UG offering Associate Degree in Petroleum Engineering

Guyanese who are anxiously awaiting the budding oil and gas sector are now being provided with the opportunity to be qualified to benefit from same, with the University of Guyana commencing its Associate of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering as classes resume today.
The announcement was first made last year by Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, and was confirmed during the second Oil and Gas Seminar held by Secretary of the University Council, Registrar Nigel Gravesande.
The course is being offered in collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago, with some courses expected to be delivered in Trinidad.
A UG team had visited the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the West Indies, and an agreement was struck to develop various courses.
Speaking during the second forum on “the Youth and the Oil and Gas Sector” on Saturday, Gravesande noted that while the Technical and Vocational Training Education (TVET) Institutions have started to create an enabling environment for training, more had to be done to ensure “sustainable exploration, development and production of the nation’s petroleum assets”.
Gravesande explained “Guyana found itself not only as a newcomer to the industry, but also relatively unprepared without the necessary skills to make a significant contribution to the production that was targeted to commence in 2020.”
The University Registrar underscored that “this situation gave rise to the demand for these requisite skills in this highly-specialised area of petroleum engineering to be developed locally, but also rapidly.”
The programme will be offered for two years and students are expected to be engaged in workshop training and skill courses.