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A screen-capture of Petrel, illustrating the 3-D capabilities of the software to reconstruct the Earth’s subsurface for oil and natural gas exploration.

Students and faculty members in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Department of Geology will be using state-of-the-art exploration software thanks to a grant from Schlumberger, an oilfield services company.

Schlumberger has granted the department Petrel software valued at $10 million. The grant includes three-year licenses for the industry standard Petrel E&P software platform and tutorial package.

Petrel will be used by faculty and students in the department as they develop new ways to communicate geological concepts with state-of-the-art technology and 3D visualizations. The software is a useful addition to prepare students in the latest technology employed in oil and gas exploration. The Petrel software platform is used to create 2D and 3D models to identify potential accumulations of oil and natural gas in the subsurface, using geophysical and geologic data from a variety of sources.

During summer  2015, Joseph Peterson, professor in the Department of Geology, assisted in coordinating the donation from Schlumberger and traveled to Houston to be trained on the software. His trip was funded in part by a Faculty Development Off-Campus Grant and in part by the College of Letters and Science.

“The educational benefits of the software system are great,” Peterson said. “One of the greatest challenges in teaching in the geologic sciences is visualizing large-scale geologic phenomena over time and space. With software like Petrel, students can see these changes unfold on the computer screen with striking 3D visuals. By having Petrel in the department, we can prepare a new generation of geoscientists for a continuously evolving digital age, and give undergraduate students training that they do not have access to at other universities.”

Four UW Oshkosh geology students worked with Peterson during the spring 2016 semester to help develop and test Petrel training modules that will be used by future students. Piper Poe, who worked with Peterson, said she learned much from her experience.

UW Oshkosh geology student Piper Poe working with the Petrel software suite donated to the Department of Geology from Schlumberger LTD.

“Having the experience of working with the Petrel system has been extremely beneficial. Not only did I gain experience using petroleum exploration software, it gave me insight into the mind of a petroleum geologist and the geologic complexities they deal with to understand geologic systems,” Poe said.

Lauren Bane, another student who trained on Petrel at UWO, said it was a great experience to work with Petrel.

“Petrel provides a strong emphasis on practical, multi-disciplinary, integrated hydrocarbon exploration. Most importantly, this experience is very applicable to my future, as I plan to pursue a career in the petroleum industry,” Bane said.

With the software implemented, the Department of Geology  is currently the only undergraduate-only program in the UW System that offers Petrel training to students, an opportunity geology major Katherine Erwin, who trained on Petrel during the spring 2016 semester, said was exciting.

“It’s rare to get exposure to these programs at the undergraduate level and I feel extremely privileged to have access to Petrel,” Erwin said.

For more information on the research impacted by the software, please contact Joseph Peterson at persoj@uwosh.edu or (920) 424-4463.

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