Offshore oil and gas
Newfoundland and Labrador is in the development phase of its offshore oil and gas industry. After years of preparation, production is underway, exploration continues at a rapid pace, thousands of jobs have been created, and millions of dollars in oil revenues are being generated annually.
There is a need, however, for appropriately educated women and men and a research capacity that can examine the unique production, safety, environmental, and transportation challenges in this region – particularly those posed by ice. No less demanding are the challenges of onshore conversion of oil and gas, harmonization of the province's unique culture and heritage with largescale industrial development, and the determination of industry sustainability.
To respond to these needs, the Faculty
of Engineering and Applied Science has introduced oil and gas
options beginning in academic term 6 and continuing through terms
7 and 8. In addition to the common core courses –
introduction to offshore petroleum engineering, geosciences
applied in offshore engineering, and offshore oil and gas
engineering project – each option consists of disciplinary
courses and elective courses, which include:
• Supervisory control and data acquisition
• Process control and instrumentation
• Reliability engineering
• Safety and risk engineering
• Environmental aspects of offshore oil development
• Subsea geotechnical engineering
• Design for ocean and ice environments
• Offshore structures and materials
• Subsea engineering
• Ocean ice engineering
• Reservoir engineering
• Petroleum production engineering
• Drilling engineering for petroleum
• Exploration and production
• Petroleum facilities engineering
• Downstream processing
In term 8 you will participate in an interdisciplinary offshore design group project, with groups of individuals from different disciplines and with an emphasis on teamwork. Project topics have included: feasibility assessments of options for producing natural gas or oil and gas from an offshore field (e.g., floating structures versus bottom-mounted structures); design of a facet of a production facility (e.g., a flare tower); detailed risk assessments and assessments of the potential for offshore located downstream processing facilities.
Engineering Program Organizational Chart
| Fall | Winter | Spring | |
| Year 1 | Engineering One * | ||
| Year 2 | Term 3 | Work Term | Term 4 |
| Year 3 | Work Term | Term 5 | Work Term |
| Year 4 | Term 6 | Work Term | Term 7 |
| Year 5 | Work Term | Term 8 | - |
* Students who complete the Engineering One requirements during the
first two semesters of Year One may undertake their first work term
during the Spring semester of that year.
Career Opportunities
Memorial's offshore oil and gas
engineering option, in each of the undergraduate engineering
degree programs, will give you the background you need to
participate in the developing oil and gas industry. We
educate:
• Ocean and naval architectural engineers who are involved in
the design and operation of offshore structures, FPSOs (floating
production, storage and offloading systems), ships and their systems,
and underwater vehicles.
• Mechanical engineers who provide detailed suitability
assessments and maintenance on structures, drilling and wellhead
engineering, health and safety assessments and who design drill bits
and motors for the drilling process and pipes and pumps to transport
high-pressure oil and gas.
• Electrical and computer engineers who are involved with the
detailed control systems mounted onboard exploration and production
platforms and other offshore vehicles.
• Civil engineers who design concrete and steel structures for
the offshore environment (like the Hibernia platform and Terra Nova
FPSO), and who are involved with environmental assessment of offshore
production and drilling operations.
Industry analysts indicate there is a sustained demand nationally and internationally for co-op students and graduates at the bachelor's level who have specialized knowledge of oil and gas engineering. If you are open to challenges and rewards, you can take part.