RGU, OILTEAM Partner to Train Russia's Offshore Professionals
Robert Gordon University (RGU) and Russian oilfield educational and engineering services company OILTEAM have partnered to train the next generation of Russia's offshore energy professionals.
Legacy assets in West Siberia, including fields like Samotlor and Priobskoye, are in decline. As the country is facing decreased land-based exploration and production opportunities, the RGU/OILTEAM partnership is part of an effort to develop the country's ability to capture its still relatively-untapped offshore hydrocarbon resources. As the country estimates its offshore oil resources to be near 100 billion tonnes, the potential is great.
The deal, worth more than £1.2million, allows for OILTEAM's Academy and RGU to now offer a Master of Science (MSc.) degree in Offshore Oil & Gas Engineering in the Black Sea town of Sochi.
With the partnership and the new degree, Tomsk-based OILTEAM, which offers services for field development optimization ranging from reservoir testing and characterization to development planning and management, adds to the 250-year heritage of RGU, which was granted university status in 1992. Today RGU delivers more than 300 courses to over 15,000 full and part-time students from 120 countries. The university aims to expand its international reach even more with a recent partnership with Global College Malta to deliver three of its oil and gas engineering courses by way of traveling RGU staff.
The new, one-year MSc. degree in Sochi targets oil and gas major graduates as well as employees in the industry and aims to equip those with backgrounds in land-based exploration and production with an overview of the various challenges, technologies, and general know-how from some of the world's most well-known offshore environments.
Photo courtesy of OILTEAM.
The team of RGU academics and OILTEAM experts combines complementary talents and capabilities - RGU brings award-winning academic and industry expertise from Aberdeen, Europe's oil and gas capital and global center for offshore technology, while Tomsk-based OILTEAM builds on decades of technical innovation in partnership with operators across Russia and beyond.
Prof. Ferdinand von Prondzynski, principal of RGU, said: "Robert Gordon University is delighted to be part of a new partnership that further enhances our long-standing relationship with the international energy sector. Together with OILTEAM, we look forward to launching this new MSc. course as a small but strategic step in supporting the development of Russia's offshore resources."
Dr. Vladimir Lavrov, founder and chief executive of OILTEAM, added: "Russia's oil and gas majors are acutely aware of the challenges ahead in developing new offshore frontiers. We have listened to them carefully and believe that, together with RGU, our Academy in Sochi will help build an important foundation for the capabilities our industry needs. We aim to develop offshore expertise for our own service business, our customers, and for Russia as a whole."
Alan Grant, formerly president of Sakhalin Energy (Sakhalin II) and currently executive chairman of Raffles Energy Pte Ltd., said: "RGU is famous for delivering knowledge and skills that our industry needs. In OILTEAM they have a partner with the contacts and resources to develop and deliver material for the specific needs of this remarkable country."
Mikaila Adams | Managing Editor - News
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was named Managing Editor - News in 2019. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.
