Education For The Petroleum Industry

By D. L. FLOCK*

(6th World Petroleum Congres8, Frankfurtj,Main, June, 1963) Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JCPT/article-pdf/3/01/20/2165367/petsoc-64-01-04.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021

ABSTRACT des elements qui se faisaient c0T!­ ed in the future, But i1is numbers currence et qui, parfois, s'opposal­ continue to dwindle, and tIl(' ,'('suit· Since 1930. petroleum engineering ent mutuellement. II a fallu sou­ educators have faced the problem mettre a un examen constant les ing problems of C'ngineering educa­ of the education of engineers for sciences de base, les connaissances tors and industry are still unsolved. the petroleum industry. An essen­ fondamentales en genie, les human­ The purpose of this paper is to tial balance had to be maintained ites et Ies cours specialises en discuss the pl'oblems of educators between competing and, sometimes, genie petrolier et ensuite les situer conflicting elements of this educa­ en parfaite harmonie dans l'ense-m­ and industry concerning this clevel­ tion. The basic sciences, the funda­ ble du programme. Comme de just~, opment and suggpst a solution. mentals of engineering, the human­ Ie plan des vieux programmes re­ Many men in industry have no first­ ities and the specialized petrolewn pondait dans une grande mesurc hand knowledge of the basic eontcnl engineering courses had to be. con­ aux interets principaux de l'indus­ stantly evaluated and assIgned trie petroliere de ces temps-Ia; of petroleum enginC'ering curricula. their proper proportions in the mais peu a peu les programmes The principle objectives and histor­ whole prograIllllle. Naturally, the d'etudes en genie petrolier sont ical developments of petroleum design of the early curricula re­ devenus enfin coherents et homo­ engineering are reviewed in an at­ ftected to a large extent the dom~ genes. inant interests of the petroleum in­ tempt to define dearly the activi­ dustry during those years; but Pendant dix ans environ apres la ties of the petroleum engineer in eventually coherent and homogen­ deuxieme guerre mondiale, les etud­ the industry. The response of stu­ eous petroleum engineering curric­ iants et l'industrie petroliere ont ula evolved. regarde ces programmes d'un oeil dents and industry is considcrN] and favorable. Cependant, des develop­ directly linked to two factors, the F'oI' about a decade after World Dements recents dans la production surplus produeing eapacity of the War II these programmes were fa­ de l'energie nucleaire et les besoins industry and the glamour o[ recent vourably received, both by the stu­ changeants de l'industrie petroIiI~re dents and the petroleum industry. ont amene une decroissance d'int­ atomic development. We at the But recent atomic development and eret et d'inscriptions dans les University of Alberta believC', how­ the changing needs of industry have etudes petrolieres. Les educateu~s ever, that we have' a solution to resulted in decreased interest and doivent maintenant marcher de pall' the problem, We arc taking defin­ decreased enrollment in the petro­ avec leur epoque. Ils doivent accep­ leum discipline. Educators must ter les changements et les innova­ ite steps to strengthen the position keep up with the times. Chance tions. Les progranunes d'etudes en of petroleum engineers and to re­ and innovation must be accepted; genie petrolier doivent non seule­ move the risk associated with till' education for petroleum engineers ment etre au niveau des derniers specialized petroleum field. must not only bring itself up to progres mais aussi, dans la mesure date, but must, if possible, prepare du possible, prepareI' l'ingenieur for a constantly changing world. a un monde en etat de perpetuel The solutions discussed in this pa­ devenir. Les solutions discutees per primarily revolve about what dans cette communication tournent might be classed as the two-degree principalement autour de ce qu'on HISTORY OF PETROLEUM plan. So far these ideas have been pourrait appeler un "programme de favourably received. deux dipl6mes." Jusqu'a present Ia ENGINEERING reaction envers ces propositions a ete favorable. Petroleum Engineering consider­ Resume ed as a separate engineering field was first recognized in the carly Depuis 1930 Ie probleme de la thirties and is one of the youngest formation d'ingenieurs pour l'indus­ engineering professions 011 the trie petroliere confronte les educa­ INTRODUCTION teurs en genie petrolier. II a .fallu North American Continent. When maintenir dans Ie programme it was first developed, emphasis d'etudes requilibre necessaire entre Since 1957, engineering enroll­ was placed on the teaching of ments in some Universities in North knowledge depending only on expe­ America have sharply decreased. rience and observation in the pet­ The petroleum engineering student, roleum industry. in particular, is apparently becom­ ing almost extinct. Can industry This teaching of what might be Pet~ ."Department of Chemical & do without him? It appears not; classed as "accumulated experience" 1'oZeu,m Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. he is still needed and will be need- was, unfortunately, in direct con- 20 Journal of Canadian Pcholcum flict with the 1?asic objective of a was much to learn about petroleum industry. Many of the larger comp"" University education. University in­ reservoirsi how to reach them, how anies, backed by strong technical struction in other aspects of engin­ to produce them, and how to re­ organizations o~eir own, are eering is primarily theoretical, and activate or maintain them. This carrying out on the job training of a progranune and environment study of the physi~al principles con­ their graduates from "other branches should be created to develop a crea­ trolling the behaviour of oil fields of engineering. Many companies tive and thinking mind. The neces­ is tenned "reservoir engineering:' are assuming the job of Universi­ sary practical experience in engin­ The reservoir engineer deals mac­ ties, or are employing teachers to eering should be obtained from roscopically and microscopically offer special concentrated schools in other sources. with pore spaces within porous sys­ such subjects as reservoir engineer­ ~f.,;;.J- 't..~ ". tems which are geometrically dif­ ing, drilling and well logging. The basic problem during the ficult to describe, and he is unique­ growth of Petroleum Engineering ly concerned with the understand­ Thus, during recent years, there !~';JJf'.i~ has been much discussion on the was the development of a body of ing of multiphase fluid flow within subject of the education' of engin­ principles underlying this new such a system. branch of engineering. This re­ eers for the petroleum industry and ."'.';< qUired a lot of borrowing from With time, less emphasis came to the place of the petroleum engineer I;._~distribution. !<",' - ...~~. • c ter directly concerned with the pro­ employing as high as 50 per cent Instrumentation and automation are , - duction of oil and gas from porous of their staff from other disciplines, becoming a necessity in modern t:t::\;.:;::~ ',,~, rock. Such courses included mater­ continued to utilize more petroleum production, transportation and pro­ ial on drilling equipment and prin­ engineering graduates each year. cessing operations. The perfection ciples, drilling fluids, electric log­ Following World War II, the pet­ of high-speed computing techniques i;" ··::~~~2 ;f::: ging, oil well stimulation, pumping, roleum industry in North America has resulted in solutions to many surface equipment, phase behaviour annually employed in excess of 500 problems previously sought only of hydrocarbons, core analysis and petroleum engineering graduates. through laboratory experimentation. petroleum production mechanisms. Thus, better principles, techniques As technology advanced in the pet­ During these years it could be and equipment will be developed so roleum industry, the content of said that petroleum graduates were that more direct physical represent­ these courses was continually mod­ enthusiastically received. But, since ation of the mechanisms of fluid :~.~~>~:'.- ified and petroleum engineering 1957, there has been a gradual soft­ .:.0. flow through porous systems can be _" •• ,-:"'0 curricula were never standardized ening of this demand, and it can provided. in the laboratory. ',' now be said that, at the present to the degree usually found in other - ~ '- ... engineering desciplines. time, industry is only mildly res­ The changing needs of industry .. ponsive to the petroleum engineer­ also require great improvements in ing graduate. The petroleum in­ efficiency, Technological changes EARLY CHANGES IN CURRICULA dustry is hiring an ever.increasing have already result¢ in the dis­ percentage of staff from other eng­ placement of less, skilled workers University staff and engineers in ineering branches such as mech­ and job opportunities reqUired high­ the industry acknowledged however anical, chemical and electrical eng­ er skills. In short, fewer people that petroleum engineering pro­ ineering. The petroleum engineer need to know more. The engineer grammes could not incorporate sub­ was hired by the industry more or is now required to take on more j ect matter in all of the principal less on equal terms with graduates scientific responsibility and, at the areas outlined above, and efforts in other engineering patterns. He same time, to be able to express were made to restrict them. There was seldom accepted in any other himself and sell his ideas. The boun-

Technology, Spring, 1964, Calgary 21 ------

daries of knowledge of the petrol­ graduate petroleum engineerIng en­ courses deal with the basic concepts eum industry are continually ex­ rollment is linked with the surplus of fluid flow in porous media, The panding. Research is having an producing capacity of the industry graduate (fifth year) programme incalculable influence on the tech­ on this continent, the curtailment of leading to the Master of Science de­ nical advances within these boun­ activity resulting from that surplus gree in Petroleum Engineering was daries. and finally, the- so-called atomic continued, emphasized and modified age. to facilitate the admission of stu­ Another factor to consider, con­ dents from the four main streams cerning the recent reaction to pet­ of engineering (chemical, mechani~ roleum engineering, is the amount cal, civil and electrical). Such a RECENT CHANGES IN CURRICULA of production of this natural re­ student would graduate with two de­ source. The fantastic development As a result of this new emphasis grees in different fields of engin­ of oil and gas reserves of the pe­ upon science, the changing needs of eering; for example, chemical and troleum industry, notably in Can­ the petroleum industry, and the cur­ petroleum. As a result, the pet­ ada, has overrun the demand, re­ tailment of activity resulting from roleum engineering programme was sulting in a surplus producing cap­ surplus producing capacity, petrol­ made available to a potentially acity and, in turn, curtailment of eum educators were required to greater body of students. It was activity. In adition, there has been come up with solutions to stabilize. anticipated that this change would an increase in imports of crude oil student enrollment and to make ad­ result in a better quality student. Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/JCPT/article-pdf/3/01/20/2165367/petsoc-64-01-04.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 to the United States. Then too, the justments in their curricula so that This introduction of the five-year press bombards the public with mat­ they may continue to serve both the programme, leading to the Master erial on the glamour of the space industry and to educate the stu­ of Science in petroleum, provides age and atomic age. As a result, dent. an answer to the criticism that pet­ students have become concerned roleum engineering is a specializa­ about the future of the petroleum In the United States, efforts have been made to stabilize petroleum tion within an already specialized industry. Our embryo petroleum SUbject, engineering. engineer asks if there will be a engineering enrollment. Educators need for petroleum and, hence, for through pUblications, have brought The introduction of courses in him in ten years, when atomic pow­ to the attention of the industry evi­ numerical analysis, comput£'r pro­ er has taken over as the basic dence of the serious decline in the gramming and applied mathemai­ source of energy. number of graduates. Efforts have ics makes it possible to teach pet­ been made to point out the contri­ roleum engineering with a quantita­ butions of the petroleum engineer tive approach rather than with the and the future need for this type descriptive or empirical approach. RESPONSE OF STUDENTS of engineer, Faculties in many With emphasis on graduate worlt Universities have concentrated on In recent years, the number of and research, petroleum engineer­ the offering of special short courses ing at Alberta should be highly petroleum engineering students en­ in petroleum engineering for prac­ rolling in North American Univer­ flexiblE' and more scientifically or­ tising enginE'ers in the petroleum iented, but stiB retain a certain sities has been decreasing signifi­ industry. Some Universities have cantly. In 1958 there were a total unique character different Irom however abolished their petroleum other engineering disciplines. of 697 degrees conferred, whereas engineering programmes. Others by 1960 there were a total of 574. have merged petroleum engineering The purpose of future petroleum Although it is difficult to cite a rea­ with other departments. engineering curricula will be to edu­ son, the quality of petroleum engin­ cat~ engineers within the character­ eering students graduating from At the University of Alberta many istic framework of fluid flow and Universities has been deteriorating. changes have been initiated in all reservoir behaviour. Universities As a result, the industry has been branches of engineering and not should not be concerned with the looldng only at the academic stand­ only in petroleum engineering. teaching of practical subjects. Pet­ ing of graduates and not consider­ These include the establishment of roleum programmes should be de~ ing the type of engineering degree. a first and second year programme signed so that a better quality stu­ Forecasts indicate that the number common to all branches of engin­ dent from another engineering pat­ of students graduating in petroleum eering; the introduction of more tern might be educated in the es­ engineering from North American mathematics, physics and chemistry sential fundamentals of petroleum Universities by 1963 will total ap­ at the expense of surveying and engineering. The petroleum cur­ proximately 250 and by 1964 about drafting; and the inclusion of ricula of the future must educate 150. courses in physical chemistry, elec­ both specifically and broadly. It tronics and electrical circuits. All must educate in a specific area, to At the same time, enrollment at this has made possible the offering satisfy the requirements of a higher the graduate level is increasing as a of a wide choice of electives in the level of educational skills; and it result of encouragement of contin­ third and fourth years. must be a broad enough aJ'ea to ued study at the advance level, and To cope particularly with the cope with the general and ever­ may be expected to continue. It is changing problems of the petroleum interesting to note that many of the problem of petroleum engineers, industry. Reservoir engineers with new students in petroleum engin­ two courses in petroleum reservoir an undergraduate degree in one of eering are from countries in the engineering, the central element of the progremme, were made avail­ the other engineering fields, follow­ East such as India and Pakistan, ed by a Master's Degree in the field where recent oil and gas discoveries able to those students in the senior of petroleum engineering, will con­ are being developed. years of both chemical and mech­ anical engineering, who desired ad­ tinue to make significant contribu­ There is no question that the ditional preparation for careers in tions to the petroleum industries' ex­ North American decline in under- the petroleum industry. These panding technology. 22 Journal of Canadian Petroleum --'---_.... -... -

1 .' Although the change to this new With the functions and goals of vances are made. The petroleum , progra:mme has been recent, both these two programmes, so that the industry needs petroleum engineers ! stud~ts and industry seem to fav­ best qualified graduate is made as well as many other kinds of eng­ our the changes. There has been available to them. It is believed ineers and technicians in the future. an increase ·'in enrollment in the that in some cases those students To quote Mr. R. G. Dunlop, Presi­ fourth year petroleum sequence of from foreign countries who have dent of the Sun Oil Company in the courses. Industry has been absorb­ come to Alberta may not have re­ United States, "The'vast body of ing all the Master's graduates avail­ ceived the most useful education knOWledge developed in petroleum able and is looking ahead for fu­ necessary to satisfy the needs of engineering is the foundation of ture engineers from this program­ the petroleum industry in their present-day oil and gas conserva­ me. countries. sion laws, of techniques for assisted and secondary recovery, and of uni­ tized operation of oil fields in which all interests are pools and entire TECHNICAL STUDENTS AND reservoirs are produced on sound SUMMARY engineering principles as though ENGINEERS under single ownership." To summarize certain principal Although the changing work; that is, mic power, as a major source of roleum industry should be main­ ~:: r ," :~ the engineer has been solving prob­ e-nergy, have influuenced his think­ tained by continued criticism and ... ~ ., lems by the application of a known ing concerning job opportunities and re-evaluation. Ft~,::?: engineering technique rather than future security. / by developing a new technique to It is important that industry and provide the solution. But now the 2. Curricula designed in the past ('ducators must take a greater int­ level of schools of technology has did not allow enough flexibility of erest in the counselling of students been upgraded and thus technicians job opportunity and, thus, a young and there must be bett~ communi­ are qualified to aet as assistants to petroleum engineer found himself cation with the pUblic and the pot­ engineers. Additional on-the-job tied more or less exclusively to the ential university student. More ef­ training should provide potentially segment of society which required fort should be made to point out top-calibre employees. this specialized knowledge. the accomplishments of engineer­ ing versus science and to ditEeren­ 3. The higher level of academic tiate between the nature of engin­ We must not forget the foreign training required by industry today, eering and scientific education. student. He is with us in ever in­ the upgrading of engineering pro­ creasing numbers. Students from grammes and the tendency among foreign countries who come to Can­ some students to avoid a challeng­ ada and are interested in obtaining ing programme, has brought about an education in petroleum engin­ the recognition by some young men eering have two choices - a course of the difficulty of engineering com­ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS in petroleum technology, or a uni­ pared to other University program­ versity degree in petroleum engin­ mes. I am indebted to Mrs. M. H. Cutt, eering. .The petroleum industry of Professor L. E. Gads, Dr. D. B. Rob­ these countries, mainly Pakistan Progress in industry will continue inson, and Dr. G. W. Govier for and India, should become familiar as scientific and technological ad- their assistance in this work.

Technology, Spring, 1964, Calgary 23