s part of education at the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime
and Inland Shipping on speciality Jurisprudence in 2013, I attended an
international conference on Economic and Social Development. On the
conference was touched the issue that the world's most of the "easy oil"
has already been extracted - oil that can be produced cheaply because it
is onshore, close to the surface, and how it will affect the global economy.
The only way is that in the future, oil will increasingly have to be extracted
from hard recoverable reserves. It was at this moment when this issue
engaged (allured) my attention. I came to the conclusion that oil and gas
are the cornerstones of the impetuous progress in the technological
development. However, that brought about another realisation of the
increasing human dependence on fossil energy. These simple, yet
fundamental conclusions determined the final and irrevocable choice of
profession and changing the profile of education to the Oil and Gas
Engineering.
For satisfying my newfound passion in engineering and energy, in 2013, I
decided to pursue my bachelor study at the St. Petersburg Mining
University, Russia's oldest technical college, and one of the best technical
institutions in engineering in Europe. Mining University boasts itself to
have highly experienced professors and well-equipped research
laboratories.
According to the British Department for Business, Energy & Industrial
Strategy, oil and gas will play a key role in powering the UK's future
economy. The ongoing dominance of oil in the rapidly expanding vehicle
market just now reaching into developing Asia. Another long-term trend is
lowering production costs, and to remain competitive, oil companies need
to reduce their production costs. As follows from the above, oil and natural
gas will continue to be a significant part of our future. At university, I
realised that more and more emphasis must be given on old oil fields
optimisation and improvement on oil recovery from heavy oil reservoirs.
To help achieve this goal, the extension of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
applying will be essential. This encourages myself to master my skill
further, especially in EOR, by pursuing a Master of Science in this
particular area.
My current degree program at the Mining University is focused on
theoretical and mathematical knowledge. This elevated my numerical and
technical skills to a level that ignited my research and analytical interest.
At present, I am doing substantial research in well and reservoir
engineering. It focuses on the technological effectiveness of the radial
drilling to recover hydrocarbons in a cost effective manner, taking into
account associated technical and non-technical risks. Additionally, I am
doing research and analysis of fluids flow to the radially drilled wells.
Moreover, I am concurrently preparing for two national scientific-technical
conferences as a speaker. In addition to my current studies, I am
constantly involved in self-learning. I gained professional qualification Oil
and Gas Production Operator. My dedication and proactive approach
helped me to become one of the 10 best students in our batch out of 78
students.
In addition to my academic knowledge, I enhanced my industry related
skills through the Internship in Slavenft-Megionneftegaz, one of the largest
top ten oil companies in Russia, on the Uzun oil field where I got an
opportunity to grasp real engineering problems, develop a hands-on
approach to problem solving and had a chance to apply the theory in
practice. It was here where I developed the ability to look at problems from
different perspectives and learnt the ability to work in tight cooperation
with people from different backgrounds. I was among three students who
received a job offer from the company.
Through the period of my education, I studied dozen professor Martin
Blunt's works on fluid flow in porous media to write my term paper on the
subject Subsurface Oil Hydromechanics. I am familiar with the program,
which is more aimed at Reservoir Engineering. I look forward to attending
course Reservoir Performance Prediction led by the professor Martin
Blunt as this course describes how different analytical methods can be
used to identify the principal mechanisms controlling the performance of
producing reservoirs and to assess the development potential of oil and
gas reservoirs. I would like to express a specific interest in becoming a
Research Assistant during my study. It would be an honour for me if I
could be involved in PERM group.
During my visit to London, I met with the graduates of the Imperial College
and other British petroleum engineering universities. They all agreed on
one thing, that the Imperial College provides the highest quality,
personalised education and they pursued advanced theoretical and
practical education with a global-standard curriculum that meets industrial
needs. I find it very important for me to continue my studies in an
intellectual environment with highly equipped laboratories and active
research groups led by well-known scientists, where I can widen my
perspective with up-to-date technology, especially in EOR application.
Considering all these facts, I am certain that the MSc programme in
Petroleum Engineering at the Imperial College London will empower me
to broaden my knowledge further as my ultimate goal is to raise my level
of expertise in Petroleum Engineering and become an efficient and highly
experienced EOR expert.
