Petroleum Exploration Effort Involves Students

A research program at the University of Oklahoma's School of Geology and Geophysics is turning heads in the corporate and political worlds.

It is the first program in the world to coordinate international governments, major oil companies and university students in a united effort. These groups work together in the OU Red Sea-Gulf of Aden Basin Analysis and Seismic Stratigraphy Project, a petroleum exploration program that benefits them all.

The program recruits graduate students from countries surrounding the Red Sea in conjunction with the countries' governments. Students interpret immense amounts of old geological data at OU, using new methods, ideas and technology.

The data, including well-drilled core samples and data on thousands of magnetic tapes, comes from Red Sea area countries, which guard the knowledge jealously.

"We have literally millions of dollars worth of information," said John Pigott, assistant professor of geology and geophysics and one of the directors of the program.

Major oil companies fund the collection and assimilation of data.

Interpreted data is incorporated into a data base, which can be used by oil companies to find oil and natural gas in the region. The companies are not allowed to own the data _ because it belongs to the countries _ and may only study it at OU.

Everyone involved benefits: Students return to their individual countries with skills, experience, job contacts and master's degrees or doctorates in geology and geophysics. Participating countries have new information which helps develop their oil and natural gas resources, and the trained people they need to do it. Oil companies have valuable access to information that helps them compete with other companies in finding new oil and natural gas sources. OU and the School of Geology and Geophysics receive more international exposure and recognition for the energy program. The program also increases the school's ability to recruit international students.

Pigott began delicate negotiations months before the program began.

"These countries are very different from the United States. Their culture is very different. You have to understand that to get anything done," Pigott said.

He worked with the governments of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Yemen to convince them to send students and loan geological data for the program.

"I had to fly back and forth several times," he said.

He was assisted by members of the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Development Program.

The program has been funded by companies such as Amoco, Unocal, Pecten (Shell), Arco, Phillips, Oxy, Mobile and Exxon.

"With the oil companies providing the funding, it's a big project," said Abdel Ibrahim, the program's technical coordinator and a doctorate student from Sudan.

Pigott said the program gives the geosciences and geophysics schools invaluable international contacts and prestige.

"Unless we have people who do this kind of thing, we lose the ability to be innovative."

With OU's school of petroleum being the first of its kind in the world, it is important for OU to continue to be a leader, he said.

Success of the first three-year phase of the program, which ended in fall 1993, ensured its continuation.

Pigott is now looking into starting a similar program in Southeast Asia.

"It's really the Asian countries that are fueling the world economy right now," he said. "It's an awful lot of work.

"I want to finish this one right first."

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