Oil and Gas

Well Logging Fundamentals and Hydrocarbon Geology

This course serves as a basic introduction to the petroleum system, its various components, and principles of using geologic and petrophysical data in hydrocarbon exploration and production. Students will gain an understanding of hydrocarbon generation and movement, trap mechanisms, reservoir rock properties (permeability and porosity) and fluid properties. Using well logs, core analyses and subsurface mapping, students will be able to identify petroleum resources and develop a geologic/reservoir model that will yield an asset's overall hydrocarbon volume and producibility.

Drilling Engineering Methods

A deep appreciation of drilling and completion activities required to access hydrocarbons will be delivered to the students that take this course. Various well functions, differential designs and the construction steps to deliver the wells whether it be onshore or offshore will be communicated. The students will gain a holistic understanding of drilling and completion engineering, operations, and potential safety/environmental problems. Also, students will be able to comprehend daily morning reports, wellbore schematics and drilling/completion activities as well as have an appreciation of the associated effort skills that go into the individual D&C activities. Student appreciation will be further enhanced with the complex multi-activities (i.e. workovers) that are utilized to maintain production in a highly complex multiple well producing field. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to actively participate in drilling/completion/workover discussions and understand how those activities impact the overall field development.

Reservoir Engineering Fundamentals

At the finish of this course, students will know how to evaluate an asset's value in the primary, secondary and EOR phases as well as to maximize production in any of these phases. Evaluation principles taught will allow the student to know what inputs should be included in a field development evaluation, know what data is critical and in some cases, they will know what data should be challenged if in a property value review. Maximizing the production techniques will be delivered to students through various artificial lift, facility operations, and production surveillance techniques. At the end of the three petroleum engineering classes, a student will be able to easily discuss the entire asset development life cycle as well as the value the asset brings to the operating company.

Renewables

Advanced Managerial Wind Energy

Non-technical version studying wind turbine and wind farm architecture, wind energy conservation, aerodynamics, electrical systems, economics, regulatory issues with environmental and utility industries.

Renewable Energy Systems

Provides an overview of different types of renewable energy technology, global demand for different energy resources; brief discussion of energy policies.

Power Systems

Electrical power transmission and distribution systems; power generation systems; system modeling, planning, management and protection. Integration of renewable energy into the grid, includes techniques, technology, markets and regulation.

Energy Law and Policy

Introduction to U.S. Energy Law & Policy

This course, designed specifically for non-law students will provide an in-depth study of the background history of energy policy and current theories of policy formulation and regulation affecting the production, distribution and consumption of energy in the United States. Students will become familiar with numerous aspects of the processes and results of local, state and federal governmental regulation of the energy industry. The course will explore energy policy beginning in the 1970s, theories of regulation and how legislative, administrative and bureaucratic processes work. Primary emphasis will be on federal regulation as it is the most voluminous and wide-ranging, but energy regulation by numerous states will be studied so as to give the student a sufficient understanding of current regulatory and policy issues so as to enhance job performance

Introduction to Environmental Law

This course, designed for non-law students, will give students a comprehensive overview of environmental law in the United States. The course provides students with an overview of every major U.S. environmental statute, including (among others) the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, CERCLA, RCRA, and NEPA, and discuss their purposes, structures, major strength and weaknesses, and compliance tips and pitfalls. The course also looks at how plaintiffs in environmental law cases have used traditional common law claims such as trespass, nuisance, and negligence to achieve environmental objectives. At the end of the course, students should have a strong working understanding of how environmental law works in the United States, major compliance issues and pitfalls, and where environmental law is likely headed in the future.

Introduction to Oil and Gas Law

This course, designed specifically for non-law students, will introduce students seeking an MSIS in Energy degree to basic concepts, principles, and terminology in oil-and-gas law. Students will learn about legal descriptions for land, the Rule of Capture, different types of ownership, the oil-and-gas lease and its integral provisions, pooling, different types of savings clauses, different types of mineral interests and royalty interests, joint operating agreements, and other miscellaneous features of participating in the domestic oil-and-gas industry, with a primary emphasis on Texas law. The objective is to make students familiar with, and conversant in, the legal aspects of the oil-and-gas business, in order to give the non-lawyer professional a sufficient foundation to better perform in his or her position.

OR (student choice to take either)

Introduction to Wind Law

This class, designed specifically for non-law students, will provide an in-depth study of all aspects of wind law in Texas, as well as other states, including the history of wind energy, wind farm fundamentals, the major elements of the wind energy lease, transmission easements required for building a wind farm, severance of “wind rights” by land owners, government tax incentives, litigation involving wind from a layman's perspective, transmission issues, permitting and FAA requirements, the sale of wind energy, the impact of wind development on the environment and wildlife, and offshore wind projects.

Energy Commerce

Energy Economics

This course provides an introduction to the economics of energy, with a focus on developing a sound theoretical framework for analysis. Students will develop a familiarity with core microeconomic concepts and their application to natural resource and energy use. Efficient use of energy resources, markets for fuels and power, and the role of external effects in and out of the marketplace are emphasized. An examination of the economic impacts of implementing energy policy on society and the energy sector is undertaken in this course. The course features an individual project that allows students the opportunity to conduct in-depth analysis of an economic issue of interest.

Energy Markets

Energy Markets is designed to give students an understanding of the value chain from the wellhead to gasoline pump, including infrastructure (pipelines, tankers, rail and trucking), storage, terminals and wholesale distribution, complete with the important “moving parts” and decision points. Students will also gain an understanding of the fundamentals of refining manufacturing processes, with emphasis on physical refinery supply, pricing, and refinery margin risk management. Students will be asked to explore crude oil pricing and negotiation in the context of a negotiation simulation project. An examination of the natural gas sector (gas transmission, transportation and trading) and the power generation (including renewables) industry will also be discussed.

Energy Project Evaluation and Finance

The purpose of Energy Project Evaluation and Finance is to provide students with an understanding of how the oil and gas industry uses data and analytical tools to develop business strategies, evaluate capital projects, and acquisitions and divestitures. Students completing ENCO 5365 will gain an understanding and appreciation for the complexity of capital formation in the sector, will be able to identify the pros and cons of various funding vehicles and will begin to understand financial and business risk management in the energy industry. Students will be introduced to various concepts through lectures, with a heavy emphasis on case studies and group projects.

Capstone (Texas Tech Graduate School)

Advanced Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies

Development of a synthesis paper unifying all coursework completed by the student.