Reservoir Evaluation and Management MSc

This programme has been selected to support the skills demand in Scotland's key economic growth areas. A number of full fee bursaries are available to applicants permanently resident in Scotland. Download an application form and submit

The MSc in Reservoir Evaluation and Management (REM) teaches students how to be successful subsurface geoscientists and engineers, able to build models that can provide good predictions of reservoir behaviour. The success of these models requires a good understanding of both the geology and engineering of the reservoir. The REM programme, with its combination of geoscience and engineering, provides students with the ability to identify those aspects of the reservoir which have the greatest impact on hydrocarbon recovery. Our graduates typically go on to careers in petroleum geology, geomodelling or reservoir engineering.

Most development decisions in oil companies are based on the predictions of computer models of the subsurface. We teach our students the most effective ways to combine the geology, geophysics and reservoir engineering disciplines in order to develop computer models which provide the most robust predictions. The programme has been designed so that graduates are technically well prepared for, and have a sound knowledge of, the reservoir geoscience and engineering aspects of the upstream petroleum industry. The unique combination of geoscience and engineering in the REM programme means that our team projects contain the complete workflow of a field development, from geology to engineering and economics.

Graduates of the REM MSc will be in a unique position of having a thorough understanding of the both the geosciences and engineering issues relevant to hydrocarbon reservoir behaviour. The programme is deliberately intensive, typically consisting of working a full 5 days per week of lectures and practical work, including labs or tutorial exercises designed to teach practical skills in addition to learning theory. The programme includes two field trips to observe geology in the field for those with and without prior geological experience.

The most challenging and fulfilling aspect of our programme is the project work, particularly the team project, where students are tasked to propose a development plan for real field. The project integrates all the learning in reservoir geosciences and engineering disciplines and reinforces learning through team work.

Students on the Reservoir Evaluation and Management programme come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including directly from undergraduate degrees and also from years to even decades of experience in the industry. Our students come to us from all parts of the world; in the last few years the students in all three MSc programmes have come from over 30 different nations.

The programme is accredited by the Energy Institute.