Engineering

Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering

The Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering is a postgraduate programme that prepares professionals for advanced practice in petroleum exploration, reservoir engineering, drilling, and production. The programme provides specialised training in applied geology, reservoir engineering, drilling techniques, petroleum production, and natural gas engineering.

Core areas include applied geology, numerical methods, reservoir engineering, petroleum equipment design, environmental control, natural gas engineering, petroleum production operations, advanced drilling techniques, well logging and testing, and thesis. Students engage with both theoretical and practical work through coursework, laboratory sessions, and research.

The programme is offered by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology through the Department of Mining, Materials and Petroleum Engineering. JKUAT is a public university offering the programme over two years through full-time and part-time study, combining coursework with research.

Students develop competencies in reservoir characterisation, drilling technology, petroleum production, natural gas engineering, well logging, environmental control, and research. The programme includes coursework, examinations, and a supervised research thesis, preparing graduates for petroleum industry roles in exploration, drilling, production, and management.

JKUAT charges approximately KES 362,000 total for the programme (~KES 181,000/year), based on JKUAT College of Engineering masters fee structures. No private university confirmed offering this exact programme. Entry requires at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree in Engineering, Geology, or Geophysics from a recognised institution.

Graduates pursue careers as petroleum engineers, reservoir engineers, drilling engineers, production engineers, petroleum geologists, and petroleum consultants across oil and gas companies, government agencies, research institutions, and consulting firms.

Skills Required

Applied Petroleum Geology and Exploration
Reservoir Engineering and Characterisation
Drilling Engineering and Techniques
Petroleum Production Operations
Natural Gas Engineering
Well Logging and Testing
Petroleum Equipment Design
Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering
Numerical Methods for Petroleum Engineering
Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

Applied Petroleum Geology and Exploration
Numerical Methods and Statistics for Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir Engineering and Characterisation
Petroleum Equipment Design
Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering
Natural Gas Engineering
Petroleum Production Operations
Advanced Drilling Techniques
Well Logging and Testing
Thesis Research

Certifications

Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) Registration
Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Membership

Specializations

Reservoir Engineering

Focuses on reservoir engineering, covering reservoirs, characterisation, modelling, simulation, and managing reservoir engineering.

Drilling Engineering

Examines drilling engineering, covering drilling, techniques, wells, operations, and managing drilling engineering.

Petroleum Production

Covers petroleum production, covering production, operations, optimisation, management, and managing petroleum production.

Natural Gas Engineering

Focuses on natural gas engineering, covering gas, processing, transportation, utilisation, and managing natural gas engineering.

Petroleum Geology

Examines petroleum geology, covering geology, exploration, sedimentary, basins, and managing petroleum geology.

Environmental Control in Petroleum Operations

Covers environmental control, covering environment, pollution, control, management, and managing environmental control in petroleum engineering.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 181,000
Job market: Moderate

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time, Part-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 15 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Applied Petroleum Geology and Exploration
Numerical Methods and Statistics for Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir Engineering and Characterisation
Petroleum Equipment Design
Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering
Natural Gas Engineering
Petroleum Production Operations
Advanced Drilling Techniques
Well Logging and Testing
Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

Applied Geology and Exploration
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines geology, exploration, sedimentary, basins, and managing petroleum geology and exploration.
Numerical Methods and Statistics for Petroleum Engineering
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers numerical, methods, statistics, modelling, and managing numerical methods for petroleum engineering.
Petroleum Equipment Design
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines equipment, design, specification, selection, and managing petroleum equipment design.
Basics of Reservoir Engineering
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers reservoirs, characterisation, properties, modelling, and managing reservoir engineering fundamentals.
Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines environment, pollution, control, management, and managing environmental control in petroleum operations.
Natural Gas Engineering
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers gas, processing, transportation, utilisation, and managing natural gas engineering.
Petroleum Production Operations
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines production, operations, optimisation, management, and managing petroleum production operations.
Advanced Reservoir Engineering
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers advanced reservoirs, simulation, modelling, recovery, and managing advanced reservoir engineering.
Advanced Drilling Techniques
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines advanced drilling, techniques, technologies, operations, and managing advanced drilling techniques.
Research Methodology
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers research, design, methods, ethics, and conducting research in petroleum engineering, preparing students for their thesis.
Well Logging and Testing
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines logging, testing, analysis, interpretation, and managing well logging and testing.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 112 creditsCore
Original supervised research thesis on a petroleum engineering topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and petroleum engineering knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Reservoir Engineering
Focuses on reservoir engineering, covering reservoirs, characterisation, modelling, simulation, and managing reservoir engineering.
Drilling Engineering
Examines drilling engineering, covering drilling, techniques, wells, operations, and managing drilling engineering.
Petroleum Production
Covers petroleum production, covering production, operations, optimisation, management, and managing petroleum production.
Natural Gas Engineering
Focuses on natural gas engineering, covering gas, processing, transportation, utilisation, and managing natural gas engineering.
Petroleum Geology
Examines petroleum geology, covering geology, exploration, sedimentary, basins, and managing petroleum geology.
Environmental Control in Petroleum Operations
Covers environmental control, covering environment, pollution, control, management, and managing environmental control in petroleum engineering.

A day as a student

A typical day during the MSc in Petroleum Engineering programme combines lectures, laboratory sessions, seminars, group discussions, and independent study. Sessions cover applied geology, reservoir engineering, drilling techniques, and petroleum production. Applied geology sessions examine geology, exploration, sedimentary, basins, and managing petroleum geology. Reservoir engineering sessions cover reservoirs, characterisation, modelling, simulation, and managing reservoir engineering. Drilling sessions cover drilling, techniques, wells, operations, and managing drilling engineering. Production sessions cover production, operations, optimisation, management, and managing petroleum production. Natural gas sessions cover gas, processing, transportation, utilisation, and managing natural gas engineering. Well logging sessions cover logging, testing, analysis, interpretation, and managing well logging and testing. Environmental control sessions cover environment, pollution, control, management, and managing environmental control. Numerical methods sessions cover numerical, methods, statistics, modelling, and managing numerical methods for petroleum engineering. Laboratory sessions provide practical experience in rock properties, fluid analysis, and well testing techniques. Seminars provide opportunities for presenting research findings and discussing current issues in petroleum engineering. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on a petroleum engineering topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

Programme directly supports Kenya's emerging oil and gas industry.
Programme covers comprehensive petroleum engineering from exploration to production.
Graduates are eligible for EBK registration and SPE membership.
Relatively affordable fees at approximately KES 362,000 total (~KES 181,000/year).

Against it

Only one university (JKUAT, public) confirmed offering this specific programme.
No private university confirmed offering this programme.
Exact fee for Petroleum Engineering not separately listed; estimated from JKUAT engineering faculty rates.
Energy transition may affect long-term career prospects in petroleum engineering.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 332 engineering courses

Public181k to 181k

181k at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology181k at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

JKUAT 362K/2yr=181K/yr (kenyaeducationguide). UoN MSc Petroleum not found. Private unverified.

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. JKUAT may offer scholarships for eligible students. SPE may offer scholarships for petroleum engineering students. Some oil and gas companies may sponsor staff for postgraduate study.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
JKUAT Scholarship
SPE Scholarship

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.
JKUAT Scholarship
ScholarshipKsh 181,000Kenyan
JKUAT may offer scholarships for eligible postgraduate engineering students.
SPE Scholarship
ScholarshipKsh 200,000
SPE may offer scholarships for petroleum engineering students globally.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: JKUAT requires at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree in Engineering, Geology, or Geophysics. Lower Second Class may be considered with two years of relevant experience or a Postgraduate Diploma. Contact JKUAT for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Continuous Assessment
Coursework40% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, laboratory reports, seminar presentations, group discussions, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination60% of the mark
Written examinations covering applied geology, reservoir engineering, drilling techniques, and petroleum production.
Laboratory Assessment
Project30% of the mark
Practical assessment through laboratory sessions, demonstrating rock properties analysis, fluid analysis, and well testing techniques.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original supervised research thesis on a petroleum engineering topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and petroleum engineering knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). JKUAT (public) offers MSc in Petroleum Engineering through the Department of Mining, Materials and Petroleum Engineering. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in petroleum engineering. Graduates are eligible for Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) registration and SPE membership. The programme aligns with SPE global petroleum engineering standards.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. JKUAT (public) offers MSc in Petroleum Engineering through the Department of Mining, Materials and Petroleum Engineering. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in petroleum engineering. Graduates are eligible for EBK registration and SPE membership. The programme aligns with SPE global petroleum engineering standards.
Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK)
Professional accreditationRequired
EBK regulates engineering practice in Kenya. Graduates should be registered with EBK to practise as professional engineers.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Petroleum Engineer
Moderate demandKsh 200,000 to Ksh 600,000
Manages petroleum engineering operations, overseeing exploration, production, optimisation, and managing petroleum engineering.
Reservoir Engineer
Moderate demandKsh 200,000 to Ksh 600,000
Manages reservoir engineering, overseeing reservoirs, characterisation, simulation, and managing reservoir engineering.
Drilling Engineer
Moderate demandKsh 200,000 to Ksh 600,000
Manages drilling operations, overseeing drilling, techniques, wells, and managing drilling engineering.
Production Engineer
Moderate demandKsh 200,000 to Ksh 550,000
Manages petroleum production, overseeing production, operations, optimisation, and managing petroleum production.
Petroleum Geologist
Moderate demandKsh 180,000 to Ksh 500,000
Conducts petroleum geology analysis, overseeing geology, exploration, basins, and managing petroleum geology.
Petroleum Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 200,000 to Ksh 700,000
Provides petroleum consulting services, overseeing analysis, advisory, strategy, and managing consulting engagements.

Graduate outcomes

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

Reservoir Simulation Software
SoftwarePrimary
Reservoir simulation software for modelling and simulation, covering reservoirs, simulation, modelling, and managing reservoir data.
Drilling Design Software
Software
Drilling design software for well planning and design, covering drilling, design, wells, and managing drilling operations.
Well Logging Tools
Equipment
Well logging tools for subsurface analysis, covering logging, testing, analysis, and managing well data.
MATLAB
Software
MATLAB for numerical methods and data analysis, covering numerical, methods, analysis, and managing petroleum engineering data.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Petroleum engineering is just about drilling oil wells.
Petroleum engineering covers comprehensive reservoir characterisation, production optimisation, natural gas, environmental management, and research beyond just drilling.
This programme is only for mechanical engineers.
Petroleum engineering is open to graduates in engineering, geology, and geophysics, not just mechanical engineers.
Petroleum engineering has no future due to renewable energy.
While the energy transition is underway, petroleum engineering skills remain in demand for existing fields, natural gas, and transition technologies.
Kenya has no petroleum industry.
Kenya has discovered oil in Turkana and gas deposits, with active exploration and development creating demand for petroleum professionals.
Petroleum engineering is only about extraction.
Petroleum engineering covers environmental control, safety, sustainability, and decommissioning beyond just extraction.
All petroleum engineers work on oil rigs.
Petroleum engineers work in offices, laboratories, research institutions, and government agencies in addition to field operations.