Assessment and development of hydrocarbon fields: Master's degree programme of St Petersburg University and Gazprom Neft

"Geological Support for Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Development" is not the first St Petersburg University programme that has been created and implemented with the participation of Gazprom Neft. The central office of the company moved to St Petersburg more than five years ago, bringing not only investments and jobs to the city, but also additional opportunities for the development of education.

In addition to traditional support of the areas related to subsoil use and refining, the company is actively involved in projects related to fundamental science. For example, Gazprom Neft took part in the development of the master's degree programme "Legal Regulation of Natural Resource Use", and also co-founded a nominal scholarship "Mathematical Progression" for young mathematicians. In addition, a joint laboratory of St Petersburg University and the Gazprom Neft Scientific and Technical Center is planned to be opened during the year. It will enable employees and students of the University to conduct geophysical and petrophysical studies, engage in digital geological and hydrodynamic modeling, and process and interpret seismic data.

The digital modeling laboratory is a joint project of St Petersburg University and Gazprom Neft, which involves activities in two areas: research and development; and analytical work to solve production problems. The work in the laboratory can be combined with studying in the magistracy or graduate school of St Petersburg University.

The new master's degree programme " Geological Support for Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Development" is aimed at training specialists in the oil and gas industry who are able to successfully solve the assessment tasks and to forecast the changes in the properties of the fields. The curriculum is divided into several thematic blocks: the first two semesters are devoted to special disciplines (area methods of studying, working with a well, etc.); the third semester is devoted to the study of adjacent areas (development of oil and gas fields, economy, geomechanics, etc.); and during the last half-year students will be engaged in research work and preparation of final qualifying work. In addition to the theoretical part, the programme includes practical tasks on petrophysics, interpretation of seismic surveys, geological and hydrodynamic modeling, and uncertainty assessment.

In 2018, admission to the programme is carried out for 15 places with tuition fees (five of them for foreigners). However, talented students have the opportunity to study for free: Gazprom Neft has established ten nominal scholarships that compensate for the cost of training. Citizens of Russia who have been successful in their studies can apply for these scholarships.

During the training, internships are planned in organisations of the group of companies of PJSC Gazprom Neft PJSC and classes on the basis of a joint laboratory. Students will get acquainted with the principles of work in a large corporation and acquire the necessary practical skills.

Graduates of the programme will be in demand in: geological regional offices of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia; exploration, production and oil and gas companies; and design and survey, academic and research organisations.

To enter the programme "Geological Support for Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Development", it is necessary to pass an introductory test in the form of a competition of documents (portfolio) on the subject "Geology of Oil and Gas." Additional points are counted for individual achievements: scientific publications; diplomas of winners and prize-winners of the Olympiad among students and young PS®S scientists on the subject of "Earth Sciences"; and nominal scholarships. Since this year, as an individual achievement, the online courses of St Petersburg University are also counted; thus, the certificate of the end of the course "Photogrammetric processing of aerial photographs from UAV" will bring ten additional points to the entrant.

Applicants wishing to participate in the competition for a nominal scholarship from Gazprom Neft PJSC must, before 18:00 (Moscow time) on July 20, 2018, file an application to the Commission for the Admission of Documents with the request to be admitted for participation in the competitive selection. You can download the application here.

An interview with the candidates who submitted the application will be held at 11:00 (Moscow time) on August 3, 2018 at the address: St Petersburg, Volkhovsky per., 3, aud. 315.

Information Centre on the directions "Applied Geology, Mining, Oil and Gas Business and Geodesy". Commission for the Reception of Documents

Address: Volkhovsky per., 3 (map) Here you can confirm the accuracy of the information specified in the description.

Phone: +7 (812) 363-68-85

E-mail: ms.geology@priem.spbu.ru