Continuing its support of education initiatives to develop the next generation of innovators, oilfield service company Baker Hughes has donated $1.9 million worth of technical software and computers to the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS). Baker Hughes’ JewelSuite reservoir modeling software, MFrac hydraulic fracture design and simulation software and Completion ArchiTEX 3D completion design software will enhance teaching, learning and research in both the Department of Geosciences and the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME).
“The company’s technical software has made a tremendous difference in helping oil and natural gas companies optimize their operations and improve performance because it helps them visualize oil reservoirs that are miles underground and determine the best way to produce them,” said Turgay Ertekin, head of the EME department and George E. Trimble Chair in Earth and Mineral Sciences. “We are grateful to Baker Hughes, which has been an excellent partner of ours over the past decade.”
The suite of software will allow students and faculty to gain a clearer picture of the subsurface and to predict how much oil or gas might exist in a given location. Using the software, students and faculty will be able to create complex 3D models of underground oil reservoirs and integrate those models into engineering solutions. The software also lets users analyze subsurface data and provides refined tools to see the impact of different types of completions and stimulation techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing, on models they have created to determine the most productive zones for fracture treatments.
In addition to providing software, Baker Hughes also has donated a set of high-performance computers, which can handle large amounts of data and extensive calculations to run the software applications.
“JewelSuite is the industry standard when it comes to modeling software and MFrac has long been a trusted fracture stimulation software,” said Lee Kump, head of the Department of Geosciences. “Giving students the chance to learn how to use these software applications before they graduate will give them an edge when they enter the job market.”
Baker Hughes has made numerous gifts to EME over the past decade. In 2013, Baker Hughes donated $350,000 to renovate, modernize and name the Baker Hughes Production Engineering Laboratory, an educational teaching laboratory located in Hosler Building. Numerous other gifts from the company have provided program support to EME and established multiple undergraduate student scholarships. In addition, representatives from the company visit Penn State’s campus frequently to speak to classes and recruit students for internships and careers.
“I’m proud of the work that Penn State does to develop new generations of innovators in our industry, and we at Baker Hughes are excited to provide a software gift that will help to further Penn State’s research and educational mission,” said Martin Craighead, Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes, who graduated from Penn State in 1982 with a B.S. in petroleum and natural gas engineering. “It’s important that we devote resources to help train top talent, and partnering with Penn State and other universities is an excellent way to do that.”
Supporters such as Baker Hughes are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University's land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of our faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.
About Baker Hughes is a leading supplier of oilfield services, products, technology and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. The company's 36,000 employees today work in more than 80 countries helping customers find, evaluate, drill, produce, transport and process hydrocarbon resources. For more information on Baker Hughes, visit: www.bakerhughes.com.