Bachelor thesis topic Petroleum engineering

Hi there !

I am third year Petroleum Engineering student and desperately in need of bachelor thesis topics.
Topics proposed by the teachers were taken and I am told to come up with my own topic.

I have some electrical background(hardware and software like matlab, CAD, PCB etc) and I would like a topic which I can make use of my background

Any suggestion is hugely appreciated

Thanks in advance

 

Turn to Chapter 11. Pick one.

Look, it's just an essay, right? You're not being asked to do original research or advance the field of knowledge. Think of three topics that you've read about this semester that are interesting. If you can't think of three then you're in the wrong field. Bring them all to your instructor and ask if one might be a better choice than the others.

 

How about discussing the use of propane as an alternate to water for fracking?
It is a new process and apparently not many members of the public are aware of it (especially the pro and con fracking advocates).

What is fracking
Current techniques
A new technique (propane)
Pro and con
What are the environmental impacts
Cost
Conclusions

Another idea: The use of man made fuels in jet aircraft - commercial and military testing underway.

 

If you are into electrical hardware applications you might consider how companies have ruggedized their downhole electronics to survive high temperatures, pressures and vibration. Specific areas would be M/LWD and Wireline. There have been some pretty amazing developments in the last 15 years or so.

 

With all of the concern about carbon dioxide, you may want to review the use of carbon sequestration used for enhanced oil extraction
http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/factsheets/program/Prog053.pdf

 

As I am employed in a forensic facility I will suggest a forensic approach. Consider the identification of crude or even refined products using either marker compounds or identifiable compounds inherent to the product. I attended a seminar several years ago in which the speaker claimed he could just about tell you what oil well a gallon of gasoline had been refined from. Maybe he was exaggerating to make a point; I don't know enough to argue but it had to do with sensitive mass spectrometers determining the mass of key compounds way past the decimal point. You might use your electronic skills to develop a novel approach to pattern recognition of several compounds, thereby better assurance of a a correct identification.

 

A quick search of "Crude oil source fingerprinting" should yield a few hundred thousand possible sources. Happy hunting!