1  

   

PROCEEDINGS  REPORT  ON  EAGE  MAKERERE  UNIVERSITY  STUDENT  CHAPTER  PARTICIPATION  AT  THE  79th  EAGE  CONFERENCE  AND  

EXHIBITION  IN  PARIS,  FRANCE  

Theme: Energy, Technology, Sustainability - Time to open a new Chapter

 

11th -17th June 2017

Porte De Versailles, Paris, France.

Complied by:

Mustaqim Balyesiima

EAGE PRESIDENT

2016-2017

     

EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF GEOSCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS EAGE

E  

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ CHAPTER Department of Geology and Petroleum Studies

P.O Box 7062 Kampala. Tel. +256 781835545 Email: eagemakerere@gmail.com

  2  

INTRODUCTION

EAGE Makerere University Students Chapter (EAGE MAK SC) was found in 2014 by a group of students from college of Natural Science and College Engineering, Design, Art and Technology under guidance of Dr. John Mary Kiberu the current patron in order to promote Petroleum Geosciences and Engineering disciplines among students.

Team Mak EAGE SC from Makerere University emerged winners of the Team Total Dream Ticket Grant to enable them participate in the 79th EAGE Conference and Exhibition in Paris France. TOTAL S.A funded the travel expenses. Team Mak EAGE SC also won the audience special prize (A camera) for the best project.

EAGE is a global professional association for geoscientists and engineers with more than 19,000 members worldwide. It provides a global network of commercial and academic professionals to all members. The association is truly multi-disciplinary and international in form and pursuits.

Project Title: Technical Paper Presentation at the 79th EAGE CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION and Society Of Petroleum Engineers – Europec in Paris, France (11-16 June 2017).

Project  Description:  

Research  in  Albertine  Graben  an  important  location  for  oil  and  gas  in  Uganda.  The research was conducted in the Semliki basin located in Ntoroko district in Western Uganda and at the department of geology and Petroleum Studies. The Semliki basin lies south of the Albertine graben and East of Lake Albert basin on the shores. It is part of the western arm of the East African Rift System and is bounded by the eastern escarpment to the east.

The aim of the project was to enable students from the department of geology and petroleum studies at Makerere University to present their research and findings at an international platform. In addition, it was an opportunity for the team members to interact with other students and professionals and to participate in the EAGE annual students chapter meeting.

The  following  participated  in  the  research  project.    

13/U/4460/PS   BALYESIIMA   MUSTAQIM   (Bsc   IV   Petroleum   Geoscience   &   Production-­‐College   of   National  

Sciences)-­‐TEAM  LEADER  

12/U/2232  MUSASIZI  JOSEPHAT  (Bsc  IV  Petroleum  Geoscience  &  Production-­‐  College  of  Natural  Sciences)  

214004301  AIJUKA  NICHOLA  (BSc  Civil  Engineering  –  College  of  Engineering,  Design  Art  and  Technology)  

2014/HD/13/800U  KICONCO  RHONA  (MSc  Petroleum  Geophysics-­‐  College  of  Natural  Sciences)  

2014/HD13/796U  AJUNA  BANET  (MSc  Petroleum  Geochemistry-­‐  College  of  Natural  Sciences)  

  3  

 

PROCEEDINGS

Team Mak EAGE SC from Makerere University in Uganda realized two different dreams when they successfully applied for funding to attend the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) annual conference. Not only did the team of five achieve their ambition of attending the 79th EAGE conference, but as the 2017 event was sponsored by Total in Paris, France, they also had the opportunity to visit the ‘City of Light’ – another dream fulfilled.

Aijuka, Mustaqim, Josephat, Rhona and Ajuna make up Team MakEAGE and are all passionate about geosciences and the environment. Rhona said that “Uganda has various natural resources, including some that have yet to be discovered.” The team also told us that the petroleum industry is really a growth area in Uganda, and Mustaqim mentioned that he got interested in this sector when oil resources were discovered in his region.

So how did they find out about Team Total and the opportunities it offers for student funding? The answer is through their own networks, including friends who completed the IFP MOOC or who were selected for the Total Energy Summer School. Team Leader Mustaqim also subscribed to the Total Campus newsletter. “After I started to follow the Total Campus website and I realized that I could apply. I missed the deadline in 2015 and in 2016 I wanted to make sure that I apply on time!”

Team Mak members pose for a picture with education department officials from Total S.A.

  4  

Rhona said that “Total is one of the key energy players, and as we are looking forward to entering the job market, we are always on the Total Campus website to discover new opportunities. We discussed Team Total within our EAGE Student Chapter, as we wanted to spread the news. It was not easy but now we are really happy and proud to be here.”

The team leader, Mr. Mustaqim Balyesiima at the Conference

Having the right team was key. Mustaqim said that, “From the beginning, we knew that we wanted our team to be diverse, not only people doing geosciences but also people studying environmental sciences and engineering. We also thought about the importance of representing both genders, as we wanted to motivate women to be in the team and to be more involved in the geosciences field in general. We think that the most important aspect for our team was the passion for this topic, as we know that this is what drives things.”

Rhona emphasizes the importance of diversity “We encouraged girls to get involved – the oil and gas industry is not only for men, it needs women. If a man can climb a mountain, I can climb a mountain! We have a platform where we talk to the young girls about the possibility of getting involved in this field and they get excited.”

The team took care to submit the best possible application. “The project was not easy. For a start, we needed fast internet which is not guaranteed where we are. We had moments with no electricity, no communications at all! We made sacrifices and put in hard work – the experience taught us to work

  5  

hard, to chase what we want. At the same time, it was fun and we certainly learnt about the importance of team work and trust!”

So was all the work worth it? Definitely! “The event is very interesting, we are networking with a lot of people, professionals and students from different universities.” Rhona says that, ‘We can’t wait to go back home and share all the things that we learnt here. For me, the most interesting part was the Exploration Drones presentation at the Total stand. I can’t wait to present this to women at geosciences conferences.” As part of the experience, the students presented some of their own research and felt confident about this challenge: “We worked on this a lot - we have results, we have data and we felt comfortable sharing our research work with the EAGE audience.”

As well as the experience of attending the stimulating and educational EAGE event, for these first-time Paris visitors, they also made time to see the city. After all, “People won’t believe you were in Paris until they see a picture of you at the Eiffel Tower!”

Pictures from Team Mak interview with TOTAL S.A officials and the educational tour at the exhibition booths

  6  

Remarks

Overall the participation of team Mak SC chapter was a success and greatly enhanced the visibility of both Makerere University and the EAGE MAK SC at the conference

Two papers were presented and published on earthdoc, one of the biggest geoscience research journals. These papers include: ‘Prediction of Time Pulse (4D) effects of the reservoir based on well log data from the Semliki Basin, Western Uganda’ by Kiconco Rhona and ‘Basin and petroleum system modeling of the Semliki sub-basin, Albertine Graben’ by Ajuna Banet.

A poster from the MAK EAGE chapter was also presented during the EAGE annual students chapter meeting.

Acknowledgment

We acknowledge TOTAL S.A for giving us the opportunity to attend one of the biggest petroleum conferences in the world.

Our sincere gratitude goes to Makerere University (Department of Geology and Petroleum Studies) for the recommending us for the grant and the travel Visa. Moreso, for grooming us into competent and result oriented geoscientists.