Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College · Courses
PNG
47 courses with the subject PNG, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PNG 301Introduction to Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering3
/Maximum of 3 s The first part of the course will introduce the student to the design and implementation of the systems used in the extraction of oil and gas, including terminology and basic calculations in drilling engineering, geology, production, reservoir, and facilities engineering. The course will give an initial overview of the history of the oil industry and the origins of petroleum and natural gas reservoirs, followed by a description of the conventional and unconventional reservoir types. All aspects of petroleum engineering from upstream to downstream will be included in this discussion, including transportation, marketing, and environmental impacts. The remainder of the course will present the various key disciplines in petroleum and natural gas engineering in the chronological order of how the disciplines interact. Key problems in each of these disciplines will be reviewed and solved, using Excel and introductory statistics/computer programming (using Matlab). First, the discipline of drilling engineering will be presented. This will focus on the different types of wells, bits, casing designs, and completion techniques. Topics in the discipline of reservoir engineering will be presented next and will include basic petrophysics, reservoir types and fluids, as well as basic extraction methods. The life cycle of a reservoir and its efficient and environmental friendly management will be discussed, including enhanced oil recovery methods, such as carbon dioxide injection and surfactant flooding. Topics in production engineering will be presented next, and will center on tubing design, artificial lift, stimulation using acids and fracturing, and cased-hole logging. Topics in facility engineering, the last discipline to be discussed, will focus on surface facilities such as separators, gas and water gathering systems, pipelines, stock tanks, chokes, and recycle plants. Finally, differences between unconventional and conventional extractions and systems will be described as this is now critical to the energy security of the United States. Focus here will be on shale properties, fluid property changes owing to tiny pores, diffusion, absorption, and hydraulic fracturing. The course will explain how fracturing in shale reservoirs differs from conventional ones. Transport of oil or gas from these tight rock
This course introduces students to rock properties, fluid properties, and interaction between rock and fluids. It covers fundamentals of reservoir rock and fluid properties, including lithology of reservoirs, porosity and permeability of rocks, Darcy's law, and distribution of rock properties, saturation, wettability, capillary pressure, effective and relati permeability, phase behavior of single- and multi-component systems, compositional and black-oil models, solution gas-oil ratios, formation volume factor, compressibility, density, viscosity, and interfacial tension. These topics are covered in the context of fundamental properties needed to engineer subsurface reservoirs for applications in the energy sector, including conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon production, energy or gas storage, carbon geo-storage, wastewater disposal, groundwater, and geothermal energy. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: MATH 140
Old Listing Effective Through Spring 2026: Systematic study of oil reservoir rocks and fluids; their interrelation applied to petroleum engineering. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: PHYS 211 Enforced Concurrent at Enrollment: PNG 405 Changes Effective Summer 2026: d • Changed Course Description • Removed Prerequisites • Changed Concurrents
PNG 411Introduction to Petroleum and Natural Gas Extraction1
Introduction to the design and implementation of the systems used in the extraction of oil and gas. Not intended for petroleum and natural gas engineering majors. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: PHYS 211
PNG 420Applied Reservoir Analysis and Secondary Recovery
ve 3 Credits/Maximum of 999 P N G 420 Applied Reservoir Analysis and Secondary Recovery (3) This course addresses two major issues in petroleum engineering: water influx and water flooding. The displacement of oil or gas by water is a complicated physical process that has a great impact on recovery efficiencies. The first objective of the course is to merge the material balance method and transient flow solutions for the aquifer into one analysis tool for understanding and predicting water influx cases. Several analytical and numerical methods are presented including: linear and radial diffusion equation solutions, super position, Hurst simplified, Schilthuis and Hurst modified. The second objective of the course is to understand the fundamentals of displacement theory and practice. The extension of the Buckley and Leverett water flooding theory is presented for three-phase flow. Three-phase relative permeabilities are determined from experimental data. Several geometrical patterns are discussed in the course including: five spots, staggered line drive, direct line drive, four spots, seven spots, and nine spots. The efficiency of each pattern is determined. Strategies for selecting a pattern for special cases are presented. The behavior of each pattern with time, including oil recover, is an integral part of the course.The students use our computational facility throughout the course. They write material balance models and use large reservoir simulators for studying water influx cases. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: [MATH 251 or (MATH 250 and MATH 252)] and PNG 410 and (CMPSC 200 or CMPSC 201)
This course examines the mathematical basis for pressure analysis. Both theory and the practice of pressure testing techniques are considered. The objectives are to: 1) Understand fundamentals of pressure transient analysis (well testing) for estimation of key formation parameters for a variety of flow models, including the line source solution, finite wellbore radius with wellbore storage and skin, naturally fractured reservoirs, and infinite and finite conductivity fractures; 2) Solve pressure transient problems using analytical solutions, computer programs, classical graphical methods, and modern well test software; 3) Understand sources of error and assumptions made; and 4) Learn about practical well test evaluation and well configurations for both tight and conventional reservoirs. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: [MATH 251 or (MATH 250 and MATH 252)] and PNG 420
Old Listing Effective Through Summer 2026: PNG 430 is a senior-level undergraduate class where the student explores the fundamentals of hydrocarbon reservoir simulation as the area of reservoir engineering in which computer power becomes essential for predicting complex processes and fluid behavior involved in fluid transport in porous media. In this class, numerical models are built on the basis of finite-difference and finite-volume approximations of governing equations of fluid flow in porous media, which integrate conservation of mass, isothermal fluid PVT behavior, and Darcy's flow approximations. Topics include the use of Taylor Series, volume integrals, grid types, treatment of external (reservoir limit) and internal (wellbore) boundary conditions, generalized transmissibility calculations, matrix solution methods and solution of systems of simultaneous algebraic equations, treatment of space and time-derivatives, explicit and implicit schemes, stability analysis, and applications to single-phase (incompressible, slightly-compressible and compressible fluid) numerical
Old Listing Effective Through Spring 2026: Formation Evaluation covers the characterization of oil and gas reservoir formations and methods for quantifying the volume of hydrocarbon resources therein. The course focuses on the petrophysical interpretation of wireline logs to meet these objectives, and also covers the operation and underlying physical principles of those tools. Topics covered include: the basic procedure of open hole logging, calculation of a geothermal gradient, understanding raster and digital well log files, quick look interpretation, reservoir volumetrics, understanding the physics of and cultivating the ability to interpret data from the traditional logging suite (gamma ray, spontaneous potential, resistivity devices, density, neutron, and sonic logs), coring, wireline formation testing, nuclear magnetic resonance logging, and interpretation in unconventional reservoirs. Best practices and limitations of the various well log tools are also discussed. Students are expected to perform complex engineering calculations using raw field data gathered from these tools, both from raster and digital well log files. As a "writing across the curriculum" course, students develop their technical writing skills through homework assignments that present their analyses in written reports. Enforced Concurrent at Enrollment: PNG 405 and PNG 406 Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3325 Changes Effective Summer 2026: • Changed Course Description • Added Prerequisites • Removed Concurrents
/Maximum of 1 Using the most advanced simulator system, industry professionals teach students how to avoid and resolve operational difficulties. Students who successfully complete the course receive a certificate.
This course provides a comprehensive review of the engineering principles and technologies used for geo-storage of energy, such as natural gas and hydrogen, carbon sequestration, and fluid disposal in subsurface formations. Students will develop an understanding of how sedimentary basins, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs, saline aquifers, or salt caverns can be utilized for storage of these fluids. The course topics include global energy systems and the energy transition, economics of geo-storage, surface facilities, structural geology of storage and seal rocks, related thermodynamics and phase behavior analysis, storage volume calculations, fluid migration, caprock integrity, as well as s, environmental risks and applications in enhanced recovery techniques. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: PNG 405
Old Listing Effective Through Spring 2026: This course starts with the single phase flow in porous media and then followed with the multi-phase flow in porous media and pipes. Hence a basic understanding of the fluid flow and different flow regimes are required to follow the course.While discussing these issues in the class, students will learn the role of compressibility on fluid flow in the rock, understanding the concept of compressibility requires some background in strength of materials.Additionally, while discussing tubing and casing design requirements in the course, students need to check burst and collapse loads which cannot be done without any previous knowledge about stress analysis taught in Strength of Materials.Therefore, the instructor is expecting that students have basic understanding of fluid flow and stress concepts and based on this foundation, new concepts about multiphase flow and well construction will be taught.Similarly, textbooks in this subject are prepared by assuming that the reader has a basic knowledge in fluid mechanics and strength of materials. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: EMCH 210 and Enforced Concurrent at Enrollment: PNG 410 Changes Effective Summer 2026: • Changed Course Description • Changed Prerequisites • Removed Concurrents
Old Listing Effective Through Spring 2026: Measurement and analyses of the physical and chemical properties of hydrocarbon fluid systems in a production environment. P N G 482 Production Engineering Laboratory (1) The task of production engineers is to optimize the extraction, treatment and delivery rate of hydrocarbons. For this optimization to be realistic, quantitative values of some relevant parameters and properties that characterize the system should be known preferably by way of measurements. It is the primary objective of this laboratory course to give the student an understanding of the available measurement techniques; an opportunity to gain hands- on experience in carrying out the experiments as well as operating the apparatus and some practice in the art of technical report writing. The Production Engineering Laboratory has been designed to expose the student to the principles and procedures of production engineering for oil and gas analysis (physicochemical characterization and quality control) and the transport of fluids in pipes and conduits. The main objective is to familiarize students with the basic measurements that must be taken in production monitoring and control, as well as basic production engineering principles. It is also aimed to enhance the error analysis, critical evaluation and technical report writing skills of the student. Major pieces of equipment in this laboratory include: viscosimeters, oxygen bomb calorimeters, gas chromatograph, densitometers, centrifuges, dead weight testers, dew point testers, and a meter run setup. Laboratory experiences include, but are not limited to, the determination of density of clear organic substances and petroleum distillates that can be handled as liquids at test temperatures between 10 and 40 °C using digital density meters, the determination of the API gravity (or specific gravity) of crude oil, petroleum products normally handled as liquids (e.g. stabilized crude oil, stabilized gasoline, napthane, kerosene, gas oils, lubricating oils, and non-waxy fuel oils) and alcohols using hydrometer
/Maximum of 3 The course starts with a general overview of different types of unconventional reservoirs and their geological and petrophysical properties. Then, due to the significance of natural fractures in economic production from these reservoirs, special attention will be given to natural fracture characterization. In the next step, drilling and completio techniques adopted for these formations will be discussed. In the second part of the course, the emphasis will be on hydraulic fracturing design and collecting data (such as in situ stresses and rock mechanical properties) for a proper fracture design. Injection tests and Nolte-Smith analysis will be introduced toward the end of the course for fracture Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 4673 assessment purposes. The course will be finished with an overview of fractured well productivity analysis and decline curve analysis in unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: EME 303 and Enforced Concurrent: EMCH 210
PNG 490Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Capstone Design3
Old Listing Effective Through Spring 2026: PNG 490 serves as the capstone design experience for Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering majors. As such, students will integrate knowledge acquired in other PNG courses and apply it toward the design of a field development plan. Working in teams, students will start by characterizing the target reservoir or geologic formation using available field data. The student teams will then design the drilling and completion of wells in the target formation, while considering technical and economic constraints. The overall field development plan will consider a variety of factors, including (but not limited to): the timing o drilling wells, the forecasted production from these wells, acquisitions and divestitures, surface facilities, and environmental and societal impact assessments. Candidate plans will be compared based on financial metrics, such as rate of return and net present value. The semester-long capstone experience will culminate in a final presentation and a final report. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: PNG 430 and PNG 440W and PNG 450 and EME 460 Changes Effective Summer 2026: • Changed Prerequisites
PNG 491Capstone Design in Drilling and Completions1
Application of the concepts of reservoir, production, drilling and completions, and economics to petroleum engineering design projects. Engineering design by definition is the integration of knowledge and skills acquired through experience, reading and formal instruction into a final product, the design. To that end, this course is the second course of a 3-course, 3-semester, sequence that will result in a comprehensive capstone-engineering project. As such, PNG 491 will utilize the knowledge gained from PNG 450, 451, and 475 to the project design initiated in PNG 490. The class will be divided into teams and students will be evaluated on the basis of their contribution to the team effort. All reports and presentations will be presented as a product of the team. Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: PNG 450 and PNG 475 and PNG 490
Integration of petroleum and natural gas engineering concepts to project design. Engineering design by definition is the integration of knowledge and skills acquired through experience, reading and formal instruction into a final product, the design. To that end, this course is the third course of a 3-course, 3-semester, sequence that will result in a comprehensive capstone-engineering project. As such, P N G 492 will utilize the knowledge gained from three semesters of formal instruction to the project design initiated in P N G 490 and continued on in P N G 491. n Course material will include the application of spreadsheet programming to petroleum and natural gas project design and its use in project economic analysis and risk analysis. The class will be divided into teams and students will be evaluated on the basis of their contribution to the
/Maximum of 6 This course involves creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised by a faculty member. This course is for students who want to tackle a problem in petroleum and subsurface energy engineering, which involves a review of the literature and conducting theoretical or experimental research. The course requires the submission of a report, paper, or thesis, demonstrating the student's ability to conduct research, prepare a technical report, and contribute to the field of subsurface energy engineering.
/Maximum of 6 This course involves creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised by a faculty member. This course is for students who want to tackle a problem in petroleum and subsurface energy engineering, which involves a review of the literature and conducting theoretical or experimental research. The course requires the submission of a report, paper, or thesis, demonstrating the student's ability to conduct research, prepare a technical report, and contribute to the field of subsurface energy engineering.
/Maximum of 18 This course is for independent study of a topic related to petroleum and subsurface energy engineering, under the direction of a faculty member, that falls outside the scope of formal courses. It is not intended for scientific research.
This course provides students with fundamental skills to formulate problems of fluid flow in porous media in the context of reservoir engineering applications. Emphasis is placed on description of petrophysical properties, characterization methods, formulation of the equations that govern flow in porous media, and analytical solutions to steady-state flow problems.
PNG 502Coupled Flow and Deformation in Porous Media3
This course is a foundational course in the study of unsteady problems of flow, deformation, and transport in porous media. General topics of interest include continuum mechanics formulation of porous media, along with related mathematical solution development techniques including Green¿s functions, integral transforms, convolution integrals, and asymptotic expansion methods. The course further provides an overview of advanced modeling tools such as dual-continuum method and porochemoelasticity.
PNG 511Numerical Solution of the Partial Differential Equations of Flow3
in Porous Media Differencing schemes for the partial differential equations of single-phase flow; application to flow of gas and mixing in porous media.
Mathematical analysis of complex reservoir behavior and combination drives; numerical methods for the solution of behavior equations; recent developments.
Theory and design of miscible methods of oil recovery, current field applications, including hydrocarbon, CO2, micellar/polymer, alkaline, and inert gas.
Thermodynamic science applied to hydrocarbon mixtures and problems in petroleum and natural gas engineering. General topics include study of phase diagrams of hydrocarbon fluids and application of thermodynamic rigor to phase equilibrium problems in the petroleum and natural gas industry. Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 1325
This course provides an in-depth analysis of the technical aspects of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, such as geochemistry, geomechanics, storage mechanisms, and transport processes. The course is designed to contribute to the student's ability to advance the frontiers of knowledge about the characteristics and development of unconventional reservoirs. The course presents conceptual knowledge and mathematical models necessary for exploration, characterization, reserve estimation, and performance analysis of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. This content is critical for the student given that conventional hydrocarbon resources are known not to be able to meet growing demand for energy to fuel worldwide economic growth, which has triggered the developments of unconventional resources such as Marcellus Shale.
This course focuses on the quantitative characterization of oil and gas reservoirs, principally through analysis of seismic survey data, well logs, and by employing geostatistics. Emphasis is placed on the use of seismic surveys in the oil and natural gas industries, including interpretation, inversion, rock physics, and ties to well logs. One major goal of this course is to expose the student to a variety of advanced analytical tools used to quantitatively interpret seismic data. The tools we will talk about are specifically geared towards characterizing petroleum and natural gas reservoirs, but may be adapted for other purposes.
In petroleum and natural gas engineering, production and completion operations are critical components of field development operations. This course presents a high-level treatment of modern petroleum production engineering, including well deliverability from vertical and horizontal wells and diagnosis of well performance including production logging. In this course, the function of the production engineer is envisioned in the context of well design, stimulation, and artificial lift.
/Maximum of 3 Continuing seminars that consist of individual lectures by faculty, students or outside speakers on energy and mineral engineering issues.
/Maximum of 9 Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
/Maximum of 9 Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one yea or semester.
