September 2015 Workshops

Personal Development Workshop

Resume/Interviewing Skills

Speaker:

Bianca Stewart, Recruitment Specialist, Progressive Global Energy

Abstract: 

Recruitment specialist who can provide resume and interview tips to create the conversation and capitalize on an interview with future employers. This is an opportunity to gain an understanding of what draws the attention of recruiters and hiring managers to identify potential professionals for their hiring needs as well as upscale your interview skills.

Bio:

I am a Recruitment Specialist for Progressive Global Energy, focusing primarily on the downstream, petrochemical, and chemical industries. I provide candidates and clients on a daily basis with the latest of market trends when it comes to staffing, and pride myself on the service that I provide to each individual that I work with for either finding a new job opportunity, or fulfilling a role within their team. It is my goal to understand the true needs of my clients and ensure that they are in line with the candidates that I represent.

UEFA Workshop

On the prediction, prevention and mitigation of asphaltene deposition

Speaker:

Francisco “Paco” Vargas, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University

Abstract: 

Asphaltene deposition is a flow assurance problem that threatens the continuous production of crude oil. This problem is likely to get worse because of the current tendency to produce from deeper waters and also due to the implementation of enhanced oil recovery operations based on miscible injection of CO2 or hydrocarbon gas. In this talk I will present an overview of the asphaltene deposition problem, novel tools for its prediction as well as current challenges associated with commercial asphaltene inhibitors that are sometimes unsuccessful in field applications. New experimental evidence and theoretical mechanisms suggest alternative ways to minimize the impact of asphaltene deposition and contribute to the development of best practices for the cost/effective mitigation of this problem.

Bio:

Francisco “Paco” Vargas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, and the co-Chair of the AIChE’s Upstream Engineering and Flow Assurance Forum. Previously he was the manager for the Flow Assurance R&D Program of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the United Arab Emirates. His research interests include the experimental determination and computer modeling of petroleum phase behavior and flow assurance problems, such as asphaltene deposition.