Curtin Malaysia students champs in International Enhanced Oil Recovery Simulation Competition

Miri – 6 June 2017 – A team of five final-year petroleum engineering students of Curtin University, Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) emerged the winning team in the recent International Enhanced Oil Recovery Simulation Competition 2017 (EORSC 2017).

The team comprised Timothy Chuen Peng Yuen, Voon Yi Hung, Chong Yun Jia, Gaurav Patel and Kho Cheng Hong. Their participation in the competition was sponsored by Curtin Malaysia’s Office of Teaching and Learning and Faculty of Engineering and Science.

Organised by Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) at its campus in collaboration with the Centre of Research Enhanced Oil Recovery (COREOR) and Society of Petroleum Engineers UTP Student Chapter, the competition saw the participation of teams from five universities: UTP, Curtin Malaysia, UCSI University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Mara.

The 3-day competition required the participating teams to conduct reservoir modelling simulations using Tempest Roxar software based on reservoir data provided. They had to find the best methods and techniques to maximise oil recovery and subsequently profit that could be earned from increased recovery.

On the first day, they attended a simulation workshop where they were given instruction on using the Tempest Roxar software, and on the following day, they spent the entire day in the laboratory working on the competition case study. On the final day, the teams presented their proposed methods and simulation results to a panel of judges consisting of industry experts.

According to one of the Curtin Malaysia students, Chong Yun Jia, the most challenging part of the competition was deciding on the best method for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and optimising the number of injection and production wells to be built.

The team expressed its gratitude to Associate Professor Sharul Sham, head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Curtin Malaysia, and petroleum engineering senior lecturer Dr. Mohamed Ali Hamid for their support, saying that their vast knowledge of reservoir engineering and guidance was crucial in helping the team achieve its win.

The winning team from Curtin Malaysia: (L-R) Timothy Chuen Peng Yuen, Voon Yi Hung, Chong Yun Jia, Gaurav Patel and Kho Cheng Hong.