Winter 99/00 - Petroleum Engineering | The University of Oklahoma

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Guest Column The inaugural issue of OU Discovery was a delight. It conveyed a clear impression that change was afoot in the School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering. And it appears that the goals, educational approach and curriculum of the School are being reexamined from the ground up. This fresh start, together with your open invitation to contribute was too much for me to resist. I graduated in 1974, certainly one of the “boom” years of the School. Although my degree was in geological engineering, the curriculum for this program was only slightly different from P.E. Little attention was paid to it and the death of a key professor, Carl Moore, made it more of a backwater. Nevertheless, I was pleased to find a job in reservoir engineering. (Interestingly, a few years back, Billy Crynes asked to meet with a small group of OU oil people in Dallas over OU-Texas weekend. When we went around the room to introduce ourselves, all but one person present was a G.E. graduate!) When first hired, the most difficult aspect of my job was not the technical evaluation or methodology. It was the ability to recognize good data from poor data. Today, 25 years later, nothing has changed. In nearly every reservoir evaluation I encounter in my consulting work, there is not only incomplete data but often directly conflicting data. Maybe 90 percent of the data indicates “x” is going on in the reservoir, but there’s that nagging 10 percent that says something different. 10 OU Discovery School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering Gary Swindell Applied Reservoir Engineering by Craft and Hawkins was my classroom text, and I still view it as the definitive text on the subject. But it was not much help in teaching the ability to weed out the good data from the bad. In fact, it aggravated the problem by always giving sufficient and correct data for the examples and exercises. Although this was very useful in teaching the theory and methodology, it gave an incomplete picture of the industry. The real world, to my surprise, always gave incomplete, incorrect or misleading information. And the problem usually gets worse as you travel from major companies to independents and from domestic to international arenas. Fortunately, there is a way to teach the ability to discern good data and bad, and resolve the near universal conflicts. It is the same way the top MBA schools teach - the case study method. Archie Dunham, president and CEO of Conoco who wrote the Executive Column for the Spring issue, said, “...Conoco is not in the business of providing graduate education to new hires. Companies that depend on sophisticated technologies... require new employees who can contribute from day one.” Throw real data packages from real reservoirs, incomplete and erroneous, at students who have acquired an understanding of the theory and science and you would have fresh graduates ready to sit at a desk and produce results from day one. Not very long after graduating, I was put in a position that included the hiring and training of new engineers just out of school. While it certainly was not a meaningfully large sample, I saw a few graduates of the best P.E. schools in the Southwest. None were ready to sit at a desk the first day and produce valuable work for the company. All would have benefited from being forced to address those real world inconsistencies during their last year in school rather than the first day of work. The first two of the new ABET criteria require that graduates in engineering demonstrate, 1) the ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering, and 2) the ability to analyze and interpret data. Certainly the fundamental theory of petroleum reservoirs and the methodology for analyzing them must be taught to meet the first criteria. But the second one is where good theorists are made into productive engineers. Both Keith Millheim and John Campbell wrote in the Spring issue of the role of the School in developing graduates to meet the needs of the industry. I believe these goals and criteria can be best met at OU by converting most upper division classes to the case study method. A close look at the Colorado School of Mines where case studies are a central part of the educational process would be beneficial. continued on page 11
OU Discovery School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering Mewbourne Leadership Scholars Program Curtis W. Mewbourne , BS, Petroleum Engineering, 1958, and founder, president, and chairman of the Board of Mewbourne Oil Co., Tyler, Texas, and Keith Millheim, Eberly Family Chair and director of the OU School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, have announced the establishment of the Mewbourne Leadership Scholars Program at the University of Oklahoma. High school seniors selected for the program will receive a renewable scholarship of $4,000 a year, the guarantee of a paid industry-related internship between their freshman and sophomore years at OU, mentoring from industry professionals throughout their college career, and recognition as a Petroleum and Geological Engineering Distinguished Guest Column, continued from page 10 I am proud to be a graduate of the University’s School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering. And it is very encouraging that the dean of the College, the new director and the faculty are willing, even anxious, to reexamine the mission of the school. The best days are ahead. Gary S. Swindell has been an independent reser- reservoir engineering consultant for 19 years, preparing reserve reports and general reservoir studies for U.S. and international oil and gas fields. He is a registered engineer in Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Scholar. “The Mewbourne Leadership Scholars Program will further strengthen our ability to draw the top prospective Curtis W. Mewbourne petroleum engineers to OU and see them through to graduation,” says Millheim. “We are confident of our ability to continue our record of 100 percent placement of graduates but we want the students who successfully complete the Mewbourne Leadership Program to be among the most sought after petroleum engineers in the country.” Students must demonstrate academic ability, leadership in one’s school or community, a commitment to majoring in petroleum engineering, and an understanding of the oil and gas industry in order to compete for the award. Mewbourne has committed his own personal time and attention to the success of the program. “Our company has benefited greatly from getting to know students early in their college career and helping them discover the great potential for success and personal achievement that can be found in the oil and gas business. We’re looking for students who are well-rounded, wellprepared academically, and who know the oil and gas business from family or community involvement. These are the future leaders in the industry and in our communities. “If this innovative, comprehensive program is successful, the students who participate will be the decision-makers of tomorrow in the energy industry, and we will be proud to have played a part in their preparation.” To nominate a high school senior or to apply for the 2000-2001 Mewbourne Leadership Scholars Program, contact Lisa Schmidt, Coordinator, Student Relations, OU Petroleum and Geological Engineering, Sarkeys Energy Center, T-301, Norman, OK 73019-0628, (405) 325-6863 or (800) 522-0772, ext. 6863 lschmidt@ou.edu. After obtaining a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma, Curtis Mewbourne served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He founded Mewbourne Oil Co. in 1965 and continues to operate the company privately for the benefit of his family, which includes three married daughters and nine grandchildren. Mewbourne Oil Co. has been for many years one of the most active exploration and production companies in the Anadarko and Permian Basins. The general office is located in Tyler, Texas, with district offices in Amarillo, Midland, Perryton, Hobbs, Oklahoma City, and Woodward. For the past 20 years, Mewbourne Oil has regularly provided summer internships for petroleum engineering students along with attractive scholarships to help with their education. 11
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Winter 99/00 - Petroleum Engineering | The University of Oklahoma

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