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Teaching Arab students to find oil: the challenge of founding a petroleum university in the Middle East
- Source: First Break, Volume 25, Issue 11, Nov 2007,
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- 01 Nov 2007
Abstract
Prof Karl A. Berteussen, acting director, Faculty of Petroleum Geosciences, Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, offers this memoir on the start up of a new learning establishment in the Middle East and in particular the setting up of a geosciences programme. The Petroleum Institute (PI) is a new university in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Most of the readers would know that UAE is a country rich with hydrocarbons. It has around 9% of the known recoverable oil in the world and around 3% of the gas. If handled correctly, the present production of around 2.8 million barrels per day can last for around 100 years. Like all other countries, UAE wants to be in control of its own future. For that one needs an educated local workforce instead of relying on the expertise of so called expats, like me. The background for establishing PI is thus foremost the need to educate local youth, i.e. the Emirates, to be qualified to take over their own industry; so called emiratization.