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The Society of Petroleum Engineers Queensland Section has supported the growth and
development of students in the energy industry through its initiative in sponsoring students to
attend an annual field trip to Central Queensland.
2016 UQ/QUT STUDENT FIELD TRIP
SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS
Written by Grace Vang
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The Society of Petroleum Engineers Queensland Section (SPE) and SPE QLD Young Professionals
provided a unique opportunity for 20 university students to gain insights from graduate engineers and
subject matter experts in the petroleum industry, both inside the offices and at field facilities. The students
chosen study at University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and
included those who were undertaking chemical, mechanical, petroleum and mechatronic engineering;
geology; and Research Higher Degree scholars. This year the trip was extended to include a day in the
offices, enhancing the understanding of petroleum enterprises. The trip was held from 27 to 30 June 2016.
Students visited Origin Energy, Queensland Gas Company (QGC)/Shell, Santos and Schlumberger.
On the first day, students visited the Santos Brisbane Operations Centre (BOC), QGC’s Annex, and
Origin’s operations office in Milton, Queensland. Santos BOC is a 24/7 real-time connection between its
central office and gas fields. The tour of Santos BOC was led by Grant James who currently manages the
operations in Fairview from Santos BOC office. Students observed the teams monitoring the production
and progress of assets in the Arcadia, Fairview, Roma and Scotia gas fields. Karni Sudana, a Field
Production Engineer in the Roma fields, spoke about the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry and demonstrated
a fluid fracking procedure so that students could observe the steps taken to increase the viscosity of
fracking fluid.
Students then travelled to QGC, where they were addressed by Sam Guiton, Lead Development Geologist;
Kat Norman, Development Geologist; and Dominique Van As, Operations Petroleum Engineer. In the
QGC Annex, students were presented with the subsurface aspects of CSG development and the methods
of characterising and developing a reservoir. Students were also exposed, and encouraged, to handle core
samples, giving them an opportunity to identify the different components of coal and rock. At Origin’s
operation office in Milton, Aaron Blundell and Justin Lazanby ran through their roles as Panel Operators
in the Central Control Room, where they showed students the control panel for gas compression units and
the water treatment facilities used to process gas and water from assets in Spring Gully and Condabri. Jay
Zou and Liam Turner, two Origin graduates, discussed their rotations of positions in the company and the
responsibilities they have as young professionals. The office visits prepared the students for what they
might expect to see out in the field and provided them with a sounder knowledge of the petroleum industry.
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FIGURE 1: SAM GUITON (FAR RIGHT) QGC DEVELOPMENT GEOLOGIST
The travel time from Brisbane to Roma by bus is about seven hours. Leaving UQ at 7.00 am meant that
the expected arrival time at Roma was 2.00 pm, allowing time for a visit of Schlumberger’s Wireline and
Pathfinder base. Schlumberger is the world’s largest oilfield services company and Wireline is the first
service offered by the company. Students met with Ryan Batchelor who gave an overview of the extensive
history of the company and the services it provides in the petroleum industry. He spoke about his
experience as a Field Engineer and the privilege of attending the extensive training courses in Abu Dhabi,
which provided him with the skillset and technical knowledge to use specialised equipment and complete
challenging tasks. Students walked the base and were shown the different tools used to measure properties
through the use of sonic and resistivity. Margo Franklin–Hensler, Wireline Senior Field Engineer, talked
about her responsibility for preparing and mobilising equipment and the maintenance of tools that takes
place with her work. At the Pathfinder base, Sandeep Nattuvetty, who currently manages the base,
presented Measurement While Drilling (MWD) tools. He explained the robustness of tools that allows
them to transmit multiple datasets simultaneously. He also discussed the potential for future improvements
in the tools, such as collecting data ahead of the position of the tools. By visiting the Schlumberger bases,
students gained a better understanding of the complexity of reservoir characterisation and the importance
of gathering samples and data for formation evaluation.
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FIGURE 2: SCHLUMBERGER WIRELINE WITH SENIOR FIELD ENGINEER MARGO FRANKLIN-HENSLER
The second day of the trip began with students visiting the Santos shopfront in Roma. They were greeted
by the community engagement team members, which included Carlee Miller, Lorinda Otto, Andrew
Snars, and Maxine Thomas. Andrew spoke of the landholder engagement process, the social licence to
operate, and their vital part in the business. From his talk, students were able to appreciate the importance
of committing to work respectfully within the community. Luke Paulsen, James Conor, and Steve Portch
walked students on to a well pad and discussed potential solutions to current challenges that they were
facing with the wearing of equipment. Students were then joined by Jim Sands, Irrigation Operations
Superintendent, at one of the sites called Pleasant Hills, which currently applies irrigation to reduce the
reliance on reverse osmosis treatment of produced water. At Pleasant Hills, students were able to see
centre pivot irrigation and the irrigation dam. Before having lunch at the Santos, the students travelled to
Roma West 2B to view one of the newer skids employed. After briefly experiencing the fly-in fly-out
environment within which some workers live, the students travelled on to one of the control hubs. It was
here that the students were able to see the water treatment facility, brine ponds, and compression units.
Steve gave students a rundown of the process for treating the gas and water.
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FIGURE 3: SANTOS PLEASANT HILLS IRRIGATION POND
FIGURE 4: IRRIGATION OPERATION SUPERINTENDENT JIM SANDS EXPLAINING THE USE OF CENTRE PIVOT IRRIGATORS
On the final day of the trip, students visited Origin Energy at Condabri. The students were greeted by
Zachary Howarth, an engineer graduate from UQ. He explained his role as Operation Engineer and some
of the difficulties in the field that he and his team had to find solutions to. Zachary took students out to a
well which produces approximately 2TJ/day. The students were joined by another Origin operator who
talked about his routine tasks and some key points regarding well equipment maintenance. Zachary took
us to Condabri central, which was Origin Energy’s first Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) site
and currently processes 180TJ/day. The students walked the facility and were shown the gas compression
units.
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FIGURE 5: ORIGIN ENERGY CONDABRI CENTRAL
The trip provided a fantastic opportunity for students to learn firsthand the various roles and teams
involved in the success of projects, see operational equipment, and understand how the theory learnt in
classroom applied in the field. The trip allowed students to broaden their networks and meet peers across
different disciplines who share a similar interest in the petroleum industry. Having the chance to talk with
recent graduates, experienced technical operators, and subject matter experts gave insight to the prospects
of the oil and gas sector.
QUT and UQ SPE sincerely thank the sponsors for their support for the trip, Origin Energy, QGC, Santos,
Schlumberger, University of Queensland, Queensland – School of Chemical Engineering, University of
Technology and SPE QLD. Without their support, this event would not have been possible.