assiya abbasi M. RASHEED khan

An interview with Asiya Abbasi

Drilling Fluids Engineer at Haliburton

Q.1) A little bit about yourself?

I graduated from NED University, Petroleum Engineering Department in 2016. Following this I joined Halliburton as an unpaid intern for siz months after which based on my performance, I was offerd a long-term paid internship in the Baroid product service line. I moved through the ranks quickly and established my presence which resulted in a full-time job offer as a Drilling Fluids Engineer in early 2017. During the past four years with Halliburton, I have been involved in various tasks covering all aspects from job execution at the rig site to proposal/tender designing, financial planning/budgeting, and logistics management. A great part of this job requires client interaction and hence you always must be on your toes and very vigilant to ensure service quality is maintained. Although it is challenging, I try my best to maintain a healthy work-life balance thanks to my family support system. I usually like to carry on an active social life and stay updated with the latest trends.

Q.2) You have spent several months working with 5 different companies as an Intern throughout your Bachelor’s Degree. How have these internships helped you in your professsional career?

I always had a passion for the Drilling Engineering branch of Petroleum Engineering and hence was constantly interested to learn more and develop skills in this domain. During my second year at university, I showed great performance in the Drilling Engineering-I course, which resulted in achieving prominence among my peers. Consequently, based on my interest and performance in the course, I was offered an internship position in the Drilling Department at PPL in the summer of 2013. This proved to be the right opening in the industry for me and all other internship opportunites were a result of the dedication and professionalism displayed during this first break. Being associated with 5 different organizations during the degree laid the the foundation for my professional growth. In addition, I was fortunate enough to intern in E&P as well as Service sect-ors, both of which have their flavors. In the E&P, the holistic picture is always important, and the learning is primarily based upon data application. On the other side, in a service company environment, you are much more focused on a single aspect and learn A to Z of a particular data and its development. To summarize my internship experience, I gained a wealth of knowledge not only related to the technical aspects, but more importantly, it helped me transition from a student to a professional by inculcating strong skills relevant to conducting yourself in a corporate setup and creating your own identity among the crowd.

Q.3) How would you feel to be known as the "First Halliburton Female Drilling Engineer in Pakistan"?

The least I can say is that it feels great! I say this because to be recognized in such a manner has never been an easy journey by any means. It took courage, hard work, dedication, and a whole lot of resilience to face up to the unique challenge of proving competency to perform in the field in this male-dominated industry. It did not help me due to extra barriers in the form of societal norms, however, I calmly and with a determination to achieve my goals, kept breaking them to pave the way for women engineers to strive. An example of what I was facing can be judged from the fact that

wearing coveralls on the field was considered a “taboo” for some! My biggest challenge was to be part of the team at the rig site, which was always rejected due to some strange, beyond comprehension reasoning. However, the key was I never gave up and kept pushing harder until I finally got the opportunity. Subsequently, I proved myself when I received an “above and beyond'' performance score on my first hitch for a client that cemented their trust in my capabilities. Following this, I played my part as a regular team member. I have used my position and the platform available to always represent a positive image of Pakistan and the amazing women of this country. One of the best things that has ever happened to me to date is the invitation to represent at the company’s global annual conference where the top 1% of employees gather to discuss strategy. Through this, I participated in a diversity and inclusion workshop and highlighted the problems faced by women working in this part of the world. Looking back, I am proud of what I have achieved given the circumstances and aim to keep moving forward, paving the way for others to follow!

Q.4) Your pride and motivation for the women of the Petroleum Industry in Pakistan and abroad. Can you please give a short counseling message to the students and young professionals?

My message to all students who will be graduating soon is to prepare yourselves for a tough industry in a manner that helps you stand out from the crowd. Grab on to any opportunity, no matter how big or small, and do not stop there, rather create your “own” identity in the organization. To all young professionals out there, my only advice is to never cease the learning process if you want to keep on growing professionally. Finally, I want my story to be a positive example for women and men equally, to show them that no matter how big the challenge is, you can overcome it with hard work, dedication, determination, and a strong will to succeed.

An interview with

Mehtab Ahmed

Drilling and Completion Engineer at UEP

Q.1) A little bit about yourself.

I belong to the beautiful Valley of Kaghan, located in the district Mansehra, Pakistan. I completed my bachelor's degree in Oil and Gas Engineering from BUITEMS, Balochistan. After the completion of my graduation, I successfully received the OMV Excellence Master Scholarship and afterward, I went to pursue my Master's from a highly renowned University of Austria. Subsequently, my hard work and self-dedication land me a job as the Junior Well Engineer at OMV. Currently, I am working for United Energy Pakistan as a Drilling and Completion Engineer.

Q.2) This profession requires a lot of attention and groundwork. How did this profession allow you to travel to 26 countries at the age of 26? How did your traveling diaries cope with this hard field?

During my bachelor's degree, I took part in various social and professional activities. I participated in several international conferences and events. This helped me to develop my interpersonal skills, boosted my confidence, and thus, resulted in extending my travel exposure to different countries of the world. Later on, luckily when I attained an opportunity to study abroad, this further helped me to add new countries to my traveling diary. In this regard, I was able to travel to 26 countries at the age of 26.

Q.3) Can you please share something about your international research thesis with OMV Global?

During my specialization, I got the chance to work on multilateral technology with a case study of dual well for OMV. Through multilateral technology, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies can now avert the production decline from mature fields and maximize recoverable reserves from depreciated assets. The project delivered a comprehensive insight into multilateral technology along with a conceptual design of a dual opposed lateral well while using a preferred multilateral junction system in one of the mature fields of OMV. The case study demonstrates the basis of design for implementation of the dual lateral technology to complete the wells with ten stage propped fracture completions. Concerning the financial limitations of the Dual lateral well, the non-productive or vertical part of the well is considered to be cost-driven; whereas the productive part of the well, consisting of the horizontal sections, is considered to be value-driven.

Q.4) Can you please give a short motivational message to the students and young professionals?

“If you want to achieve anything substantial in your life, be focused and have a clear direction towards your dreams and goals. Learning is a ceaseless process. It never stops but it transmutes. At certain points in life, you may become hopeless and anxious. Don’t fear and show your weakness to others because it’s a part of life and everyone has to go through it. But later on, you will come to understand the reason behind all of your suffering and then, you will look back at your old days and smile. Feel proud of what you are and what you have accomplished in your life. Best wishes and God bless you all.”

An interview with

Mohammad Khan

Reservoir Engineer at Schlumberger

Q.1) Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Mohammad Rasheed Khan from the Petroleum Engineering batch of 2011-12. I was born and brought up in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where I completed my high school before returning to Pakistan for pursuing undergraduate studies at the NED University, Karachi. Coming from a country with a crude oil-based economy, knowledge about oil & gas was always intriguing and engraved in my subconscious, which ultimately compelled me to opt for the same while enrollment at the university. Aftercompletion of the undergraduate degree, I was lucky enough to be selected from several other candidates for MOL’s Growww program as a Trainee Reservoir Engineer. I visited Eastern Europe thrice to take part in multiple technical and business development sessions during this association with MOL. Towards the end of this program, I was selected to visit the MOL Group CEO at the Hungary headquarters to share and discuss the knowledge gained during this venture. Learning while traveling was a key highlight of this experience. In 2017, I moved to pursue Graduate studies in Petroleum Engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia. This is where I further cultivated an extensive research aptitude. Consequently, this led to embarking on multiple research projects leading to publications. I got an opportunity to conduct the MSc research thesis with Schlumberger Dhahran Carbonate Research Center, where I worked for more than 8 months. Upon completion of my graduate degree and the research project by mid-2019, I was offered to work as Reservoir Engineer based in Pakistan where I am currently located since August 2019.

Q.2) You were recently nominated as an Energy Leader For Tomorrow by the Energy Intelligence Forum. How do you plan to use this platform?

Being born and brought up in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I always had this innate curiosity for the energy industry and the value it brings. Over the years, I have witnessed through various channels how energy is a single vital source of survival for many nations around the globe. Coupled with the social impact this brings forth, it undoubtedly has created an in-born desire to start a ripple effect of change through association with the energy industry. Furthermore, during the past couple of years with my exposure to graduate studies, the element of digitalization and the impact it has on global energy economies has catapulted my interest in this industry. With the recent pandemic, we have witnessed how digital markets have transformed the interactions occurring in the energy hubs.

In this regard, I see myself playing a role in sustainable energy utilization using a cutting-edge digitalization approach.

Q.3) Do you think conducting/participating in research-based activities is important along withgood academic grades?

I strongly promote getting acquainted with robust techniques to conduct research as much as possible during your undergraduate studies. In my experience, I have seen the research aspect of my portfolio shine brightly and be a differentiator where it mattered. By this I do not mean that grades are not important, however, they must be always complemented with certain “extra skills” if you may call it so, to be able to stand out. Additionally, there are a plethora of opportunities you can explore through research as it allows you to discover topics that interest you the most, and resultantly aids to polish your problem-solving skills. Trust me, it will do you a huge favor to know what research topics best suit you while opting to conduct a graduate thesis.

Q.4) How do you manage to continue insightful research while being involved in your job as a Reservoir Engineer?

Interestingly,I often get asked this question by my peers and colleagues from all walks of life. I think multiple characteristics have helped me maintain consistency in most of the things I do in life. Firstly, I am a goal-oriented individual who set tangible deadlines and makes sure to finish whatever project is started. This does not mean you have to complete everything you do flawlessly, however, it is assumed that you will learn something meaningful by going thru the complete cycle. Secondly, prioritization is the key to achieving positive results when multi-tasking. Simply stating, you are never too busy to do anything, rather it is a matter of how you prioritize tasks and plan to complete them. Therefore, I always make sure to keep myself occupied with a couple of research ventures and manage them to fit into my schedule. Finally, and I think this is the most important part of my answer, I truly have a passion for conducting research and this makes things easier to manage with my job. Consequently, I always try to pick out something from my routine tasks where research would benefit and carry it as a project. This allows for work and research to be incorporated simultaneously. In other words, I like to apply a research-centric approach to all tasks I am performing regularly.

Q.5) Currently, students are quite stressed in graduate studies and projects. Being a research scholar how would you guide them to manage time and consider research and publications also?

I would like to mention that do not do research just because everyone is doing it, as this way you will never be able to accomplish the real essence of it. Rather, practice research as a way of thinking and approaching problems through an investigative perspective which makes it even more interesting and engaging. Also, research topic selection should be aligned to what you are interested in and not what is trending. I staunchly believe that quality research can only be done when passion and clear motivation is present to achieve the results. Finally, effective time management is a skill that you must learn to succeed not only at university but also at the professional level.

Q.6) You have been part of various paper contests and awarded multiple positional awards. Describe your experience and if you could comment on what inspires you to continue with technical writing?

There are two skills at play in paper contests, first is technical writing which is essential for you to be considered by several other authors. Next, is the presentation skills that you exhibit during the contest which can make or break your chance of winning. In my experience, both these aspects helped me to achieve positions in multiple paper contests. Speaking about inspiration, I think I mentioned this earlier as well, it is the passion for research and technical writing that motivates me day in and day out to write. A key advantage of taking up technical writing is that it allows you to self-improve and learn in-depth knowledge about the subject matter at hand. Accordingly, I believe this allows me to keep up to speed with the latest trends and expand on my current knowledge base. Over the years I have indulged so deeply 7qain technical writing, that it has become part of my DNA, so much so that I like to utilize any available free time in this activity. Additionally, I have this innate curiosity to find solutions to intriguing puzzles and put them in a methodical/structured manner by removing ambiguity and disorder. The pathway to my success came from being devoted, inquisitive, and with a constant desire to learn more as it is a never-ending process.

Q.7) What is going to be your next research topic or if you are currently engaged in any research area, kindly tell us a little bit about it?

Currently, I am involved in various research topics which are quite diversely spread out. On one hand, I am involved in the application of Machine Learning for PVT predictions, EOR polymer selection, drilling rate-of-penetration estimation, and the characterization of lithological changes using classification through artificially intelligent algorithms. On the other hand, I am also involved in research related to PVT characterization of near-critical reservoir fluids using a data-driven approach. So, it can be seen how to spread out this is concerning the area of specialization. Moreover, I foresee some of my future research involving areas such as Well Integrity Barrier Evaluation. The reason to mention these various areas is that I would like to point out that it is not necessary to research in a single domain or follow a trending topic. On the contrary, it is more valuable to incorporate diversity in inquiry to broaden the learning envelope.

Q.8) What is your short to a long-term plan, career-wise? Do you see yourself continuing in the Servicesector of the industry?

Currently, I am involved in a purely technical role, however, gradually I would like to transition into more of a tech-sales position. Eventually, I want to transform towards more management-centric portfolios in the service sector of the industry. In my opinion, the service industry has, over the past few years, dominated the step change towards digitalization, and a move towards solutions pivotal to sustainable energy deployment. Being associated with this will allow me to be more vocal and involved in defining the next phase of the energy industry, post-pandemic. Furthermore, it will provide an opportunity to be nurtured within an incubator of new ideas and be part of the next global energy change/disruption.

Q.9)What piece of advice would you like to give to your readers?

My advice comes from the combined experience of academic and professional life. Having said that, today I continue to learn and evolve as we move forward. My advice will be equally applicable to students and young professionals. Over the past few years, I have observed that the oil industry is very ruthless and only people with the right attitude and character can survive and excel in it. The good news is that this is not something one is born with, rather it can be nurtured and developed. Your degree or grades will take you to forward up to a point, thereafter what matters is how you put in the effort to steer your career forward. Finally, it is equally important to enjoy life and all the goodthings that are around us. It is vital to take a break occasionally, to establish that essential balance in life. I staunchly preach that to boost your career, it is all about the passion you have for the profession which will ultimately help create your brand in the oil patch!

An interview with

Naeem Ul Hussain Dahraj

De. Chief Engineer Reservoir at PPL

Q.1) First tell us a little about yourself.

I am a Petroleum Engineer by core, right now working with PPL as a senior reservoir engineer in a new field development and reservoir modelling group. Responsible for new oil and gas fields development of PPL across Pakistan and carrying out as well as supervising in-house and 3rd party subsurface studies.

Q.2) Graduate studies are already quite stressful along with research projects plus being a Gold medalist how did you manage time to take extra courses and work on publications in your academic life?

I have more than 10 publications as an author in various international journals. That pretty much shows my affection for research work. I am a strong believer in research and always have been able to spare time for good topics. I simply believe a good reservoir engineer is a good researcher. And you get encouraged when you receive appreciation for your research. My MS work on rate transient analysis at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in the USA was considered pioneering work, based on which several further theses have been worked out. I got a distinguished graduate award twice for my research at OU.

Q.3) Along with being a Petroleum Engineer you decided to be an Economist and a Lawyer. How much of these professions help you in building up your current career?

I started my career as a drilling engineer for a time. Later I switched to reservoir engineering and soon I discovered reservoir engineering's ultimate goal is to estimate and produce reserves wisely i.e.$$$$. Interestingly, reserves inherently encompass economics in them as per SPE PRMS guidelines. With no job exposure in business development and divestitures, I soon developed an interest in Economics so I decided to go for an economics degree, that was in 2012. Besides, I have done specialized courses in petroleum economics from OU USA, financial modelling from IBA, and business development from an American university, DC USA also. Interest in law is a recent sudden inspiration; having known the engineering, economics and commercial sides of the oil and gas industry, I realized it will be great if I get a 360-degree view and thus specialized in petroleum/ energy law for which I enrolled at the University of London. Moreover, I believe in diversity rather than specialization. Having a background in engineering, economics, and law is honestly a lethal combination, you realize when you get more insight into a project from every angle. This makes you a better decision-maker also.

Q.4) As you have done your MS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and Bachelor of Law from the University of London. How has the multicultural experience for you been? Was it easy for you to adapt to such diversified environments?

Mixing with cultures has never been an issue for me. I have left my house for nearly 20 years for education and job purposes. I believe you groom and learn a lot quicker if you travel and meet people other than from your community. If you want to learn then travel more if you want to earn then travel more and I believe if you have to learn and earn then the utmost thing you should do is travel!

Q.5) How has the overall professional experience of working with multinational companies and now as a Senior Reservoir Engineer with PPL been?

My professional journey so far is fantastic Alhamdulillah. However, not all experiences are entirely good or bad. It's a relative perspective on how we mean it. Working with PPL gives me a direct sense that I am working for the people of Pakistan at least at this time.

Q.6) Your Industrial experiences are quite vast. Is there any difference between what you find working in Pakistan and the foreign?

Multinationals believe in early cash flow and relatively quicker exploitation of reserves, thus they don’t believe in plateaus contrary to national companies. NoC works with long-term goals and in the bigger picture and for the best interest of the country.

Q.7) How does it feel to receive so many prestigious honors from international countries and the title of 'Science Boy' from the government of Pakistan? Has it ever been hard for you to cope with such high remarks?

I don’t live in the past much, hence all those honors I received so far mean nothing. I am aiming for more such in the future InshaAllah. However, I do get pleasure when I look back.

Q.8) As a career counselor, what would you like to say about the current scenario of oil & gas?

In my decade of experience, I have seen three downturns in the oil industry; hence it seems quite normal to all of us. My advice to newcomers will always be to plan your career wisely. Make your long-term and short-term goals, diversify, build your skills, and ask people who know.

Q.9) You have been an oil and gas professional for like a decade, what advice or suggestion would you like to convey to your readers regarding the future in this particular field?

“DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME.

TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN MONEY”