Petroleum Engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas. In order to prepare for GATE Petroleum Engineering paper, candidates have to go through the syllabus that is divided into 16 broad sections. 

The syllabus for Petroleum Engineering includes topics like Linear Algebra, Calculus, Differential Equations, Complex Variables, Probability and Statistics, Numerical Methods, Petroleum Exploration, Oil & Gas Well Drilling Technology, Reservoir Engineering, Petroleum Production Operations, etc and the majority of questions that are 55 will be asked from these sections. 10 questions will be from General Aptitude. 

GATE Petroleum Engineering paper will have two types of questions namely- Objective type and Numerical Type. Read the article to know more about the syllabus, exam pattern, preparation tips, important books and much more.

GATE PE Syllabus

GATE Petroleum Engineering (PE) Syllabus

There are various types of Petroleum Engineers like Reservoir engineers, Completion Engineers, Drilling Engineers, Drilling fluid engineers, Production engineers. The syllabus of Petroleum Engineering (PE) consists of 16 topics mentioned below: 

Topics Sub Topics
Linear Algebra Matrix algebra, Systems of linear equations, Eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
Complex variables Complex number, polar form of complex number, triangle inequality.
Calculus Functions of single variable, Limit, continuity and differentiability, Taylor series, Mean value theorems, Evaluation of definite and improper integrals, Partial derivatives, Total derivative, Maxima and minima, Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector identities, Directional derivatives, Line, Surface and Volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.
Differential Equations First order equations (linear and nonlinear), Higher order linear differential equations with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Initial and boundary value problems, Laplace transforms, Solutions of one-dimensional heat and wave equations and Laplace equation.
Probability and Statistics Definitions of probability and sampling theorems, Conditional probability, Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, Normal and Binomial distributions, Linear regression analysis.
Numerical Methods Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations. Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule. Single and multi-step methods for numerical solution of differential equations.
Petroleum Exploration Classification and description of some common rocks with special reference to clastic and nonclastic reservoir rocks. Origin, migration and accumulation of Petroleum. Petroleum exploration methods.
Oil and Gas Well Drilling Technology Well planning. Drilling method. Drilling rigs Rig operating systems. Drilling fluids function and properties. Drilling fluid maintenance equipment. Oil & gas well cementing operations. Drill bit types and their applications. Drill string & Casing string function, operations, selection & design. Drilling problems, their control & remedies. Directional drilling tools. Directional survey. Application of horizontal, multilateral, extended reach, slim wells.
Reservoir Engineering Petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks. Coring and core analysis. Reservoir fluid properties. Phase behavior of hydrocarbon system. Flow of fluids through porous media. Water and gas coning. Reservoir pressure measurements. Reservoir drives, drive mechanics and recovery factors. Reserve estimation & techniques.
Petroleum Production Operations Well equipments. Well completion techniques. Well production problems and mitigation. Well servicing & Workover operations. Workover & completion fluids. Formation damage. Well stimulation techniques. Artificial lift techniques. Field processing of oil & gas. Storage and transportation of petroleum and petroleum products. Metering and measurements oil & gas. Production system analysis & optimization. Production testing. Multiphase flow in tubing and flow-lines. Nodal system analysis. Pressure vessels, storage tanks, shell and tube heat exchangers, pumps and compressors, LNG value chain.
Offshore Drilling and Production Practices Offshore oil and gas operations & ocean environment. Offshore fixed platforms, Offshore mobile units, Station keeping methods like mooring & dynamic positioning system. Offshore drilling from fixed platform, jack-up, ships and semi submersibles. Use of conductors and risers. Offshore well completion. Deepwater applications of subsea technology. Offshore production: Oil processing platforms, water injection platforms, storage, SPM and SBM transportation and utilities. Deep water drilling rig. Deepwater production system. Emerging deepwater technologies.
Petroleum Formation Evaluation Evaluation of petrophysical of sub-surface formations: Principles applications, advantages and disadvantages of SP, resistivity, radioactive, acoustic logs and types of tools used. Evaluation of CBL/VDL, USIT, SFT, RFT. Production logging tools, principles, limitations, and applications. Special type of logging tools. Casing inspection tools (principles, applications and limitations), Formations micro scanner (FMS), NMR logging principles. Standard log interpretation methods. Cross-plotting methods.
Oil and Gas Well Testing Diffusivity equation, derivation & solutions. Radius of investigation. Principle of superposition. Horner’s approximation. Drill Stem Testing. Pressure Transient Tests: Drawdown and build up-test analysis. Wellbore effects. Multilayer reservoirs. Injection well testing. Multiple well testing. Interference testing, Pulse testing, well-test analysis by use of type curves. Gas well testing.
Health Safety and Environment in Petroleum Industry Health hazards in Petroleum Industry: Toxicity, Physiological, Asphyxiation, respiratory and skin effect of petroleum hydrocarbons, sour gases. Safety System: Manual & automatic shutdown system, blow down systems. Gas detection system. Fire detection and suppression systems. Personal protection system & measures. HSE Policies. Disaster & crisis management in Petroleum Industry. Environment: Environment concepts, impact on eco-system, air, water and soil. The impact of drilling & production operations on environment, Environmental transport of petroleum wastes. Offshore environmental studies. Offshore oil spill and oil spill control. Waste treatment methods.
Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques Basic principles and mechanism of EOR, Screening of EOR process. Concept of pattern flooding, recovery efficiency, permeability heterogeneity. Macroscopic and microscopic displacement efficiency. EOR methods: Chemical flooding, Miscible flooding, Thermal recoveries (steam stimulation, hot water & steam flooding, in-situ combustion), Microbial EOR.
Latest trends in Petroleum Engineering Coal bed methane, shale gas, oil shale, gas hydrate, and heavy oil.

Direct link to download GATE Petroleum Engineering (PE) syllabus PDF