Upstream Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Training Course

Course overview

The upstream sector finds hydrocarbons and brings them to the surface, and it spans an unusually wide range of disciplines: geoscience, drilling and reservoir engineering, production operations, economics, and safety. A professional in any one of these benefits from understanding how the others fit together, because upstream decisions are made jointly and a choice in one area constrains the rest. This course provides that integrated view.

The course follows the upstream value chain from exploration to production, explaining the purpose and key decisions at each stage and how they connect. It treats upstream as a capital-intensive, risk-laden business in which technical, economic, and HSE considerations are decided together rather than in isolation.

Why an integrated view matters

Upstream projects commit large amounts of capital years before they generate revenue, under deep uncertainty about what lies underground. Specialists who see only their own discipline can optimize a part while harming the whole, for example drilling a well that is technically elegant but economically marginal.

The professionals who add the most value understand the trade-offs across the chain: how reservoir uncertainty drives drilling choices, how production strategy affects recovery and economics, and how HSE and risk sit over all of it. This course is built to develop that cross-disciplinary judgment.

What you will be able to do afterwards

By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

• Describe the upstream value chain from exploration to production.
• Explain how exploration and evaluation reduce subsurface uncertainty.
• Outline drilling, completion, and production decisions.
• Relate technical choices to project economics and risk.
• Assess how HSE and digital tools apply across upstream operations.

Course outline

Unit 1: Introduction to upstream oil and gas

• The stages from exploration to production and abandonment.
• How upstream differs from midstream and downstream.
• Operators, service companies, and license arrangements.
• Scale, capital intensity, and risk of upstream projects.

Unit 2: Exploration fundamentals

• Petroleum systems and reservoir-forming elements.
• Seismic surveying and subsurface imaging.
• Prospect evaluation and exploration risk.
• From lead to drillable prospect.

Unit 3: Reservoir characterization and evaluation

• Reservoir properties and how they are measured.
• Well logging, coring, and formation evaluation.
• Estimating reserves and resources.
• Reservoir uncertainty and its effect on plans.

Unit 4: Drilling engineering and technologies

• Well design, casing, and the drilling process.
• Directional and horizontal drilling.
• Drilling fluids, well control, and pressure management.
• Managing drilling cost and risk.

Unit 5: Well completion and testing

• Completion design and equipment.
• Perforation, stimulation, and hydraulic fracturing.
• Well testing and production evaluation.
• Matching completion to reservoir conditions.

Unit 6: Production systems and optimization

• Production systems, artificial lift, surface facilities.
• Production optimization and flow assurance.
• Enhanced oil recovery methods.
• Managing decline over field life.

Unit 7: HSE in exploration and production

• Major hazards in drilling and production.
• Well integrity and blowout prevention.
• Environmental management offshore and onshore.
• How HSE shapes operational decisions.

Unit 8: Risk management in upstream projects

• Subsurface, technical, and operational risk.
• Decision-making under uncertainty.
• Contingency and risk mitigation in projects.
• Lessons from upstream project overruns.

Unit 9: Economics of exploration and production

• Upstream cost structure and cash flow.
• Project economics, net present value, and decision metrics.
• Fiscal regimes and production sharing.
• How oil and gas prices shape investment, alongside Digital Transformation in Oil and Gas Industry.

Unit 10: Digital transformation in upstream operations

• The digital oilfield and real-time data.
• Data analytics and modeling in reservoir and production.
• Automation and remote operations.
• Where digital investment pays back.

Unit 11: Global trends in exploration and production

• The energy transition and its effect on upstream.
• Cost discipline and capital allocation.
• Emissions, flaring, and sustainability pressure.
• How upstream strategy is adapting.

Unit 12: Bringing the upstream chain together

• Tracing a prospect from exploration to production.
• Linking subsurface, drilling, production, and economics.
• Weighing technical, economic, and HSE trade-offs together.
• Reviewing an integrated field development case.

How the course is delivered

The course is led through structured explanation, worked examples, and documented case studies from upstream projects and fields. Participants examine evaluation data, well and production decisions, and project economics and discuss the trade-offs behind them. The course is educational and does not provide certification or assess any operation.

Who should attend

This course suits engineers and geoscientists who want a broader view beyond their specialty, along with finance, commercial, project, and HSE staff who support upstream operations and need to understand the technical chain. It is useful both to newcomers to oil and gas and to experienced professionals seeking an integrated perspective. No single technical background is assumed.

About EuroQuest International Training

EuroQuest International Training was founded in 2015 by a team with more than 25 years of combined experience in professional training. The institute has delivered over 1,000 courses to more than 15,000 participants, and is headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia, with training hubs in Dubai, London, Barcelona, Istanbul, Vienna, Paris, and Geneva. Courses are designed and reviewed by practitioners and updated to reflect current practice in each field.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an engineering or geoscience degree?

No. The course explains each discipline in accessible terms and concentrates on how they connect. Technical specialists will deepen their cross-disciplinary view, while commercial and support staff will gain a clear picture of the upstream chain.

Does the course cover both onshore and offshore?

Yes. The principles of exploration, drilling, completion, and production apply to both, and the course notes where offshore operations add cost, complexity, and specific HSE demands.

Is this a technical drilling course?

No. It is an integrated overview of the whole upstream chain, including drilling, rather than a specialist drilling course. The aim is broad understanding and sound judgment across disciplines.

Related courses

• Downstream Oil and Gas Operations Management
• Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Management in Oil & Gas
• Petroleum Economics and Investment Strategies
• Reservoir Simulation and Performance Evaluation

Register for this course

To reserve a place or ask about scheduling and city options for the Upstream Oil and Gas Exploration and Production course, use the registration and enquiry options on this page and the EuroQuest team will follow up with the details you need.