Hisham (top left) and Chua (centre, top row) with some of the students during the online technical seminar.
MIRI (Sept 19): Industrial talks or guest lectures by industry professionals are a key component of the engineering curriculum at Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) to complement students’ classroom studies.
In addition to reinforcing theories learnt in their classes, students get exposure to the latest industry trends and real-life practices to get a better idea of working conditions and future career prospects.
Curtin Malaysia’s third-year petroleum engineering students under Associate Professor Hisham Ben Mahmud recently had the opportunity to learn more about annular casing pressure management during an online technical seminar conducted by staff engineer Chua Hing Leong of Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.
According to Hisham in a press release yesterday, the seminar exposed students to a core petroleum engineering activity (well pressure management) which they are studying as part of Petroleum Production Technology and Well Intervention units.
During the seminar, Chua discussed the concepts behind casing pressure management and explained the full life cycle of wells from drilling, completion and production to well intervention. He also covered other aspects of pressure management such as Maximum Allowable Annulus Surface Pressure (MAASP) and Maximum Allowable Wellhead Operating Pressure (MAWOP).
Chua is a chemical engineering graduate of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) with 20 years’ experience in various roles in the oil and gas industry, including field engineer, wireline manager and well intervention engineer. In his current role as staff engineer, he is responsible for technical leadership and provision of technical solutions in well intervention and well integrity.
In thanking Chua for conducting the technical seminar, Hisham said it was of great benefit for the students to learn and get practical examples from an experienced industry professional.
“Such industry engagement is invaluable to our petroleum engineering programme and students, helping them make connections to what they learn in the classroom to applications in the real-life working environment,” he said.
In Curtin Malaysia’s four-year Bachelor of Engineering in Petroleum Engineering (Honours), students learn how to evaluate, drill, develop and mine oil and gas reserves. They study chemical engineering, drilling, fluid flow through reservoirs, formation evaluation, geology, hydrocarbon phase behaviour, oil and gas field development, petroleum production technology, thermodynamics and well completions engineering.
Students also undertake practical study in fluid and reservoir rock and drilling laboratories, and gain industry exposure through field trips to service company offices, and drilling, exploration and production operation sites.
They also gain an understanding of global economic trends and corporate profit margins through the study of economics, risk and project management. In their final year, they undertake a major research project, as well as a field development planning and design project.
Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found at www.curtin.edu.my. Alternatively, look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.