Current News

Coastal Louisiana, Energy and the Environment Topic of Upcoming Talk

Dr. Jason Theriot will present "Building America's Energy Corridor: Pipelines, Wetlands, and the Breaux Act" on Monday, January 30, at 4:00 in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building. 
Theriot, a native of Louisiana, environmental historian, Manship School of Mass Communication alumnus, and fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School for Government will  speak on the history of oil & gas development and wetland policy in coastal Louisiana, his research in the John Breaux Papers in the LSU Libraries Special Collections, and the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Macondo oil spill on recent policy developments in the Gulf. The latter is the current direction of his research as a Kennedy School fellow.
With an emphasis on the value of historical research for providing context for public policy-making, he offers a unique and valuable perspective on the ongoing discussion of Louisiana’s efforts to balance economics, energy exploration and extraction, and coastal preservation and restoration.  Former U.S. Senator John Breaux’s efforts to secure a steady revenue source for coastal projects through revenue sharing are a central part of Dr. Theriot’s narrative and analysis, and the John Breaux Papers provided an important resource for his research.

ATCE 2011

Ms. Sneha Panchadhara, who has conducted MS research under the supervision of Dr. Kam, became the First Prize Winner of the International SPE Student Paper Contest during the competition held at the SPE ATCE, Denver, October 31, 2011.

Previously, she was recognized as the first prize winner of the 2011 Regional SPE Student Paper Contest, held at Texas A&M University in April 2011. Her topic was  “Effect of Oil on Foam-Assisted Underbalanced Drilling Processes”. 

Sneha expressed her special thanks to those who helped during her study, especially Rahul Gajbhiye, Darryl Bourgoyne, and Gerry Masterman.

Offshore Engineer 2011 article - "The blowout school becons"

BOEMRE Director Bromwich names key career leadership for new agencies
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich announced several key appointments to high-level positions in the two new, independent agencies that will carry out the offshore energy management and enforcement functions currently under the jurisdiction of BOEMRE. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will begin operating on October 1, 2011.

Graduate Students represent the department at the 15th Annual Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Symposium

Presentations:
1st Place - Alireza Edrisi
2nd Place - Mohamed Abdelrahim

Posters:
1st Place - Nnamdi Agbasimalo
3rd Place - Muhammad Zulqarnain

LSU Awards BP Oil Spill Funds to University Researchers
Department projects include:

Dandina Rao and Kalliat Valsaraj: Understanding the Phase Behavior of Oil/Dispersant Water System at Differnt Salinities, Temperature and Pressure

John R. Smith: Functional Design and Sizing for Subsea Capping System

New Department Chair Announced

The College of Engineering announced the appointment of Karsten E. Thompson, Ph.D., as the new chairman for the Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering (PETE), he will also be appointed to the Longwell-Leonard Family Distinguished Professorship. The announcement has been published in: The Daily Reveille and World Oil.com.

Graduate Student Paper Contest Winners:

First place $300, second place $200 and third place $100.

MS division
1. Muhammad Zulqarnain
2. Sneha Panchadhar
3. Shrinidhi Shetty

PhD Division
1. Wenting Qin
2. Syedmohammad Gherabati
3. Reza Rahmani

Please join us in congratulating our winners and thanking all the judges and participants. Top two place finishers are required to submit an abstract for the regional student paper contest. Please contact your respective supervisor at the earliest to get these abstract submitted by 3/1/11 evening.

All the winners will be presented a certificate during the graduate seminar this Friday, 3/4/11.

Gulf Oil Spill Information Media Links
Gulf Oil Spill - LSU Information, Resources and Research Experts
PERTT Lab Offers One of a Kind, Hands-On Training at LSU
Video: WBRZ - Students learn how to prevent massive explosion
The Times-Picayune - LSU lab gives students hands-on experience in oil wells
The Times-Picayune - From a technical standpoint
Gulf Leak stopped ABC News July 15
House and Energy commerce committee
Static Kill Demo by Dr. Fred Thurber
John Smith testifies at DWH hearing

U. S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry

40th Year Anniversary of LSU Well #1 at the PERTT Lab

An article that originally appeared in The Reveille 40 years ago will be re-published in the next issue of the Pipeline.

Black Gold At LSU - The department of petroleum engineering has been given an oil well by three major corporations. Inspecting the well, which will be used for student research, are, left to right; Bill Hise, Associate Professor of petroleum engineering; Mark Rose and Don Solanas, petroleum engineering students; Jesse C. Brewer, district supervisor for Midhurst Oil Corporation; and Louis Soileau, vice-president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.