Greentech Lead America: ExxonMobil and GE will contribute
$1 million to a new educational initiative to help bring latest natural gas
best practices to shale development.
Colorado School of Mines, Penn State University and the
University of Texas at Austin are part of the new training initiative to support
the growing shale natural gas and oil development sector.
The training programs will ensure that regulators and
policymakers have access to the latest technology and operational expertise to
assist in their important oversight of shale development.
The training programs will be led by the faculty at each
academic institution.
“ExxonMobil is pleased to provide the resources to assist
the schools in equipping regulators with the latest technical and operational
knowledge being applied in this growing sector,” said Rex Tillerson, CEO,
ExxonMobil.
The Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (CPGE) at The University of
Texas has added an Education, Training and Outreach Program, directed by Dr.
Hilary Clement Olson.
Through the Shale Gas Regulators Training program, Penn
State University will provide development training that will help ensure a
strong regulator process across the Appalachian Basin.
The university will develop shale gas best management
practices and offer new regulators the chance to learn the latest science-based
concepts related to geology, petroleum technology and environmental quality.
Colorado School of Mines’ focused mission to educate the
next generation of engineers and applied scientists fosters a natural
partnership in this consortium.
The series of courses will cover: Petroleum geology, both
conventional and nonconventional, Petroleum technology, Environmental
management technologies and practices and Federal and state oil and gas
regulatory requirements.
When used for power generation, natural gas emits up to
60 percent less CO2 than coal. Natural gas also enables more renewable energy
to join the power grid as next generation gas turbines help ensure grid
stability by quickly ramping up and down to generate electricity when wind or
solar power is intermittent.
GE and ExxonMobil note that while hydraulic fracturing,
horizontal drilling and other technologies used to produce shale resources are
not new. Therefore, it is critical that regulators and policymakers have access
to a sound scientific understanding of shale energy development and are fully
aware of the technologies required to produce these resources safely and
efficiently, while protecting the environment.
“We believe advanced technology, an expert
workforce and smart regulation are the keys to America leading the world in
shale gas development. As a technology leader in the energy sector, GE
recognizes the importance of minimizing a site’s environmental footprint while
simultaneously increasing operational efficiency,” said Jeff Immelt, CEO, GE.