Curtin Sarawak team sole Malaysian qualifier at PetroBowl Asia Pacific semi-finals

Miri – 5 May 2016 – It was a proud moment for the SPE Student Chapter of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) when its team emerged as the only Malaysian qualifier for the semi-finals of the PetroBowl Asia Pacific Region, a competition pitching 22 teams from Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) student chapters of universities in the Asia Pacific region against each other in a series of technical and non-technical sessions.

The 3-member Curtin Sarawak team comprising PhD students Leong Van Hong and Mian Umer Shafiq and third-year petroleum engineering student Chong Yun Jia secured a place among the top four semi-finalists in the competition held on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2016 (OTC Asia 2016) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre recently.

Over 20,000 industry professionals from 70 countries attended OTC Asia 2016 which provided a platform for energy professionals to exchange ideas and opinions with the aim of advancing scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters.

The conference with the theme ‘Excellence in Asia’ featured two plenary and ten panel sessions; 18 special sessions and country briefings; multidisciplinary technical programmes and an exhibition in addition to the PetroBowl competition.

Since its debut in 2002, the competition has grown in size and popularity. In 2015, it went international with the introduction of six regional qualifier competitions.

Regional qualifier competitions take place in the Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, South America and the Caribbean, Middle East, and North America SPE regions, and the best 36 teams are invited to the PetroBowl championship at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.

Curtin Sarawak’s Head of Department of Petroleum Engineering Associate Professor Sharul Sham Dol congratulated the team on its achievement and expressed hopes the team will be invited to the global PetroBowl championship at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Dubai later this year.

According to Leong, the team’s achievement was above his expectations considering the limited time it had to prepare for the competition. He said the PetroBowl regional qualifier competition was both technically challenging and entertaining at the same time and he was very pleased to have had the opportunity to compete against teams from various universities in the Asia Pacific region.

Echoing Leong’s sentiments, Mian commented that engaging with like-minded minds was a rewarding experience and felt proud to represent the university on the regional stage.

Established in March 2013, the Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter was the first SPE student chapter to be established in East Malaysia and is one of only eight SPE student chapters in the country. It currently has over 200 members.

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 chapter, which are university-based groups of SPE student members, is represented by over 300 chapters worldwide.

(L–R) Leong, Chong and Mian at the PetroBowl Asia Pacific competition.

Scene at the OTC Asia 2016.