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.