R&D on Campus
As the task of finding and producing hydrocarbons becomes more difficult, complex, and costly, the number of universities focusing on finding solutions has risen. Whether the frontier is heavy oil, deep water, or remote locations, efforts within academia are under way to solve the next generation of technical challenges confronting hydrocarbon E&P operations. Because many noteworthy research and development (R&D) efforts exist at universities all over the world, the intent of this article is not to cover all of them but to present a sampling from many geographical locations. Part 1 of this two-part series appeared in September’s JPT.
The University of Tulsa (TU) was formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1907, when the boards of Kendall College and McFarlin College made the decision to merge the two institutions. TU has offered academic degrees in petroleum engineering since 1932 and has a research and development (R&D) program dating back to 1965, when property and buildings were donated by Humble Oil and Refining Company, creating TU’s north campus, which is devoted entirely to oil and gas.
TUDRP
To support its research, the university formed the Tulsa University Drilling Research Program (TUDRP) consortium, which currently has 18 industry partners. TUDRP aims to improve drilling operations while reducing costs and the number of safety and environmental incidents.
According to principal investigator and director of TUDRP, Stefan Miska, the center has completed 153 research projects since 1968; TUDRP’s 2014–15 programming brochure lists 13 active research projects.
The center is operated by 27 personnel—including senior-level researchers, nonresearch employees, and 16 advanced-degree candidates who assist in conducting the studies.
