Curtin Sarawak students learn from field trip to Labuan

Miri – 10 May 2016 – 12 petroleum engineering students from Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) went on a field trip to Labuan recently where they visited oil and gas companies Halliburton and Reservoir Link.

The one-day trip was organised in conjunction with the university’s Petroleum Engineering Week 2016 organised by the Curtin University Sarawak Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Student Chapter.

The students were accompanied by Head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Associate Professor Sharul Sham Dol, and associate lecturer Mian Umer Shafiq.

The visit provided the students a first-hand look into the operations of the two companies and helped them relate theories learnt in the classroom to real industry scenarios. Prior to the trip, they were required to review three theories associated with well completion, cementing process and production enhancement for this purpose.

At Halliburton, staff members briefed the group on the application of the three theories at their facility. In addition, the students were introduced to new technologies used by Halliburton in controlling sand production by their production engineer who elaborated on the advantages of screening technology for controlling sand in pipelines and enhancing production quality.

The group was then taken on a workshop tour where they learned about the use of various equipment offshore and onshore. Detailed explanations were given about the processes of wellbore cleanout and tool settings for permanent packers.

The students were later brought to a cementing laboratory where they observed and compared apparatus used at Curtin Sarawak’s and Halliburton’s laboratories.

Meanwhile, at Reservoir Link, the students got to learn about the company’s history in the oil and gas industry as well as the services it offers. Engineers at Reservoir Link also demonstrated the setup for slick-e-line, a piece of equipment that can perform traditional slickline operations as well as real-time depth control.

According to Associate Professor Sharul, the visits to the companies was testimony of how the Department of Petroleum Engineering and the Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter seek to bridge the gap between classroom learning and industry practice by providing opportunities for students to engage with and learn from industry experts.

Mian commented that field trips are integral part of the students’ learning as it helps them to visualise different aspects of field work and better understand theories learned during their lectures or tutorial classes.

SPE is the largest individual-member organisation serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals worldwide in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry. Its student chapters are university-based groups of SPE student members. Student chapters are located around the world and provide an operating framework for society activities at university level. Presently, there are more than 360 SPE student chapters worldwide.

Find out more about the Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter on Facebook at www.facebook.com/specurtinswk.

The students posing with Halliburton engineers.

Briefing on offshore equipment by one of the Halliburton engineers.

Group photo with engineers of Reservoir Link.