Today, we’re going to exhibit our items. We have brought along a set of logs indicating presence of hydrocarbon and water zones; posters about our career as engineers; a pair of shoes with a protective metal piece; yellow coveralls; hard hat; brochures; oil samples and a minute drill bit. Nothing much.
Our neighbour, the 4 geologists, have brought along their “Box of Geological Wonders!!!!”. As 2 of them eagerly arranged their seismic figures, posters of the company’s vision and mission, various disciplines of geology, another 2 are happily arranging the rocks in their possession according to their names, countries of origin, and rock type. They fill the whole table with rocks and oil samples. They have even brought along a rock chart, to educate the public on the different types of rock that exists in this world. Wow! I must say! It is extremely impressive. I thought we had lots of exhibit items. Looks like I was wrong! For the next exhibition, we must make sure that our booth is as equally attractive as the geologists’ too!
Our first visitor to our booth was a Chinese lady teacher. She was neatly dressed with a light brown coat and skirt, long hair, and no glasses. I think she teaches Mathematics in school. After we explained a little about petroleum engineering to her and told her that in some ways, it’s related to geology, she said, “You know, I have always wanted to be a geologist! When I just graduated from Form 5 last time, I applied to study geology in UKM. But I didn’t get it. So, I ended up being a teacher. Being a geologist is fun, isn’t it? You get to study rocks, and travel around the world. Cool!”
Hmm.. a teacher who wanted to be a geologist but couldn’t get the chance? I think there are lots of people in similar predicament out there. Limited places, abundant candidates. It’s all destiny, I guess. Life is always a gamble. Either you get it, or you don’t. On the other hand, this teacher is touching the lives of little sensitive beings in need of emotional encouragement, and she’s able to give it to them. So, perhaps, God thinks she might serve the nation better here. Who knows… Only Heaven.
Then, another teacher came. This time, we explained to her how rocks contain porosity, especially sandstones. To test if it’s sandstone, all we have to do, is drip some water on it. If the rock absorbs water, it’s sandstone, because it has high porosity. To test carbonate rocks, we put a few drops of hydrochloric acid on it. If it bubbles and foams, it’s definitely carbonate rock. Other than that, sandstone is rough, carbonate rocks are smooth. We also rectified the notion that in the earth, oil, water and gas are like fluids in a swimming pool. We gave them the correct version of the story to tell to their students. The rocks in the earth are like sponges. They have certain porosities, permeabilities, and tortuosities. Unlike swimming pools where the fluid is the only element present, in the earth, the oil, water and gas permeates through the rocks. Had the fluids existed like a swimming pool in the earth, that part of the earth would have collapsed and subsided as it could not hold the overburden pressure and hydrostatic pressure applied on it!
We also explained how we used acoustic, electric and magnetic signals to detect oil and gas thousands of metres below the seabed. Using the simple theory of resistivity, and sound signals, the teachers were so eager to know more. In school, we never knew that the simple theory of V=IR could be used in detecting hydrocarbon presence. And that the theory of frequency, reflection and refrection could be used to locate the exact depth of hydrocarbon presence, and kitchen. Perhaps, we ought to start imparting more of these knowledge that we’ve learnt in our jobs to schools. It’ll make the kids and teachers a whole lot more interested in their lessons.
In the night, there was a Hands-On Experience session. The organizers had prepared a special session for the teachers to discover the wonders of science, applying the theory of observation, hypothesis and a few other scientific skills. In one activity, 2 mirrors were stuck side by side by a sticky tape. The participant was required to put a coin between the mirrors, vary the angle of the mirrors at 180o, 150o,120o, 60o, and 30o and observed the changes of images.
I tried it and I was so amazed! Hey! I apply this theory in my daily well test interpretation. Usually, I just read it in books! How is it that I have never had the curiousity to try out their explanation? And I based my understanding solely on my imagination. All it required were simple materials. Just a tape, 2 mirrors and a coin. All these are cheap and affordable materials. Why didn’t I think of trying it out in the first place? Perhaps, I just lack the initiative and curiousity to try out new theories.
So, on that day, all of us were exchanging information throughout the day. It was a win-win situation. We learnt how to explain everything in layman’s term, whereas the teachers learnt the application of basic theories in Physics, Science and Mathematics in the oil and gas industry.
Our neighbour, the 4 geologists, have brought along their “Box of Geological Wonders!!!!”. As 2 of them eagerly arranged their seismic figures, posters of the company’s vision and mission, various disciplines of geology, another 2 are happily arranging the rocks in their possession according to their names, countries of origin, and rock type. They fill the whole table with rocks and oil samples. They have even brought along a rock chart, to educate the public on the different types of rock that exists in this world. Wow! I must say! It is extremely impressive. I thought we had lots of exhibit items. Looks like I was wrong! For the next exhibition, we must make sure that our booth is as equally attractive as the geologists’ too!
Our first visitor to our booth was a Chinese lady teacher. She was neatly dressed with a light brown coat and skirt, long hair, and no glasses. I think she teaches Mathematics in school. After we explained a little about petroleum engineering to her and told her that in some ways, it’s related to geology, she said, “You know, I have always wanted to be a geologist! When I just graduated from Form 5 last time, I applied to study geology in UKM. But I didn’t get it. So, I ended up being a teacher. Being a geologist is fun, isn’t it? You get to study rocks, and travel around the world. Cool!”
Hmm.. a teacher who wanted to be a geologist but couldn’t get the chance? I think there are lots of people in similar predicament out there. Limited places, abundant candidates. It’s all destiny, I guess. Life is always a gamble. Either you get it, or you don’t. On the other hand, this teacher is touching the lives of little sensitive beings in need of emotional encouragement, and she’s able to give it to them. So, perhaps, God thinks she might serve the nation better here. Who knows… Only Heaven.
Then, another teacher came. This time, we explained to her how rocks contain porosity, especially sandstones. To test if it’s sandstone, all we have to do, is drip some water on it. If the rock absorbs water, it’s sandstone, because it has high porosity. To test carbonate rocks, we put a few drops of hydrochloric acid on it. If it bubbles and foams, it’s definitely carbonate rock. Other than that, sandstone is rough, carbonate rocks are smooth. We also rectified the notion that in the earth, oil, water and gas are like fluids in a swimming pool. We gave them the correct version of the story to tell to their students. The rocks in the earth are like sponges. They have certain porosities, permeabilities, and tortuosities. Unlike swimming pools where the fluid is the only element present, in the earth, the oil, water and gas permeates through the rocks. Had the fluids existed like a swimming pool in the earth, that part of the earth would have collapsed and subsided as it could not hold the overburden pressure and hydrostatic pressure applied on it!
We also explained how we used acoustic, electric and magnetic signals to detect oil and gas thousands of metres below the seabed. Using the simple theory of resistivity, and sound signals, the teachers were so eager to know more. In school, we never knew that the simple theory of V=IR could be used in detecting hydrocarbon presence. And that the theory of frequency, reflection and refrection could be used to locate the exact depth of hydrocarbon presence, and kitchen. Perhaps, we ought to start imparting more of these knowledge that we’ve learnt in our jobs to schools. It’ll make the kids and teachers a whole lot more interested in their lessons.
In the night, there was a Hands-On Experience session. The organizers had prepared a special session for the teachers to discover the wonders of science, applying the theory of observation, hypothesis and a few other scientific skills. In one activity, 2 mirrors were stuck side by side by a sticky tape. The participant was required to put a coin between the mirrors, vary the angle of the mirrors at 180o, 150o,120o, 60o, and 30o and observed the changes of images.
I tried it and I was so amazed! Hey! I apply this theory in my daily well test interpretation. Usually, I just read it in books! How is it that I have never had the curiousity to try out their explanation? And I based my understanding solely on my imagination. All it required were simple materials. Just a tape, 2 mirrors and a coin. All these are cheap and affordable materials. Why didn’t I think of trying it out in the first place? Perhaps, I just lack the initiative and curiousity to try out new theories.
So, on that day, all of us were exchanging information throughout the day. It was a win-win situation. We learnt how to explain everything in layman’s term, whereas the teachers learnt the application of basic theories in Physics, Science and Mathematics in the oil and gas industry.
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