BTech Petroleum Engineering: Course Fees, Admission 2025, Syllabus, Top Colleges, Career Scope

Petroleum Engineering is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals with the application of knowledge of Chemical Engineering,  Geology, and Structural Engineering in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons from inside the earth's surface. In this field, you get to learn the nuances of heat transfer and petroleum exploration in off-shore and on-shore locations. You will also have the chance to develop fresh techniques for drawing gas and oil from old wells, which seems quite exciting.

Various courses such as undergraduate (BTech), postgraduate (MTech), and Diploma courses are offered in the field of Petroleum Engineering. After pursuing a major degree course in this field, you get exposed to a variety of career options and earn extremely well. Petroleum engineering jobs usually offer a good pay-scale and you may earn much more than an average engineer earns in any other field of Engineering.

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Some of the key benefits of pursuing BTech Petroleum Engineering course are given below:

Increasing Demand: The demand for oil and gas resources is continuously increasing because of the growing population of the country, and in order to cater to this demand, skilled petroleum engineers are highly sought after by the oil and gas, mining, refining, and petrochemical industries.
Good Earning Opportunities: There are a lot of earning opportunities available for Petroleum Engineering graduates. You can actively contribute to the oilfield operations by participating in the drilling and extraction processes. Plus, you can work with petrochemical companies, refineries, research and development organizations, and government agencies.
Sustainable Trends: The petroleum industry is evolving, with a growing focus on new techniques for extracting oil and gas from shale formations and tight reservoirs. Also, working on methods for cleaner production practices and reducing the environmental impact.

The duration of BTech Petroleum Engineering is generally 4 years in India. Almost all of the BTech degree courses are 4 years long. The B Tech Petroleum Engg. course syllabus is designed in such a manner as to give detailed knowledge to students about the oil and gas industry and field operations. You can also opt for lateral entry admission directly to the 2^nd year of BTech Petroleum Engineering if you have a 3-year Diploma in Petroleum/Oil Engineering or a related field.

For studying the BTech Petroleum Engineering course, you should have at least 50 to 60% marks in the PCM subjects in Class 12 board exams. Also, you must give relevant entrance tests for admission to the top colleges in India.

There are some BTech Petroleum Engineering colleges that also provide admission on a merit basis by taking into account your Class 12 marks. So, you should get excellent marks in the board exams if you wish to get in via merit, as the cutoffs are quite high.

Further, if you have a 3-year Diploma in Petroleum Engineering/Oil Engineering or a related field, you can directly get admission to the 2^nd year of the B Tech Petroleum Engg. course after having at least 45 to 50% marks in the Diploma final exams.

Almost all of the colleges offering the BTech Petroleum Engineering course release the admission application forms in the online mode at their college portal, with enough time for students to fill out the forms from the comfort of their homes. You just need to fill in all the details correctly, upload the scanned copies of the documents, and submit the application fee to complete and confirm your application status.

Having said that, a few colleges may still follow the old pattern of offline form filling; it is very less likely to happen, though. So, it is always better to check the college websites for accurate information.

The selection criteria for BTech Petroleum/Oil Engineering course is based on both Class 12 merit and entrance exam marks. Some colleges give admission solely on the basis of the entrance exam score for which you have to get excellent marks in the exam as the competition is high.
Meanwhile, a lot of colleges also give admission on the basis of the marks in the Class 12 board exams. These colleges also take extra rounds like the PI or GD.
Also, there may be a few colleges that give 50-50 weightage to both the parameters. So, you should check the college websites for best information.

The first and most important step is to check the eligibility criteria for admission to the BTech Petroleum Engineering course, which is usually having at least 50 to 60% marks in the PCM subjects. After that, you need to give relevant entrance tests and get excellent marks in the same.

You must also fill out the college application forms before the closing of the application window to have a smooth admission process. After the exam results are out and you've got your marks, you need to apply for the college counseling process via the college portal.

You must go for the counseling process that is meant for seat allotment on the basis of your marks and rank in the exam. After getting the seat, you should go to the allotted college, pay the B Tech Petroleum Engineering fees, and start attending classes as per the academic calendar.

The time involved in the Petroleum/Oil Engineering admission process varies from one college to another. In general, it may take up to a few months from the release of application forms to the final seat allotment. Every college follows their own admission guideline set by the committee and hence, the time involved can be different for various Petroleum Engg. colleges.

Well, yes. There is a marks relaxation policy in place for certain categories of students, like the SC/ST/OBC/PwD categories, wherein the colleges usually give them a relaxation of 5% in marks in the eligibility criteria and the entrance exam merit at the time of admission. For example, if a general category student has to score 60% marks in Class 12 to be eligible for admission to the course, a reserved category student has to get 55% marks.
The marks relaxation criteria might differ from one college to another, for which you should check the official college websites for better clarity.

For admission to the BTech Petroleum Engg. course, there are various entrance exams that can serve as a gateway for admission. You can check the number of colleges accepting various exam scores in the table below and then decide accordingly.

Note: Some colleges accept multiple entrance exam scores.

The preparation time for the BTech Petroleum Engineering entrance exams cannot be said with certainty. To get excellent marks and rank in the entrance test, you should start preparing at least 6 to 8 months before the final exam date so that you have a good amount of time for revision and studying the entire exam syllabus section-wise.
The competition is quite high, especially at top colleges like the IITs, for which you must work extra hard and get excellent marks in the entrance test by preparing well in advance.

The level of competitiveness and difficulty of the entrance exams for BTech Petroleum Engineering depends on the specific exam, whether it is conducted at the national/state/college levels, the number of student applications in general, and the estimated number of seats available for the course at top colleges. But, in general the national-level entrances are considered to be highly competitive and require extra effort from your end.

Yes, of course. You can definitely get admission to the BTech in Petroleum Engineering course without giving the entrance exam. There are more than 30 colleges that give admission to the course on the basis of Class 12 board exam marks and may take extra rounds like the GD or PI in such cases.

Interestingly, there are around 12 colleges in Tamil Nadu where students can into top institutions via the TNEA Counselling after Class 12.

The BTech Petroleum Engineering syllabus includes both core and elective subjects for you to study. The core subjects are meant to give a foundation understanding of the field and hence are compulsory to study in every semester. Talking about the elective subjects, you can choose the ones you find interesting and easy to grasp.

Some important subjects in the BTech Petroleum Engineering course are given below:

• Chemical Process Calculations
• Petroleum Geology
• Surveying and Offshore Structures
• Process Heat Transfer
• Petroleum Exploration Methods
• Drilling Technology
• Well Logging & Drilling Evaluation
• Petroleum Reservoir Engineering
• Petroleum Refinery Engineering
• Well Completion Testing & Servicing

The syllabus for the B Tech Petroleum Engineering course offers a lot of interesting elective subject choices to students who can pick subjects as per their interests and understanding, something they find easy-going and fun to study and explore.

 Some of the popular BTech Petroleum Engg. elective subjects are as follows:

• Surface Production Operations
• Horizontal Well Technology
• Offshore Engineering
• Shale Gas Reservoir Engineering
• Petroleum Reservoir Modelling & Simulation
• Pipeline Maintenance Engineering
• Petrochemical Engineering
• Advanced Oil Recovery Techniques

The syllabus for the BTech in Petroleum Engg. course tries to strike the right balance between theoretical learning in the classroom and practical training through field visits and industrial projects. The classroom lectures incorporate the core subject modules and specialised elective courses, along with the practical component of workshops, fieldwork, and research projects.

There are around 81 B Tech Petroleum Engineering colleges in India, out of which 54 are private colleges, 21 fall under the jurisdiction of the government, and 1 is public-private. Some popular private B Tech Petroleum Engg. colleges include Graphic Era University, Manipal University (Jaipur), MIT-WPU (Pune), DIT University, and Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology and Research.

Coming to the popular govt. colleges for BTech Petroleum Engg., you can go for IIT Kharagpur, IIT Dhanbad, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Calcutta University, etc.

The B Tech Petroleum Engineering fees at popular Indian colleges vary depending on the college where one is studying the course, whether it is a government college or private college, the college location, All-Indian ranking, placement records, etc.

The average BTech Petroleum Engineering course fee is between INR 2 lakh and INR 10 lakh. The course fee is generally higher at private colleges because of their infrastructure, industry connections, and other facilities.

The college ranking plays an important role when selecting the BTech Petroleum Engineering course because the college experience of 4 years can be a game changer for you in the future when you enter the job market and look for decent earning opportunities and salary packages. Recruiters give importance to graduates from top colleges owing to the skill development and academic knowledge provided by the institute.

Having said that, it should not be the only parameter; you should also check for the course fee, teaching faculty, infrastructure, placements, and industry connections to make the final decision.

Of course, yes. Top colleges do give placements after the completion of the BTech Petroleum Engineering course to students who have the right attitude, passion, and skills to excel in the field and drive productivity and profits for the recruiter. There are placement drives in the final year of college and placement fairs where top recruiters visit the college campuses in large numbers to hire a pool of students.
You need to work on your skill development through internships and project work and prepare well for the interview round to get hired with a healthy salary package in hand.

The BTech Petroleum Engineering course can lead to a plethora of earning opportunities for fresh graduates as the oil and gas industry has high earning potential because of the ever-growing demand for these resources. You can expect a decent pay after completing your graduation in Petroleum/Oil Engineering.

Some of the popular job profiles for you to explore include:

• Petroleum Engineer
• Petroleum Reservoir Engineer
• Drilling Engineer
• Production Technologist
• Well Testing Engineer
• Petrochemical Engineer
• Oil Exploration Engineer

The salary for BTech Petroleum Engineering freshers in India depends on a lot of factors like academic record, skill set, internship experience, company location, etc. Initially, you can get approximately INR 4 LPA to INR 6 LPA after completing the BTech Petroleum Engg. course.
As you earn a few years of experience in the field, you can easily earn between INR 6 LPA and INR 10 LPA at the mid-senior level. For senior-level positions, the salary can go up to INR 15 LPA. Recruiters pay more to people who have the right set of skills and experience and help in their business growth.

Internships provide a great experience for all the budding engineers as they help you to learn the necessary skills and get hands-on experience in the Petroleum Engg. field. Candidates are required to undergo industrial training, especially in their third year and final year of BTech degree course. Along with that, they are also required to work on a final research project which will give them exposure to the nuances of this field.

Some of the top recruiters hiring Petroleum Engineering graduates consists of top oil exploration companies or petrochemical industries or government agencies such as:

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Candidates can further their studies by taking up master’s degree in the same field as MTech or PhD or other subfields of  Chemical Engineering. They can also be engaged as Production Engineers or Refining Engineers or Team Leader in any of the petroleum or the petrochemical industries.

Furthermore, Petroleum engineers involve themselves in technologies and techniques of the energy business by developing methods of increased recovery of hydrocarbon resources. They take an active part in the drilling operations, formation modeling and, at the same time, the elaboration of the best ways and methods of achieving production.

Oil and Gas Exploration: Seismic surveys and drilling prospects, and evaluating the probable prospect reserves.

Drilling Operations: Planning and overseeing operations for drilling more oil and natural gas.

Reservoir Engineering: Analyzing reservoir characteristics to optimize hydrocarbon recovery.

Production Engineering: Maximizing the efficiency of oil and gas production methods.

Well Testing and Evaluation: The supervision and assessment of the well performance.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): Applying measures that improve the procedures of getting more reservior hydrocarbons.

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Along with a good hold on Science and Mathematics, good writing, problem-solving and presentation skills are required for being a good petroleum engineer. The ability to work with others on teams is also an important trait required among the engineers. Petroleum Engineers work in difficult terrains ranging from deserts, coastal areas etc. Therefore, they must be hardworking and patient enough to work for extended hours. 

The main job opportunity is as an engineer in a petroleum refinery. There are number of private as well as government refineries. One may apply for the post of an engineer after graduation. Some big petroleum refineries in India are- Reliance Refinery (Jamnagar), Essar (Jamnagar), Cochin Refinery, etc.

One may also become an engineer in government enterprises such as ONGC and OIL. Crude oil exploration and extraction business sector is also one such field where BTech Petroleum Engg. graduates may find jobs. One may also get work in consultation business, which deals with oil and natural gas as well as petroleum resources.

Some chemical industries (especially fertilizer and plastics industries) also deal with oil and petroleum to a large extent. One may also find job in such chemical factories. Also, to a small extent, pharmaceutical sector provides job opportunities to fresh graduates. This is due to the fact that some medicines make use of petroleum and is related by products to an extent.