PE Programs Evolution Under Energy Expansion: Global Analysis of Current Status

With the ever-increasing concerns about global warming, traditional oil and gas companies started rebranding as energy companies, diversifying and expanding their energy portfolio beyond fossil fuel. This has steered job market opportunities and encouraged Petroleum Engineering (PE) programs in different universities to diversify their programs and direct them towards energy rather than traditional PE. This study investigates the recent impact of this energy expansion on PE BSc, MSc, and PhD programs worldwide. This paper is an extension of our previous work (SPE-216532-MS) that discussed the courses and skills needed for the undergraduate PE curriculum to meet future energy requirements. Nevertheless, the current study covers the changes (if any) in BSc, MSc, and PhD degree programs related to PE or Energy Systems, as well as offered minors, concentrations, and professional degrees toward better preparation of future engineers for the energy market. The analysis was conducted on PE programs of top universities in different regions worldwide. These programs were selected based on different 2024 world university rankings, including Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Times Higher Education (THE), US News and World Report, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The data collection was mainly based on a survey shared with department chairs at different PE universities, supported by the public domain of available data on university web pages. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed on the data collected, where very interesting trends were observed. The results obtained from this study showed clear differences in PE education at the three different levels of BSc, MSc, and PhD of the seven different regions investigated, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. The study showed that most of the surveyed PE-related universities around the globe (82%) have been affected by energy expansion. While this energy expansion effect has been mainly limited to the content of the program (59%), some cases showed changes in department/program name, and in very few cases, the program has been closed. However, the percentage of major disruption (41%) is expected to grow within the coming years. The changes in PE-related programs have been mainly concentrated at the BSc level (27%). Furthermore, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage) is the most important and incorporated topic in PE-related programs at three levels, followed by hydrogen, geothermal, and AI/ML, particularly for the graduate MSc and PhD levels. A considerable percentage (39%) of the surveyed universities/departments offers energy-related certifications in minors, concentrations, professional degrees, or graduate certificates to ensure graduates are marketable and prepared for the future energy market. Regional analysis of survey results showed that energy adaptation has affected each region but to a different extent, where African universities are the least affected. Also, all universities in Australia changed the program or department name, and no energy-related minor or professional degrees are available in South America yet. The findings obtained in this study are based on the universities surveyed in each region. They could be justified by energy resource availability and affordability, as well as climate action commitment. This study is one of the first to track the current shift in the status of undergraduate and graduate petroleum engineering programs around the globe. The paper highlights the new global trends in PE education and reflects the disparity in different regions worldwide. Based on the findings of this study, several actions can be taken by different universities to better prepare their future graduates for the new energy market.