Narrative:

Taxiing to runway was uneventful as was the takeoff.as we were climbing through about 28;000 feet approximately 20 minutes into the flight; I noticed on the EICAS display that the engine 2 oil pressure psi indication was amber and dropping. I had my first officer (first officer) bring up the status page on his mfd at which time we noticed the oil quantity was dropping at a constant rate. We briefly discussed this situation and determined that at any moment we were going to get a low oil pressure message. We determined [departure airport] would be the better option for the safety of the flight.I instructed my first officer to tell ATC we needed to return. I also had him look up engine 2 low oil pressure in the QRH as we anticipated this indication. Within a minute after telling ATC we needed to return; we did get the engine 2 low oil pressure indication. I was flying the airplane and I had my first officer run the QRH which required the engine to be shut down. The engine was shut down approximately within 5 minutes after we noticed the low pressure indication on the EICAS at an altitude of approximately FL300.we verified that dispatch had been notified [and] we informed the flight attendants of the situation. They were told we were returning to [departure airport]. We also informed the passengers that we were returning for precautionary reasons as a result of abnormal engine indications and at no time were the passengers informed that the number 2 engine had been shut down. We continued to make sure that all QRH procedure had been completed and that all checklists were done as we were descending. I had my first officer ask for straight out missed approach if we needed to go around. ATC provided a discrete frequency; I had my first officer advise we would be stopping on the runway to have the emergency vehicles inspect the number 2 engine before we proceed to the gate. We did not send for number via ACARS; instead we used the check list numbers together with QRH procedures and inputted them manually. The rest of the approach and landing was uneventful. The first officer did an outstanding job with the QRH and ATC communications.when the aircraft came to a complete stop; vehicles inspected the number 2 engine and did not notice any abnormalities and indicated it would be ok to taxi to the gate however they would follow us to the gate as a precaution. When we arrived at the gate we proceeded to shut down the aircraft at which time the passengers deplaned.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-175 Captain reported returning to departure airport after shutting down Number 2 engine because of low oil quantity and pressure.

Narrative: Taxiing to runway was uneventful as was the takeoff.As we were climbing through about 28;000 feet approximately 20 minutes into the flight; I noticed on the EICAS display that the Engine 2 Oil Pressure PSI indication was amber and dropping. I had my FO (First Officer) bring up the Status page on his MFD at which time we noticed the oil quantity was dropping at a constant rate. We briefly discussed this situation and determined that at any moment we were going to get a low oil pressure message. We determined [departure airport] would be the better option for the safety of the flight.I instructed my FO to tell ATC we needed to return. I also had him look up engine 2 low oil pressure in the QRH as we anticipated this indication. Within a minute after telling ATC we needed to return; we did get the Engine 2 low oil pressure indication. I was flying the airplane and I had my FO run the QRH which required the engine to be shut down. The engine was shut down approximately within 5 minutes after we noticed the low pressure indication on the EICAS at an altitude of approximately FL300.We verified that Dispatch had been notified [and] we informed the flight attendants of the situation. They were told we were returning to [departure airport]. We also informed the passengers that we were returning for precautionary reasons as a result of abnormal engine indications and at no time were the passengers informed that the number 2 engine had been shut down. We continued to make sure that all QRH procedure had been completed and that all checklists were done as we were descending. I had my FO ask for straight out missed approach if we needed to go around. ATC provided a discrete frequency; I had my FO advise we would be stopping on the runway to have the emergency vehicles inspect the number 2 engine before we proceed to the gate. We did not send for number via ACARS; instead we used the check list numbers together with QRH procedures and inputted them manually. The rest of the approach and landing was uneventful. The FO did an outstanding job with the QRH and ATC communications.When the aircraft came to a complete stop; vehicles inspected the number 2 engine and did not notice any abnormalities and indicated it would be OK to taxi to the gate however they would follow us to the gate as a precaution. When we arrived at the gate we proceeded to shut down the aircraft at which time the passengers deplaned.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.