Transforming Petroleum Engineering Education: A Practical Industry-Oriented Capstone Project

The Engineering capstone project offers students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have acquired during their undergraduate studies and develop practical solutions for complex engineering problems. This project serves as a platform for developing transferable skills like teamwork, effective communication, and lifelong learning. However, there is a scarcity of literature specifically focused on capstone projects in the field of petroleum engineering. To address this gap, a capstone project course was introduced in the petroleum engineering curriculum. The project involved the development of a large-scale oil and gas field based on a real case study, requiring a creative solution that encompassed four major disciplines of petroleum engineering: formation evaluation, reservoir engineering, drilling engineering, and production technology, along with other related sub-disciplines. A distinctive aspect of this project was the incorporation of an original technical concept, aligned with industrial practices. The organizational aspects of the project were also discussed, considering the assessment quality and the competency requirements for successful completion. Despite encountering certain challenges throughout the semester, the project proved to be an invaluable exercise in simulating the working environment of petroleum engineers. Furthermore, it provided a comprehensive, contextualized, and realistic proposal for the field of petroleum engineering.