Table of Contents
Introduction
Petroleum Engineering is a specialized branch of engineering that deals with the exploration, extraction, production, and management of hydrocarbons, especially crude oil and natural gas. It combines principles of geology, drilling engineering, reservoir engineering, and production technology to optimize the recovery of valuable resources from the Earth’s subsurface. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination conducted jointly by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
The Petroleum Engineering GATE examination provides a platform for aspiring petroleum engineers to demonstrate their knowledge, technical expertise, and problem-solving skills in this challenging field. By qualifying in GATE, candidates can gain admission to postgraduate programs (Masters and Doctoral) in esteemed institutions across India, including IITs, NITs, and other universities offering petroleum engineering courses.
Petroleum Engineering Subject Code: PE
Topic wise detailed syllabus for GATE 2023: Petroleum Engineering
Linear Algebra
Matrix algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and eigenvectors.
Calculus
Functions of single variable, Limit, continuity and differentiability, Taylor series, Mean value theorems, Evaluation of definite and improper integrals, Partial derivatives, Total derivative, Maxima and minima, Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.
Differential Equations
First order equations (linear and nonlinear), Higher order linear differential equations with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Initial and boundary value problems, Laplace transforms, Solutions of one dimensional heat and wave equations and Laplace equation.
Complex Variables
Complex number, polar form of complex number, triangle inequality
Probability and Statistics
Definitions of probability and sampling theorems, Conditional probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distributions, Linear regression analysis.
Numerical Methods
Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations. Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule. Single and multi-step methods for numerical solution of differential equations.
Petroleum Exploration
Classification and description of some common rocks with special reference to clastic and nonclastic reservoir rocks. Origin, migration and accumulation of
Petroleum. Petroleum exploration methods.
Oil and Gas Well Drilling Technology
Well planning. Drilling method. Drilling rigs Rig operating systems. Drilling fluids function and properties. Drilling fluid maintenance equipment. Oil & gas well cementing operations. Drill bit types and their applications. Drill string & Casing string function, operations, selection & design. Drilling problems, their control & remedies. Directional drilling tools. Directional survey. Application of horizontal, multilateral, extended reach, slim wells.
Reservoir Engineering
Petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks. Coring and core analysis. Reservoir fluid properties. Phase behaviour of hydrocarbon system. Flow of fluids through porous media. Water and gas coning. Reservoir pressure measurements. Reservoir drives, drive mechanics and recovery factors. Reserve estimation &techniques.
Petroleum Production Operations
Well equipments. Well completion techniques. Well production problems and mitigation. Well servicing & Workover operations. Workover & completion fluids. Formation damage. Well stimulation techniques. Artificial lift techniques. Field processing of oil & gas. Storage and transportation of petroleum and petroleum products. Metering and measurements oil & gas. Production system analysis & optimization. Production testing. Multiphase flow in tubing and flow-lines. Nodal system analysis. Pressure vessels, storage tanks, shell and tube heat exchangers, pumps and compressors, LNG value chain.
Offshore Drilling and Production Practices
Offshore oil and gas operations & ocean environment. Offshore fixed platforms, Offshore mobile units, Station keeping methods like mooring & dynamic
positioning system. Offshore drilling from fixed platform, jack-up, ships and semi submersibles. Use of conductors and risers. Offshore well completion. Deep water applications of subsea technology. Offshore production: Oil processing platforms, water injection platforms, storage, SPM and SBM transportation and utilities. Deep water drilling rig. Deep water production system. Emerging deep water technologies.
Petroleum Formation Evaluation
Evaluation of petrophysical of sub-surface formations: Principles applications, advantages and disadvantages of SP, resistivity, radioactive, acoustic logs and types of tools used. Evaluation of CBL/VDL, USIT, SFT, RFT. Production logging tools, principles, limitations and applications. Special type of logging tools. Casing inspection tools (principles, applications and limitations), Formations micro scanner (FMS), NMR logging principles. Standard log interpretation methods. Cross-plotting methods.
Oil and Gas Well Testing
Diffusivity equation, derivation & solutions. Radius of investigation. Principle of superposition. Horner’s approximation. Drill Stem Testing. Pressure Transient Tests: Drawdown and build up-test analysis. Wellbore effects. Multilayer reservoirs. Injection well testing. Multiple well testing. Interference testing, Pulse testing, well-test analysis by use of type curves. Gas well testing.
Health Safety and Environment in Petroleum Industry
Health hazards in Petroleum Industry: Toxicity, Physiological, Asphyxiation, respiratory and skin effect of petroleum hydrocarbons, sour
gases. Safety System: Manual & automatic shutdown system, blow down systems. Gas detection system. Fire detection and suppression systems. Personal protection system & measures. HSE Policies. Disaster & crisis management in Petroleum Industry. Environment: Environment concepts, impact on eco-system, air, water and soil. The impact of drilling & production operations on environment, Environmental transport of petroleum wastes. Offshore environmental studies. Offshore oil spill and oil spill control. Waste treatment methods.
Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques
Basic principles and mechanism of EOR, Screening of EOR process. Concept of pattern flooding, recovery efficiency, permeability heterogeneity. Macroscopic and microscopic displacement efficiency. EOR methods: Chemical flooding, Miscible flooding, Thermal recoveries (steam stimulation, hot water & steam flooding, in-situ combustion), Microbial EOR.
Latest trends in Petroleum Engineering
Coal bed methane, shale gas, oil shale, gas hydrate, and heavy oil.
GATE Petroleum Engineering Result analysis
Gate Petroleum Engineering topper score by year
Year | Papers | Marks | Score |
2022 | GATE Petroleum Engineering | 82 | 980 |
2021 | GATE Petroleum Engineering | 90.67 | 954 |
2020 | GATE Petroleum Engineering | 76.67 | 1000 |
2019 | GATE Petroleum Engineering | – | 1000 |
2018 | GATE Petroleum Engineering | – | 1000 |
2017 | GATE Petroleum Engineering | _ | 1000 |
GATE Petroleum Engineering Cut-off by year
GATE Petroleum Engineering Cut Off Trends
Candidates can analyze the GATE Petroleum Engineering Previous Year Cut Off for the various years and understand the GATE PE Cut Off Trends. By analyzing the GATE PE Cut Off trends candidates can understand the highest and lowest marks set as cut-offs in the previous years.
Year | GEN | OBC | SC/ST/PwD |
2021 | 51.4 | 47.1 | 34.9 |
2020 | 39.8 | 35.8 | 26.5 |
2019 | 49.9 | 44.9 | 33.3 |
Number of students appearing for GATE Petroleum Engineering Exam
Year | Registered Candidates | Candidates appeared | Qualified candidates |
2022 | 2639 | 1838 | 338 |
2021 | – | 2153 | 465 |
2020 | 2187 | 1747 | _ |
2019 | 2428 | 2035 | – |
2018 | 2377 | 1940 | – |
2017 | 1964 | 1622 | 362 |
Previous Year Question Papers
Download previous year question papers from the official GATE website click here.
Video Links For Petroleum Engineering
1.Drilling Engineering Introductory Video
2.Reservoir Engineering
3. Petroleum Production Engineering
4. Petroleum Refinery Tutorial