Udemy
Turn what you know into an opportunity and reach millions around the world.
Learn More
Your cart is empty.
Keep shopping
Oil & Gas Industry Fundamentals: Exploration to Markets
Rating: 4.0 out of 5(11 ratings)
40 students

Oil & Gas Industry Fundamentals: Exploration to Markets

Petroleum Engineering Basics, Drilling, Refining, OPEC, Energy Markets, Upstream Midstream Downstream | Career Training
Created byProjectEngPro Engineering and Project Management
Last updated 6/2026
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Explain the role of oil and gas in global energy supply and economic growth
  • Describe how hydrocarbons form and how source rocks, migration and traps create a reservoir
  • Separate upstream, midstream and downstream activities and identify the main players in each
  • Outline how a field is explored with seismic, drilled, completed and brought into production
  • Describe how crude oil is refined into fuels and how oil and gas are transported and stored
  • Explain unconventional resources such as shale, tight gas and oil sands and why they changed the market
  • Interpret how reserves are classified and why reserve figures matter to companies and investors
  • Explain how oil prices form, including OPEC, the Brent and WTI benchmarks and supply and demand
  • Discuss the outlook for oil and gas as the energy transition develops

Course content

3 sections • 12 lectures • 3h 19m total length

  • Energy in the World Today24:23

    How much oil and gas the world uses today, where global energy comes from, and the environmental challenges that come with relying on fossil fuels.

  • Oil and Gas Formation21:00

    How oil and gas form over millions of years from ancient marine life, and how source rock, migration and traps create the reservoirs the industry produces.

  • Oil and Gas Basics16:50

    What crude oil and natural gas are, how they are classified, and the key properties such as composition, density, viscosity and energy content that set their value.

  • Oil and Gas Exploration and Production32:11

    How companies find and produce oil and gas, covering seismic surveying, exploration and production drilling, well completion and bringing hydrocarbons to surface.

  • Oil and Gas Refining, Processing, and Transportation16:40

    How crude oil and natural gas are refined and processed through distillation, cracking and treatment, then moved to market by pipeline, tanker and LNG.

  • Examples of Unconventional Oil and Gas Sources14:10

    Unconventional sources such as oil sands, shale oil and tight gas, how they are produced, and how they compare with conventional reserves.

  • Section 1 Quiz: Oil and Gas Industry

Requirements

  • No prior oil and gas knowledge is required — the course is built for complete beginners
  • No engineering or finance background is needed
  • An interest in energy, engineering or how commodity markets work is enough
  • No software needed

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.


Oil and gas still supplies most of the world's energy. Yet many people who work around it — engineers, analysts, suppliers, new starters — only see one part of the chain.

This course gives you the whole picture in one place. It runs from how oil and gas form, through exploration, production, refining and transport, to how the market sets the price.

It is written for beginners. No prior industry knowledge is needed.


WHAT YOU WILL LEARN TO DO

By the end of this course you will be able to:

  • Explain where oil and gas sit in the world's energy supply today

  • Describe how hydrocarbons form and how reservoirs and traps hold them

  • Separate the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors and the work each one does

  • Explain how fields are explored, drilled and brought into production

  • Describe how crude is refined and how oil and gas are moved and stored

  • Explain what unconventional resources such as shale and oil sands are and why they matter

  • Describe how reserves are classified and reported

  • Explain how oil prices are set, including OPEC, the main benchmarks and supply and demand

  • Discuss where oil and gas fits as the energy transition moves forward


HOW THE COURSE IS TAUGHT

  • Built for beginners — terms are explained the first time they are used

  • Follows the value chain in order, from the rock to the market

  • Industry history used to explain why the industry works the way it does today

  • Twelve focused lectures in two sections

  • A course exam section at the end to check your understanding


WHAT IS COVERED

  • Energy in the world today and the role of oil and gas

  • Oil and gas formation, source rocks, migration and traps

  • Oil and gas basics and industry structure

  • Exploration and production

  • Refining, processing and transportation

  • Examples of unconventional oil and gas sources

  • The early days of the industry and the rise of the majors

  • Oil and gas reserves

  • Oil balance and market dynamics

  • Oil pricing mechanisms

  • The future of energy and oil and gas


40 PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Every section ends with a quiz built around realistic scenarios, so you test your understanding as you go and reinforce what you have learned. Each answer comes with a short explanation.


Enrol today and understand how the oil and gas industry works from end to end.

Who this course is for:

  • Engineers and technical staff joining the oil and gas industry who need the full picture quickly
  • Engineering and geoscience students preparing for a career in energy
  • Finance and investment professionals looking at energy companies or commodity markets
  • Career changers moving into the energy sector
  • Suppliers, consultants and business staff who work with oil and gas clients

Report abuse