Curtin Sarawak students represent Malaysia at SPE PetroBowl competition

Miri – 2 December 2016 – A team of students from the SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Student Chapter of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) were the sole Malaysian representatives at the recent SPE PetroBowl Competition 2016 held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.

PhD student Mian Umer Shafiq and third-year petroleum engineering students Chong Yun Jia and Felicity Valerie Karim were proud to take part in the competition that matches teams from SPE student chapters of universities around the world against each other in a quiz competition covering technical and non-technical aspects of the petroleum industry.

This year, 36 teams took part in the competition after they emerged top in regional qualifier competitions held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Benin City, Nigeria; Kuala Lumpur; Austin, USA; Stavanger, Norway and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The team from Curtin Sarawak met all the requirements to qualify for the global competition after their brilliant performance at the regional round in Kuala Lumpur.

The SPE PetroBowl competition, which started in 2002, was held on the sidelines of the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE 2016) attended by 7,500 industry professionals from 91 countries. The event also featured six plenary sessions, 54 technical presentations and an exhibition throughout the three-day programme.

During the conference, the Curtin Sarawak students had the opportunity to try different petroleum engineering software, meet industry professionals and gain information on the latest developments and best practices in the petroleum industry.

In congratulating the students, Head of Department of Petroleum Engineering at Curtin Sarawak’s Faculty of Engineering and Science, Associate Professor Sharul Sham Dol said he was pleased with their achievement and expressed hope that teams from Curtin Sarawak will continue to perform well in future, possibly becoming the first from Asia to win the PetroBowl championship.

Commenting on their participation, Mian said the event was both informative and challenging, adding that it gave insights into the other teams’ technical strengths, which could be used as benchmarks for Curtin Sarawak teams in future PetroBowl competitions.

Established in 2013 and with a current membership of about 200 members, the Curtin Sarawak SPE Student Chapter serves to provide its members with industry exposure and networking opportunities through a variety of activities such as talks, workshops, conferences, competitions, industrial visits, charity and sporting events.

Last year, the student chapter received the SPE’s Outstanding Student Chapter Award, the highest honour conferred to a student chapter in recognition of its exemplary industry engagement, operations and planning, community involvement, professional development and innovation. In 2014 and again this year, it was presented the SPE Gold Standard Student Chapter Award for excellence.

For more information on the Curtin Sarawak SPE Student Chapter, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/specurtinswk or e-mail to cusmstudents@spemail.org.

(L-R) Curtin Sarawak representatives Felicity, Mian and Chong.

Part of the SPE ATCE 2016 exhibition.