The University of Texas at Austin (UT) Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (PGE) unveiled three energy labs, which were made possible by a US $1.7 million donation from Baker Hughes.

The labs consist of a zonal isolation lab, a real-time operations center, and a drilling automation lab. The labs have been in use since August 2013, and the word is spreading fast on campus.

“No university has this. It is already starting to pay off dividends, because the students see this, and they flock to this,” said PGE’s Eric van Oort, a professor, veteran of the energy industry, and the visionary behind the labs project. “I see a strong increase in the number of students that are taking my classes that are interested in drilling and completions. The word is starting to get out that there are jobs to be had in the oil and gas industry and that it’s a high-tech industry.”

Each lab focuses on separate aspects of petroleum engineering and is aimed at teaching students more about the oil and gas industry. The labs are a place where students can address onshore and offshore drilling challenges, which will help make the drilling process safer and more environmentally sound, according to PGE.

“We take great pride that our faculty and students are working at the cutting-edge of technology to develop innovative solutions to some of the most complicated and challenging problems that are facing our society,” UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering Interim Dean Sharon Wood said. “Not only will [this] gift foster creativity within the Cockrell School, but it enhances our reputation as a world leader in petroleum engineering.”

In the zonal isolation lab, also known as the cement lab, researchers can test new methods and materials for improving onshore and offshore drilling, according to van Oort. He believes the root cause of the Macondo disaster led back to deepwater zonal isolation and that it’s “a problem that’s only going to get worse in the coming years as we drill deeper.” A lot of the key points he wanted to address coming to UT were research in zonal isolation, he said.

The rig automation lab features a live rig simulator valued at $2.7 million, which was donated by National Oilwell Varco. The simulator device includes two cybernetic chairs and a computer representation of an offshore well projected onto a large dome-shaped screen. This gives students a virtual experience of what it is like to control a drilling rig. This piece of equipment is something that only a drill operator in the field would have access to, not an engineer, according to PGE.

“The systems are exactly the same as on a real rig. We have a virtual drilling rig at our fingertips,” van Oort said.

The real-time operating center serves as a way for students and researchers to collect data from ongoing drilling, completions, and production operations offshore and onshore. PGE has already begun collaborating with companies like Shell, ConocoPhillips, and Chesapeake Energy to access their data in real time, according to van Oort.

“I hope that the entire Cockrell School of Engineering will benefit from what is essentially a data conduit into UT. It’s a way of connecting UT with the outside world [and] with the world of real-time data in the oil and gas industry,” van Oort said.

Bill Powers, president of UT, said one of the real benefits of these labs will be paid off in safety, techniques, and production in the field. “This is a real step forward for the Cockrell School, the department, and our university. As we say, what starts here changes the world.”

Since the new labs were introduced in fall 2013, more students are expected to apply for acceptance into the Cockrell School of Engineering in the coming semesters. PGE has 600 undergraduates and 200 graduate students, and the school only accepts approximately 15% of the applicants, according to Katharine Grieve, communications coordinator at PGE.

According to PGE, 85% of undergraduates at the Cockrell School secure industry employment upon graduation.

“We’re really only taking the best, but what I foresee with this drilling program is that the talent will only increase over the years, because if someone wants to be a driller, they’re going to come to UT,” Grieve said. “This is really going to be the most sophisticated program in the country.”

The new labs will benefit undergraduates, graduates, and post-docs.

“[UT] really has been kind of an old school, [but] we are hoping that with the technologies and infrastructure we have here we can show students that things are moving forward, and people are moving toward really sophisticated technologies in drilling for safety and efficiency purposes,” said Pradeep Ashok, a petroleum engineering graduate student.

The goal of UT PGE is to train and teach the next generation of engineers. With the labs open, students, professors, and Baker Hughes representatives who were involved are looking forward to what the future holds for the oil and gas industry.

Contact the author, Ariana Benavidez, at abenavidez@hartenergy.com. The photo on the home page was taken by Amelia Johnson.