovery from mature fields, and ultimately considerations for repurposing depleted fields for carbon storage. Skills in analysing the subsurface are further developed by field work on outcrops and by hands-on experience with core logging.

The aim is to provide full training in Integrated Petroleum Geoscience. We aim to prepare students to perform a wide variety of technical functions in a multidisciplinary environment. Graduates from this programme are highly sought after and the training offered is also an ideal springboard into a career based on further research or PhD. Teaching methods aim to create a close parallel to the way industry works, providing students with the teamwork and communication skills required to transition from education to employment.

IPG is supported by industry partners including Chrysaor and Equinor who provide scholarships for a select number of students each year. The close ties between the University and industry including Baker Hughes, BP, Hess and Shell allows for multiple energy companies to provide training, projects and student mentorship each year.

Subjects

• Geology
• Petrology
• Science
• Earth sciences
• Geophysics
• Sedimentology
• Petrochemical engineering
• Exploration geology
• Engineering geology
• Mining geology
• Structural geology
• Hydrogeology
• Applied geology
• Engineering seismology