Personal Perspectives on Petroleum Engineering Education

UTulsa petroleum engineering graduate students are invited to a seminar featuring Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University.

From the speaker:

In this seminar I provide my thoughts on the evolving role of petroleum engineering education in supporting the development of subsurface energy resources. While retaining our core focus on traditional disciplines, petroleum engineering must adapt to incorporate broader aspects of “subsurface energy engineering” — integrating emerging technologies and addressing new technical challenges. To be sure, I advocate for the continued evolution of petroleum engineering technologies and educational programs. I provide my own perspectives on the current status and potential future of petroleum engineering education, considering the need for an expanded technical focus and new skill sets.

My goal is to discuss what we have done well, what we must consider in a very mature state of development in the U.S., and what we could and should do in the context of the “petroleum engineering” label. While debates about nomenclature persist, I will continue to use “petroleum engineering” to represent the broader scope of “subsurface energy engineering” systems. Our mission will expand, but all indicators are that we will be consuming roughly the same volumes of hydrocarbons in the next 30 years as we are now (if not more). That may or may not happen, but someone will have to provide the skills and workforce to produce “geo-energy” (or whatever name subsurface energy is given) – I am pretty sure it will be “us.”