Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering are fields which complements each other. Some people even have the misconception of both fields being the same. Chemical engineering as a field, focuses on the effective transformation of raw materials into usable products. while Petroleum Engineering involves precise design of devices used for drilling, extracting and storing of crude oil. The similarity these fields share is the generation of a suitable source of energy through cooperative activities.

The production of combustion engine fuels comes in a step wise manner, and in the production sector, terminologies such as Upstream and Downstream are used to describe the production and supply chain of fuels.Upstream basically covers the activities of Geologists with Petroleum engineers in the careful determination of the nature of the well and earth structure where drilling is going to take place. However, it is the responsibility of Petroleum Engineers to determine the possible volume of crude oil that can be extracted in an operation. Downstream on the other hand involves the activities of Chemical Engineers in refining the crude oil produced into usable fuels such as diesel, petrol and kerosene.

The controversy between Petroleum and Chemical Engineering sets in, based on the fact that the crude oil extracted by Petroleum Engineers is not usable in combustion engine device, not until it is refined by Chemical Engineers, through a process known as fractional distillation. Fractional distillation is a purification and separation technique that involves the use of massive heat energy to separate various components of crude oil, based on volatility or the rate vaporization, which solely depends on the boiling point.

Petroleum Engineering is a prestigious field with a very good pay. But a lot of threats are posed around the course as it is confined within crude oil exploration alone. Considering the drastic yearn for renewable energy, Chemical Engineering and other Engineering fields other than Petroleum Engineering, are most likely going to occupy the position of meeting with the demand of supplying a clean energy for public use. The untold truth is Petroleum Engineers are going to thrive for a couple of decades, but the continuous development of alternative source of energy will impede the functionality of Petroleum Engineers in the exploration of crude oil.

A means of sustaining this major, is by the incorporation of renewable energy production into the current curriculum by a very good percentage. On the long run we have to put the health of our environment into consideration. Hence, let us choose clean energy.