PNG LNG PROJECT ASSISTS UPNG STUDENTS WITH OIL AND GAS TRAINING

UPNG Students on Training. Photo credit. ExxonMobil

For the third year in a row, Esso Highlands Limited, the operator of the PNG LNG Project, has assisted the University of PNG (UPNG) to deliver its Petroleum Geology module to undergraduate students.

A total of 45 students recently attended a three-day training course held in Port Moresby, along with five officers from the Department of Petroleum and Energy. Ric Weightman of the PNG LNG Project and Simon Kerawagle of UPNG worked together to facilitate the course.

Through lectures and group work projects, four trainers from ExxonMobil’s Melbourne office covered subjects in the science of oil and gas, including Integrated Basins Analysis: Hydrocarbon Systems and Play Mapping and Formation Evaluation Using Well Logs. The technical training helped students to understand how to identify a potential oil or gas reservoir, and how to predict how much oil or gas it may hold.

“The process of finding oil and gas in economic quantities requires the integration of many different concepts and types of geologic data. It was rewarding to see the students successfully work together to solve geologic problems and identify the most prospective areas in our exercise. Their enthusiasm and desire to learn made it a very rewarding experience for all,” said trainer Jeffrey Geslin.

Once the students had grasped the large scale elements of petroleum exploration, they tackled the details of evaluating data from an example well.

“It’s quite a challenge for students to jump from geological concepts to identification and then quantification of hydrocarbons in place from geophysical well logs, but by the time they were finished, they were identifying gas and oil with confidence,” said trainer Andy Mills.