WorldWide Drilling Resource

15 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2016 South Dakota School of Mines Receives Generous Gift Adapted from a News Release from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Oilfield services company Schlumberger has donated software valued at $172 million to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (Mines) to strengthen its energy resources initiative. The gift will be used in courses to support the new Petroleum Systems Minor and Graduate Certificate program, as well as research and existing petroleum-related curricula. Courses include the Petroleum Field Camp, Petroleum Production and Drilling Engineering, as well as Petroleum Geology. The donation by Schlumberger, a longtime supporter of the school, includes three-year leases of Petrel E&P software platform and other software platforms which can be used to interpret seismic data, correlate well logs, and build reservoir models and maps, as well as software to analyze wells for surveillance and forecast modeling, and to simulate flow for oil and gas production. In all, 12 software tech- nologies are included in the package. “Close partnerships with industry are a very important part of Mines’ success. We very much appreciate this software gift from Schlumberger and we look forward to using it to the fullest,” said Heather Wilson, president of the school. In addition to being important tools for faculty research, hands-on use of commercial-grade software enhances graduating students’ job prospects. In the past couple of years, 20% of Mines’ graduates have gone on to work in the energy industry. Schlumberger currently employs over 30 Mines graduates, including four who have been hired in the past five years. In 2012, the company gave a similar software donation valued at $49 million. Since announcing the Energy Resources Initiative two years ago, South Dakota School of Mines has added a Petroleum Systems Minor and a Petroleum Systems Graduate Certificate for working professionals. The energy initiative was announced two years ago to leverage the university’s expertise and research in rock properties, water resources, and materials development, as well as its location in an energy-rich region of the country, within 300 miles of the Williston, Denver, and Powder River basins. The search for a permanent director is ongoing. William Roggenthen, Ph.D., Mines research scientist, and Amy Freye, Mines student pursuing a master’s degree in geological engineering, prepare shale core samples for advanced laboratory testing, following 2014 drilling in Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Photo courtesy of South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Grandpre Photography.