College of Engineering Holds a Discussion at the Casper Petroleum Club

Nov. 20, 2006 - The College of Engineering held a roundtable discussion with leading energy and petroleum engineering specialists in October at the Casper Petroleum Club. The purpose of this discussion was to assemble key people in the petroleum industry who understand the issues facing today’s widely expanding petroleum industry. Industry experts attended from nine corporations and consulting firms as well as Wyoming State Senator Bill Hawks, Director Jim Steidtmann of the UW Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute, Dean Gus Plumb, Chemical and Petroleum Department Head Brian Towler, and several UW petroleum engineering faculty.

The reintroduction of the petroleum engineering program at UW has the potential to graduate approximately 25 B.S. students per year beginning in 2008 in addition to its M.S. and Ph.D. graduates. Fall enrollment included 22 new freshman and 21 second and third year students who enrolled in petroleum engineering, with more expected to transfer to this degree program throughout the semester.

The roundtable discussion centered on the need for more applied research and curriculum content in the area of unconventional gas. To this point the UW Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering announced to the group that they are installing an x-ray scanning system capable of making three-phase measurements in a range of core sizes. This will be one of very few such facilities in the world and it will significantly benefit UW’s research in the unconventional gas area. Additional discussion regarding petroleum economics being important to the petroleum engineering curriculum is being addressed by the department through the expansion of the content with existing courses.

This UW Petroleum Engineering Roundtable has been held in 2005 and 2006, and will be continued on an annual basis in the fall of each year. It has proven to be an excellent means to capture industry concerns and comments that apply to UW’s education of petroleum engineers so that our graduates are best prepared for their career in the energy industry.