…to better equip students for the oil and gas industry

THE University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen Campus is now better equipped to train students for the oil and gas industry as Guyana prepares for first oil.

Emerging from collaboration among Schlumberger, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the university’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology, now has a geo-technical computer lab, worth US$10.8M, (GYD$ 2,251,511,002) for students who are studying in the field of oil and gas.

At the handing over ceremony of the laboratory at the campus on Wednesday, Managing Director of Schlumberger for Trinidad and the Caribbean, Sean Herrera, said that the company has been involved in Guyana’s oil and gas industry since 2012.

Schlumberger is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterisation, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry. Working in more than 85 countries and employing approximately 100,000 people who represent over 140 nationalities, Schlumberger supplies the industry’s most comprehensive range of products and services, from exploration through production and integrated pore-to-pipeline solutions for hydrocarbon recovery that optimize reservoir performance.

Herrera said that the discovery in 2015 has put Guyana on the Oil and Gas map, and has initiated an amazing journey, presently underway. Therefore, persons must be fully equipped with the necessary knowledge to develop and maintain the new sector, he asserted.

The geoscience software on the computers, Herrera said, is one of the most widely used software platforms globally, in the industry. As such, “not only will the university students be using world-class software to operate in their curriculum, but even more importantly, as graduates, they will be entering the workplace with valuable knowledge of, and experience with, a platform highly likely to be used by prospective employers locally and globally,” he added. He also noted that the donation of the software embodies the affirmation and commitment by Schlumberger, to educational development.

Climb higher heights
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, said that the students will definitely climb to higher heights as a result of this donation.

Trotman said that his Ministry and by extension, GGMC, will remain committed to long term partnerships with the institution, since it is responsible for shaping the lives and minds of our people. He said that it is within their goals, to help develop the youths of Guyana. Echoing similar sentiments, Commissioner (ag), GGMC, Newell Dennison said in his remarks, that GGMC has been sponsoring, supporting and donating to the university because it is their belief that the agency’s strength, is in the institution.

“…and we believe that the institution’s strength is as strong as we are. So we find it very useful to have these relationships with the university… Specific to this lab, the development of oil and gas is only one aspect of what we should be looking forward to in Guyana. And it provides an opportunity, by the technological advances it would bring very quickly, for all the other areas to make along a similar trajectory. Because unless those areas are also strong, agriculture, environment, and so on, only then can we have maximum development,” Dennison said.

On that note, the university’s Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor, Ivelaw Griffith, said that “these are not the only ones that will be offered… As time goes by we will have to examine what are the needs of the industry, what are the needs of the regulators and how can we build further partnerships in this respect.”

Griffith added that “we as a university cannot afford the luxury of being only reflective of what the university’s needs are, we have got to pursue, reflect and plan, in regard to what the nation’s needs are. And what the nation needs, is not only in relation to the oil and gas industry. They’re other opportunities we have begun to pursue, and will pursue, in the context that is non-engineering and technology, but in the context of what the nation needs to have its work done.”

VC also explained that included with the software donated by Schlumberger, is a three year license for use, inclusive of a maintenance component.

Service Manager, Software Integrated Solutions, Nicholas Warwick, explained to the Guyana Chronicle that the Petrel E&P software platform, brings disciplines together with best-in-class applied science in an unparalleled productivity environment.

“This shared earth approach enables companies to standardize workflows from exploration to production and make more informed decisions with a clear understanding of both opportunities and risks,” Warwick said.

He added that “as the industry looks to accelerate reserves replacement and boost recovery in difficult reservoirs, increasing productivity is essential. The Petrel platform supports automated, repeatable workflows, to capture best practices and share them across the organization. New data is easily incorporated, keeping the subsurface live and current. Embedded cross-domain uncertainty analysis and optimization workflows enable straightforward testing of parameter sensitivity and scenario analysis. The embedded Studio E&P knowledge environment improves productivity with multiuser database access and collaborative work sessions with team members. The Studio environment lets you capture more than just data, it allows you to store and share the knowledge of how a result was accomplished.”

This ability he said, will be of great improvement of the local knowledge and capability in the oil and gas sector.