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Petrochemical Engineering Courses in India are amongst the recently developed courses provided by various petrochemical engineering colleges in India. Petrochemicals are compounds obtained from petroleum or natural gas or from their derivatives like Propane. Petrochemical Engineering is a specialized field of Chemical Engineering which is involved in various processes relevant to production of petrochemicals. Petrochemical engineering encompasses the manufacturing process, testing and determining the characteristics and properties of refinery and petrochemicals products, petroleum and petrochemical processing and other facilities. It sounds similar to Petroleum Engineering but it is different from Petrochemical Engineering. Petroleum Engineering is involved in the recovery, development and processing of petroleum. Because of its specialisation in aforesaid, it is technically called ‘Upstream Sector’. To further simplify this, it means that is the ‘Primary Area of Action’. Similarly, Petrochemical engineering is technically referred as ‘Downstream Sector’ because of its focus on ‘Secondary Area of Action’ as it is involved in post processing of the product (fuel) obtained, i.e. Refining and Distribution. Petrochemical Engineers apply scientific and mathematical principles to break down complex crude oil organic molecules into much simpler substances. These are further processed to produce lubricating oils, plastics, polymers, synthetic rubber and synthetic fibres. Some of the products obtained from petroleum are benzene, butane, ethylene, methanol polypropylene etc.  All of these products are used in some or the other for the manufacture of medicines, soaps, heavy engine oils, petroleum jelly, mineral oil, lubricants and so on.

Some of its specialized fields are -

• Petrochemical Refining
• Control and Instrumentation
• Environment Safety

Petrochemical Courses in India: Content

The study of this field includes all or few of these –

• Process Engineering & Plant Design
• Refinery Engineering Calculations
• Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
• Crude Oil & Petroleum Products

Petrochemical Engineering Courses in India: Objectives

• To impart knowledge to the students about the latest developments in Petrochemical Engineering & Technology.
• To enhance the job potentialities of the candidates.
• To further research work in the area of Petroleum Processing and Conversion.
• To motivate candidates to make remarkable progress in terms of developing infrastructure, techniques and facilities.

Petrochemical Engineering Courses in India: Basic Requirements

• Basic qualification is 10+2 examination with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as subjects to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Petrochemical Engineering.
• Admission is based on Entrance Test.
• To become Petrochemical Engineer one needs to study B.E. / B-Tech or M.E.  / M-Tech in petrochemical engineering, petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, or geology.
• At the M.E. level one can even specialize in Control and Instrumentation.
• One can also go for various diploma courses.

Petrochemical Engineering Colleges in India

• Zakir Hussain College of Engineering & Technology, (Aligarh Muslim University)
• MIT, Pune
• UPES, Dehradun
• Institute of Petrochemical Engineering, (Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University Lonere)

Personality Traits

Those who are inquisitive and prefer to work more at the plant site rather than sit and work in the office, this field is most suitable. A person should have the sense of working as a team member and possess a strong attention to detail. An attitude of making the plant more profitable will inevitably lead to self profit.

Job Perspectives

Career in Petrochemical is a progressive one as petroleum and its by products are used  in automobiles, ships, planes, machines in innumerable ways. The Indian petroleum industry is by no means a small one, it is one of the biggest industries in India. Due to the ever-growing demand, petrochemical industry is always in need of technical experts in this field. Petrochemical Engineers can find employment in research and development, oil-refining industries, petrochemical products manufacturing including those of aviation turbine fuel, mineral oil, lubricants, paints, plastics, polymers etc. Petrochemical jobs in India are available in petro-based industries, like Reliance Industries Limited, Technip KTI, Duncan Fertilizers, Punj Lloyd, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Industries Ltd., Shell, Gas Authority of India Ltd., Essar Oil etc. Opportunities in oil and gas sector are ample in Middle East with very high annual income packages.

Remuneration : Salary packages may vary as per one’s designation and from company to company but average salary of  Petrochemical Engineers varies from 4 -5 Lakh per annum.

Some Job Types

• Operations Engineer
• Superintendent
• Safety Engineer
• Petrochemical Inspectors
• Advisors
• Trainers
• Process Engineer
• Control Engineer
• Technician
• Instrumentation Engineer
• Automation Engineer
• Planning Engineers
• Planners

Some Employment Areas

• Petrochemical Engineering Consultancy
• Oil Companies
• Oil Exploration
• Oil Production
• Service Companies
• Oil Field Services
• Equipment Suppliers
• Chemical Plants
• Petrochemical Plants
• Pharmaceuticals
• Petroleum Refining Plants
• Mineral Based Industries

List of Petrochemical Engineering courses in India