Nigerian students shine in Dubai
by Gbenga Ojo, October 20, 2016 at 12:00 am

STUDENTS of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) in Delta State, put up a remarkable performance at the just-ended yearly Technical Conference and Exhibition – PetroBowl competition – at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE). It was organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
Five universities won tickets to represent Nigeria at the African regional contest held last March, at the University of Benin (UNIBEN). Of the five, only FUPRE, Niger Delta University (NDU), and Igbinedion University, Okada, made it to the event through sponsorship.
Delta State University (DELSU) and Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) could not make it.
Thirty-two universities participated in the global contest. FUPRE got to “Elite 8” by defeating two world-class universities – University of Manchester in the United Kingdom (UK) and University of Houston in the United States (U.S.). the institution eventually emerged the fifth Best Petroleum University in the world.
Petro Bowl Competition, initiated in 2002, is a platform for student-chapters of SPE to exchange ideas on latest techniques in the petroleum industry. They are asked technical and non-technical questions about oil exploration and best practice.
FUPRE has represented Africa three times. In 2014, it emerged African champion in the regional contest, and represented Africa at the World Petro Bowl in Amsterdam, Netherland.
Also last year, FUPRE represented Africa at the global contest held in Houston, Texas. The team leader, Stephen Ibrahim, a 500-Level student of the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, told CAMPUSLIFE that his team members gave their best performance and brought their experience to bear in the contest. Coming fifth in the contest, he said, would give the team a leverage to review its performance and come out stronger in future contests.
A member of the team, Bilau Adeniran, also in 500-Level Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, said he was proud of the team’s achievement. He said: “I show my deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah for everything. I am proud of my team. The competition did not give us victory only but also made us a family.”
SPE is the largest individual-member organisation of serving managers, engineers, scientists and other professionals in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry, with more than 168,000 members in 144 countries. The Society has 368-student chapters across the world.

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