Oil and Gas Industry Students Competing for £2000 Prize

Around 50 students from across Europe are to take part in the inaugural Society of Petroleum Engineers Europe Petro League, which is to be hosted by the Aberdeen Section during Offshore Europe.

This competition is the first of its kind in Europe and will bring together those studying oil and gas related university courses to compete for a prize of £2000.

Teams of four will battle it out over six rounds which includes analysing case studies and fast paced oil and gas question and answer rounds. Entries for the qualifying first round are open now, which requires teams to submit an essay which discusses one of four specified industry topics.

The event has been organised by volunteers from SPE Aberdeen’s Young Professionals (YP) committee.

SPE Aberdeen YP Co-Chair Nikhil Shindgikar said: “SPE Aberdeen’s YP committee has experience of organising events during Offshore Europe and the committee is delighted to launch the first Europe Petro League during such a high profile event.

“SPE’s Gulf Coast Section has run the PetroBowl, a similar type of event, for students in the US for the past 12 years and has seen the competition significantly increase in success, with a record 36 teams taking part this year. We felt that it was important for an event of this type to be brought to Europe to give our students a chance to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge.

SPE Europe Petro League project lead Oludare Elebiju said “A lot of planning has gone into this competition not only to ensure that each of the rounds is engaging and challenging, but also to provide networking opportunities and the chance for students to raise their profile with potential employers, as well as allowing universities to promote themselves to a wider audience.”

SPE Aberdeen plans for the Europe Petro League to attract growing interest across Europe, with the event being hosted every two years.

SPE Aberdeen chairman Anthony Onukwu said: “SPE Aberdeen has supported students for many years by providing scholarships and bursaries however we also want to support them in maximising their career potential. Initiatives such as the Petro League are a fantastic way for them to raise their own profile.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for students across Europe to engage in some healthy competition and SPE is extremely excited to see how the teams perform throughout the competition.”

Round one is currently open, with a deadline of 31 July for essays. A panel of judges will select the top ten teams from the entries, with the shortlist announced on Monday 1 August.

These teams will then go on to compete in a full day event taking place on Wednesday 4 September, 9am to 4pm, at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

SPE YP Europe Petro League

• Round 1 (qualifying) – essay competition: Teams of four are given up to three weeks to answer one of four set questions, focusing on high profile topics within the oil and gas industry

• Round 2 – multiple choice Q&A

• Round 3 – No multiple choice Q&A

• Round 4 – Q&A buzzer round

• Round 5 – case study analysis with team presentation of assessment

• Round 6 – Q&A final buzzer round

• Event closes with prizes being presented