The Environmental Dimension in the Petroleum Engineering Curriculum at a Global Level: Importance of the Holistic Education of Professionals Who Will Manage the Energy Industry

Abstract

Abstract Scientific studies have shown there is a high probability that greenhouse gases emitted by human activity have caused an essential portion of the observed increase in the earth's temperatures during the last 50 years. To achieve the scenario of net zero emissions for 2050 proposed by the International Energy Agency (IEA), a great effort must be made to transform the way of thinking of professionals who work in the energy generation sector. This research aims to analyze the current petroleum engineering curricula offered by high-ranked universities worldwide and to understand how the environmental subject is included, what environmental content is being taught, and what percentage of the curriculum is aligned with environmental protection and emissions reduction. To achieve this objective, the petroleum engineering curricula of 17 universities were reviewed in detail, and the relationship between the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the countries where such petroleum engineering universities are located was examined. It was found that only 3 of the 17 (17.6%) universities include environmental courses as part of the core (compulsory) subjects in their undergraduate PE curricula; 2 of 17 (11.8%) universities include environmental courses as part of the core subjects in their master's curricula; and 1 of 17 (5.9%) universities include environmental courses as part of the core courses in their Ph.D. curricula. Based on this research, three main pillars that support the petroleum engineering curriculum were found. Finally, a new structure for the petroleum engineering curriculum is proposed based on three fundamental pillars identified during this study, which are the pillar related to the area of science and new technologies aligned with the reality of the IR 4.0, the pillar pertaining to the core area of geosciences, petroleum engineering, drilling and completion, and economics; and the pillar associated with the environmental area. These three fundamental pillars that support the petroleum engineering curriculum were associated with the triple bottom line theory proposed by Elkington (Elkington, 1997), which shows the importance of considering a balance of these three pillars in the structure of the petroleum engineering curriculum. This research incorporates novel ideas to enhance the structure of the petroleum engineering curriculum, considering the current challenges we can find nowadays in the oil and gas industry and the energy generation sector.