”This is great! We have equipment here which is just as good as in the industry. We have access to the very latest technology and are able to work with the same type of data as the industry.  Zoila Mafla and Diego Cepeda, a married couple from Ecuador are both masters-degree students in petroleum technology at the University of Stavanger (UiS). This last year, they have decided to specialize in geology – a brand new line course this autumn.

In addition to the specialist course at master’s level, UiS has enrolled their first students in petroleum geology in the engineering study. There are 20 of these studying at bachelor level.”This is the first step along the way towards a full masters-program. We hope to have that ready by 2010,” says Terje Frøiland, administrative leader of the Institute for Petroleum Technology at UiS.

Brand new  lab

In addition, the new geo-laboratory will open on Tuesday. It has powerful machines and the newest software used in the industry. This gives students access to up-to-date geological data from many parts of the world. This is also the day that the new study program marks its official opening.

“The study course is of great importance both for the university and for Norway. Without these abilities, companies would have a lot of problems. It is of prime importance that the companies manage to acquire enough geologists with the relevant knowledge and abilities for the oil industry. This means it is essential to get hold of sufficient and able students,” says Frøiland.

It is no secret that geologists are highly sought after labour. In Norway, many are in the process of retirement. Exploration for oil and gas is becoming more and more demanding, and new companies on the Norwegian continental shelf have further increased the demands for geologists.

The new study course and laboratory are also sponsored by the oil companies. StatoilHydro and ConocoPhillips have given 7.5 and one million kroner respectively.Assistant professor, Alejandro Escalona from Venezuela has built up the study content of the brand new course. He is educated at the University of Austin, Texas.

Demand for  labour

“We need this study course to compete with other universities. The bachelor program is unique in Norway due to the combination of geology- and petroleum-engineering subjects at this level. Petroleum engineers need to have an understanding of geology. This needs to be incorporated in the engineering study and not separate from it,” she says.

For Escalona this has meant many long working days. His wife, who is a geologist for Shell, has also contributed, and has a 20 per cent position as professor. But the tight labour market has meant that it has not been easy to find teaching staff.”Yes, it has been difficult. Even so, we have succeeded in acquiring highly able people, by searching together with the industry internationally,” says Escalona.“Geologists are in demand all over the world, and are difficult to get hold of both for companies and universities. Personally, I thought it was interesting and challenging to build up a completely new study program from scratch,” he says.