Applied Geology Students participate in EAGE/FESM Joint Regional Conference
Posted date:On the 17th and 18th of February 2014, the European Association of Geoscientist and Engineers (EAGE) and the Formation Evaluation Society Malaysia (FESM) conducted a joint regional conference. This Asia Pacific regional conference, “Petrophysics Meets Geoscience: From Nano Pores to Mega Structures” is the first of its kind and marks the start of many more combined ventures between EAGE and FESM. Without appropriate funding, this conference may have not materialized thus a big thank you to PETRONAS along with Schlumberger, Exxon Mobile, HALLIBURTON, BAKER HUGHES, SHELL, TALISMAN ENERGY and many more.
The conference was held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, which is located next to the magnificent Suria KLCC Twin Towers. There were approximately 200 participants, proving it to be a successful event. Most of the participants were oil and gas professionals from various companies and the rest comprised of students. The conference started at 8.00 am on Monday, 17th of February 2014 and ended at 5.00 pm on Tuesday, 18th of February 2014.
On the first day, the opening ceremony was led by Dr. Lutz Riepe from PETRONAS Carigali who is also the chairman of the organizing committee. 16 speakers consisting of geologists, geophysicists and engineers from all around the world presented their research via oral presentations. The topics were mainly focused on the geophysical aspect of the oil and gas industry homing on seismic modeling and seismic interpretations. Besides research presentations, there were also companies with the latest geotechnology promoting their products and updates.
Day two, Tuesday, offered a similar agenda, 16 speakers for the oral presentations. However, in addition to that, after lunch all those that had participated in the oral presentation, produced a short poster presentation, summing up their findings in a single A3 sheet. All in all, this conference provided a much needed insight on the ins and outs of the oil and gas industry. Not forgetting the lovely meals in between breaks, certainly kept the mind and tummy happy.
In addition to the conference, EAGE and FESM have also provided short courses on certain topics such as “Pore to Core Petrophysics using Digital Rock Analysis”, “Core Analysis: A Best Practice Guide” and many more. My teammate and I were fortunate enough to be invited for a Young Professional Course entitled “Imaging Log Interpretation” that was presented by one Prof. Peter Lloyd from Heriot Watt University, United Kingdom. It was held in a different venue, Impiana Hotel Kuala Lumpur, adjacent to Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. This 8 hour course helped enhance our stance on image logging and dip interpretation. However, as an undergraduate, it was moderately tough to follow considering how this course was developed for post graduates and young professionals.
EAGE and FESM have certainly outdone themselves this time, leaving all of us with a fulfilled brain and a contempt heart. We will certainly be looking forward to the next joint event. Cheers.
Me, Kavinash Raj Singam and my teammate, Nur Faridah Yaakob at the”Petrophysics Meets Geoscience: From Nano Pores to Mega Structures” conference.
The Curtin Dive Club (CDC) is the only student dive club operating in the Miri Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park. Located on the university’s doorstep in Miri City and extending along the maritime boundary all the way to Bintulu, Miri-Sibuti is the largest offshore national park in Sarawak, encompassing 186,930 hectares of the South China Sea, an area equivalent to 350,000 American Football fields. One of Borneo’s best kept secrets, diving only started in this area in the late 90’s and the park was gazetted in 2007, so our members get the opportunity to dive unspoiled and uncrowded locations in near perfect conditions. In the vast expanse of the park almost 40 dive sites have already been identified. Most of these are immaculate patch reefs, but there is also the unique opportunity to dive decommissioned, coral encrusted oil rigs and even WWII wrecks like the Japanese freighter, the Atago Maru, sunk in 1943 just off the coast of Lutong.
The CDC promotes safe and affordable diving catering to all levels of experience. Membership is not only for students; Alumni and non-students are welcome to join too. Even if you’ve never dived before, the CDC offers PADI certification from Open Water all the way to Dive Instructor. Weekend diving, club trips, research and conservation programs and cheap gear hire are just a few of the added benefits you score as a CDC member.
Conditions for diving really couldn’t be better, with all our dive sites at depths ranging from from 7 to 30 meters, with average visibility of between 10 to 30 meters. There is virtually no current for most dives and water temperatures average around 30° Celsius.
The variety of corals and other marine life on the reefs rivals the best in the region. Miri-Sibuti is the breeding ground for 800 species of hard and soft corals and over 40 species of nudibranchs have been sighted. Gorgonians, anemones, sponges, giant clams, and crinoids are abundant. Fish species commonly sighted include angelfish, butterfly fish, trigger fish, parrot fish, clown fish, sea perch, lizardfish, batfish, fusiliers, barracudas, wrasses and groupers.
