Introduction to Oil and Gas
Introduction to Oil and Gas
This course provides a complete overview of the oil and gas industry from its origin, rigs and installations, to production processes and advanced techniques. If you’re new to the industry or ever wondered how it all works, this is the course for you.
Individuals selecting this programme will cover the following learning themes:
1 - History
2 - Rigs and Installations
3 - Offshore
4 - Geology and Hydrocarbon Formation
5 - Drilling
6 - Evaluation
7 - Completions
8 - Production
9 - Advanced Techniques and Intervention
1 – History
Named from the Greek for ‘rock’ and ‘oil’, ‘Petroleum’ or ‘Crude Oil’ is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid that is found in geological formations thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface.
Once extracted, crude oil is refined into a large number of consumer products, from petrol and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals.
While this short course can only cover a fraction of the history of oil and gas, we will try and uncover some of the most significant and interesting events, from its early use as medicine and building materials to the modern day.
The aim of this course is to teach you about the following subjects:
- The early uses of crude oil
- The origins of the oil industry
- How the oil industry grew and developed
- Some of the major accidents that have occurred
- How technology has pushed the industry forward
- What the future has in store for the industry
2 - Rigs and Installations
When seismic surveys indicate the possibility of hydrocarbons, it’s time to bring in the drilling rig. Be it on land or offshore – it must be the right rig for the job. Although there are many types of oil and gas rigs, they all include a package of specialist drilling equipment and carry out the same basic drilling operations.
This course will help you identify the different rig types and their capabilities and look at how rigs have evolved and how technology has advanced over time. You will also learn about the jobs and the people required to ensure safe and successful rig operations.
The aim of this course is to teach you about the following subjects:
- Rig types and capabilities
- Drilling rig equipment and how it has improved
- The people required to drill a well
3 – Offshore
The exploration for oil and gas offshore only began in earnest in the 1940s and 50s, but since that time offshore engineering has created many industries in towns and cities around the world.
Offshore drilling presents vast technological challenges. From the first converted barges used to drill in shallow lakes, to high tech deep water drill ships, offshore drilling has always been considered more hazardous and more expensive than onshore drilling, requiring a different mind-set to address the extremely harsh environments, the logistical challenges, the technological requirements and most importantly, the protection of people and assets.
The aim of this course is to teach you about the following subjects:
- The logistics
- The technological challenges faced
- Production considerations
- The increased hazards and safety considerations
- The cost implications
4 - Geology and Hydrocarbon Formation
The term ‘Geology’ is derived from the Greek words for ‘Earth’ and ‘Study’, and this module will explain why an understanding of geology is so important to the oil and gas industry. It will help you to identify the different types of rock, and rock formations that may contain hydrocarbons.
Our planet is around 4.6 billion years old, and this module will provide a brief history of the Earth, and show you how, over millions of years, the Earth has been shaped and hydrocarbons have formed.
Module One:
The aim of this module is to teach you about the following subjects:
- Geology and its importance to the petroleum industry
- Geological timescales
- Rocks and their formation
Module Two:
The aim of this module is to teach you about the following subjects:
- Hydrocarbon formation and storage
- Hydrocarbon exploration and discovery
5 – Drilling
Our drilling course is designed to provide learners with a general overview of the equipment and methods utilised to successfully drill a well. Subjects covered include drilling rig components and their functions, the composition of a typical drill string, the role of mud in the drilling operation, the importance of properly casing and cementing the wellbore, the different forms of Well Control and the actual techniques used for drilling the well.
Module One:
The aim of this module is to teach you about the following subjects:
- The major components of the drilling rig
- The different components that make up the Drill String
- The role of the Mud System
Module Two:
The aim of this module is to teach you about the following subjects:
- How Casing and Cementing of the well is carried out
- Different methods of well control
- The all important drilling operation itself
6 – Evaluation
Evaluation of a well is performed after we have collected data from numerous sources while drilling or at the end of drilling when the well has entered the reservoir. Data capture or ‘Logging’, as it is more commonly termed, gathers data from numerous activities and stages in the well so that its producing capabilities can be estimated and can be used to improve drilling and production performance in subsequent wells.
The aim of this course is to teach you about the following subjects:
- The methods used to evaluate a well
- The type of data gathered and how we use that data
- The different stages in a well and reservoir
- When evaluation is required
7 – Completions
Once a probable location of a reservoir has been found and an exploration well drilled and tested, we will be able to tell if the reservoir could produce hydrocarbons at an economic rate and if it contains a considerable amount for future production. Basically, the testing proves that the field is economically viable and worth investing the millions of dollars required to install a production facility, drill and complete new wells.
A production facility, which can range from a massive offshore structure to a simple onshore pipeline, would need to be built before we could go ahead and drill production wells and complete them. This module looks at the completion process.
The aim of this course is to teach you about the following subjects:
- How well completions provide the means to produce the hydrocarbons to surface
- How reservoir and mechanical considerations govern completion design
- The various different completion designs that may be utilised
- The components that must be incorporated into the design to optimise production in a safe manner
8 – Production
Production processes will vary from facility to facility. Some small onshore fields are serviced only with a simple pipeline yet some major offshore installations include gas dehydration, oil storage, gas re-compression, water injection and more.
The collection and processing of hydrocarbons is a very complex and varied subject. This module will look at how everyday products such as gasoline and diesel are produced from raw and natural oil and gas.
As well as chapters on facilities, transportation and refining, you will also discover, with help from an interactive Process System animation, how gas, oil and water are cleanly separated directly from a well.
Module One:
The aim of this module is to teach you about the following subjects:
- What makes up a production field and facility
- How oil and gas are separated within a process system
Module Two:
The aim of this module is to teach you about the following subjects:
- The manner of various transportation methods
- How different substances are made from hydrocarbons
9 - Advanced Techniques and Intervention
We know that technology has played a major role in the exploration for hydrocarbons. Influenced by both cost and safety, new and innovative equipment and techniques to extract oil and gas have been developed, and we will look at just a few of these in this course.
Here we will explain the reasons for, and the methods of, directional drilling, how and why we might choose to drill with an underbalanced wellbore, and take a look at some of the more common means of well intervention, such as Cased Hole Logging, Slickline and Coiled Tubing.
The aim of this course is to teach you about the following subjects:
- The reasons for, and methods of, directional drilling
- How and why we might choose to drill with an underbalanced wellbore
- Some of the more common means of well intervention
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