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Petroleum Engineering in Australia: Courses, Universities, Fees & PR Pathway

Petroleum engineering in Australia is still a strong and popular choice for students, even if the energy world is changing. Australia is a major exporter of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and has excellent job and immigration prospects. You can get wonderful jobs and possibly permanent residency (PR) if you study petroleum engineering in Australia (ANZSCO code 233612).

This blog talks about the finest universities for petroleum engineering, the best courses for petroleum engineering in Australia, the cost of tuition, scholarships for petroleum engineering, and the clear path to permanent residency for petroleum engineers in Australia. Graduates are ready for the future because the courses now cover new topics like carbon capture and green energy. Because of this, Australia is a wonderful place for overseas students to study. Let’s look into why this career path might be right for you.

Why Study Petroleum Engineering in Australia?

Strong and Stable Industry

Australia is one of the world’s biggest exporters of LNG (liquefied natural gas). It also possesses huge quantities of oil and gas, especially in Queensland (Coal Seam Gas) and Western Australia (North West Shelf, Browse, and Scarborough).
Woodside Energy, Santos, Chevron, Shell, INPEX, and Beach Energy are some of the biggest corporations in the world that have their main offices or big operations in Australia. This means there are a lot of jobs and projects.

High Demand for Petroleum Engineers

Petroleum engineers are still on Australia’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL) and Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL in the past). This makes it easy to get Permanent Residency (PR) through visas like 491, 190, or 186.
Even after the energy shift, people still need to know a lot about reservoirs, drilling, and production.

World-Class Education with Practical Focus

The University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Adelaide, Curtin University, and the University of Western Australia (UWA) are all considered among the best in the world for petroleum/mining engineering.
Strong ties with businesses lead to paid internships, site visits to offshore platforms, and vacation work.
A full semester or year of work experience is required for many programs.

Very Attractive Salaries

Most graduates make between AUD 100,000 and 130,000 a year.
Salaries often go beyond AUD 180,000–250,000+ plus bonuses for people with 3–5 years of experience, notably in FIFO jobs in Western Australia.

Exposure to Both Traditional and Future Energy

You’ll master the basics of petroleum engineering as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, geothermal, and renewable energy integration. These are skills that will be useful in the future.
Australia is a world leader in offshore wind and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects like Gorgon and Moomba.

Great Lifestyle & Post-Study Opportunities

The country has a great standard of living, English is spoken everywhere, and people from many different cultures live there.
485 visas for 2–3 years of work following graduation (PSW).
A clear path to PR for smart developers.

Ongoing Major Projects in 2025 and Beyond

There is still a lot of need for work because of the Scarborough-Pluto (Woodside), Barossa (Santos), Crux (Shell), Browse, Narrabri Gas Project, and many LNG maintenance and decommissioning activities.

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Top Petroleum Engineering Universities in Australia

When it comes to petroleum engineering universities, several stand out for their rigorous programs and global rankings. According to the QS World University Rankings for Engineering – Petroleum 2025, the University of Adelaide ranks 4th globally, up three spots from last year. UNSW Sydney is at #10, excelling in resources engineering.

University	Flagship Course	Duration	Indicative Annual Fee (AUD, Intl.)	QS Global Rank 2025
University of Adelaide	Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Petroleum)	4 years	44,500	#4
UNSW Sydney	Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Petroleum)	4 years	51,000	#10
Curtin University	Master of Petroleum Engineering	2 years	38,500 (first year)	Top 20 AU
University of Queensland	Master of Petroleum Engineering	2 years	52,000	Top 50 Global

Sources: University websites and QS Rankings 2025. Fees are for international students and may rise by 3–5% in 2026. Note: The University of Adelaide is transitioning to Adelaide University in 2026, but current programs remain available until mid-2025.

The University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia (UWA) are both worth mentioning because they incorporate petroleum courses in their engineering degrees. These universities often rank in the top 27 for petroleum engineering in Australia, per EduRank 2025. If you want to learn the basics, you should choose an undergraduate program. If you want to specialize, you should choose a postgraduate program.

Popular Courses and Curriculum in Petroleum Engineering

The goal of petroleum engineering courses is to teach you everything you need to know about the field. The Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) program in Petroleum lasts four years and includes basic classes in math, physics, and geology.

Some essential aspects of the course include

The course includes an introduction to petroleum engineering, which covers the essentials of drilling, completions, and production.
Reservoir Mechanics and Geomechanics: Finding out how fluids and rocks behave.
Drilling and Production Engineering: Classes that teach you how to improve wells and design them.
Unconventional Resources and Sustainability: New topics including shale gas, carbon capture, and energy transition that are vital for Australia’s energy future in 2025.

Master of Petroleum Engineering programs at UQ or Curtin, for example, take one to two years and teach more advanced areas in project management, modeling, and economics. These schools generally provide optional classes in chemical or mechanical engineering so that students have more choices. Engineers Australia lends its seal of approval to courses to make sure they meet international standards and promote the petroleum engineering PR pathway in Australia.

Curtin’s Graduate Diploma in Professional Engineering is an example of a bridging program that can enable those who don’t have an engineering background to get in. These classes combine theory with experiments, simulations, and fieldwork to help students prepare for what they will face in the real world.

Eligibility and Admission Requirements

There are many requirements for getting into petroleum engineering at different levels and schools, but most of them make sure that applicants have a good foundation.

For undergraduate programs

Candidates must have a high school graduation and show that they did well in math, physics, and chemistry.
Candidates must achieve scores of approximately 9 in the top subjects (where A* equals 6) or an ATAR of 80 or above.

For postgraduate:

A relevant bachelor’s degree in engineering (e.g., chemical, civil) with a GPA equivalent to 4.0/7.0 (about 65% or 2:1 honors). For Adelaide’s Master: Relevant degree plus work experience if needed.
Relevant industrial experience may substitute for some qualifications.

International students must be able to speak English well enough to achieve an IELTS score of 6.5 overall (with no band below 6.0) or a TOEFL score that is the same. You can apply through university portals or agencies. The school accepts students in February and July. To get into some programs halfway through the year, you have to be interviewed or show off your work. Because there are many people applying for spaces, it’s best to apply early.

Tuition Fees and Living Costs

Depending on the curriculum and university, international students in Australia who want to study petroleum engineering pay between AUD 38,500 and 52,000 per year.

Undergraduate: Around AUD 44,500–51,000 annually. For example, Adelaide’s BEng Petroleum is AUD 44,500 in 2025.
Postgraduate: AUD 38,500–52,000. Curtin’s M Petroleum Eng is ~AUD 38,500 for the first year; UQ’s is AUD 52,000. UWA’s related Master is AUD 49,800 for 2025. The University of Melbourne’s Master of Chemical Engineering (related) is AUD 57,984.

Living expenses add AUD 20,000–30,000 yearly (AUD 1,700–2,500/month), covering accommodation (AUD 15,000–25,000), food, and transport. Sydney is more expensive than Perth and Adelaide. Fees may increase every year, so visit university websites for changes for 2025–2026.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

To help students with their money problems, many petroleum engineering scholarships are available. By 2025, there will be more than 100 scholarships for students in the energy and petroleum areas.

Playford Trust Mining and Petroleum Engineering Scholarship: gives first-year students at Adelaide AUD 20,000. They also get to work with Santos/BHP.
SPE South Australia Scholarships: Up to AUD 5,000 for undergrad/grad students in petroleum engineering; apply via SPE-SA.org.
Australian Energy Producers Scholarships: Up to PhD level for upstream petroleum careers, AUD 10,000+ for high-achievers.
BHP Petroleum Scholarships: Merit-based at Curtin.
UNSW Scholarships: For mining/petroleum specialization, e.g., Global Academic Award (25% fee reduction).

International options include Australia Awards and university-specific grants. Apply early; deadlines are Jan-Mar. Merit, financial need, and SA residency boost chances.

PR Pathways for Petroleum Engineering Graduates

Petroleum Engineer (job code 233612) is on Australia’s long-term skills list, so the PR path is straightforward and one of the easiest for engineers. Here’s the step-by-step process in basic language:

Finish your degree in Australia: Complete a recognized Petroleum Engineering (or related) degree from an Australian university (a bachelor’s or master’s).
Get the Post-Study Work Visa (485 visa): After graduation, you automatically qualify for this visa. It lets you stay and work full-time for 2–4 years (usually 3–4 years for an engineering master’s). You can use this time to gain Australian work experience (this adds big points later).
Get your Skills Assessment (positive result from Engineers Australia): Send your degree, transcript, and CV to Engineers Australia. If you studied in Australia, it’s very easy and almost always approved. (Only overseas graduates usually need to write a CDR report.)
Submit Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect: You need at least 65 points (most petroleum engineers easily get 80–100+ points). Points come from: Age (best if under 33), English level (IELTS 7+ or PTE 65+ gives extra points), Australian study (5 points), Work experience in Australia (5–15 points), High degree (Master’s/PhD) gives more points.

Receive Invitation and Apply for PR Visa: You have three main options (all lead to PR eventually):

Skilled Independent Visa (189) → Direct PR, live/work anywhere in Australia.
Skilled Nominated Visa (190) → Direct PR, but you are required to live in the nominating state for 2 years (e.g., Western Australia, South Australia, etc., which particularly value petroleum engineers).
Skilled Work Regional Visa (491) → 3-year temporary visa first, then convert to permanent (191) after living/working in a regional area for 3 years.

Challenges and Future Outlook

The energy transition is one of the issues, but it seems promising. The Electricity and Energy Sector Plan in Australia aims to cut emissions by 62 to 70 percent by 2035. The plan’s key goals include hybrid projects and combining renewable energy sources. Graduates need to be flexible, but there are still jobs in LNG and carbon capture.

Conclusion

Studying petroleum engineering in Australia provides you a world-class education and great chances to move there. This profession is still a viable alternative for overseas students who want to stay in Australia for a long time and work in the petroleum industry. They can find the best petroleum engineering schools and courses, acquire scholarships, and make their way to permanent residency in petroleum engineering. Your future in the energy industry is waiting for you! Now is the time to start researching programs, getting your application ready, and organizing your skills assessment.

FAQs - petroleum engineering in Australia

Q. How much do petroleum engineers in Australia make when they first start working?

Entry-level positions normally pay at least AUD 100,000 a year, while jobs in Western Australia and other countries pay more.

Q. How many scholarships are available to Australian students who want to study petroleum engineering?

Every year, there are more than 100 scholarships available, including the SPE South Australia (up to AU$5,000), the Playford Trust (up to AU$20,000), and additional awards from schools and companies. Apply early on the university’s website or the websites of the groups you want to join.

Q. Is Petroleum Engineer still a skilled career on the PR list for 2025–2026?

Yes, ANZSCO 233612 (Petroleum Engineer) is still on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). This means that if it has at least 65 points and a good Engineers Australia skills evaluation, it can receive visas 189, 190, and 491.

Q. How much do CDR preparation services that are experts generally cost?

For petroleum engineers, the price of professional CDR writing services ranges from AU$800 to AU$2,500. This varies on the bundle (standard or fast-track), how many changes you want to make, and any extras you want, such checking for plagiarism or submitting through a portal. Always study reviews and compare multiple registered services before making a choice.

Q. Should I hire someone to help me write my CDR for Engineers Australia?

A lot of people that apply can write their CDRs well using the free samples and the official MSA instructions. But if your qualifications come from a school that isn’t accredited or you want to improve your chances of getting authorized the first time, you can receive support from professional migration counselors or CDR writers who work in petroleum engineering.