Expert systems are programs that analyze data by mimicking the thought processes of an expert.Two expert systems were developed by the Reservoir Evaluation and Advanced Computational Techniques group to aid in oil prospecting for two New Mexico formations, leading to the development of a third customizable fuzzy expert system. Knowledge engineering is a major part of the development of these expert systems, in which expert knowledge is solicited, analyzed, converted to rules stored in a system's knowledge base, and used by the computer to produce expert judgment. Numerical versions of the rules are used to analyze data and produce an evaluation of the user's prospect. In addition, the knowledge base preserves expert knowledge for future workers. This is especially important in the petroleum industry, as there is a cyclical trend in employment relating to the price of oil, retirements and people leaving and entering the industry.

The recent development of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs has been accompanied by a rapid expansion in hydraulic fracturing technology. A successful stimulation treatment relies heavily on the performance of the proppant used. Proppant performance has been quantified thoroughly in a laboratory setting for over 30 years through the procedures outlined in API RP61 and later API RP19D, referred to as the short-term test and long-term test, respectively. These procedures produce variable results from test to test, person to person, and lab to lab. As a result, a gross variance of ±20% about a mean is considered within laboratory accuracy for the long-term test, although variances of more than 80% have been recorded. This variability is thought to be a consequence of the inconsistent packing structure generated by the cell loading process, which creates a loose, incompact arrangement of proppant grains. The focus of this research was the development of a new cell loading process that creates a more repeatable grain packing structure. Applying vibration to the proppant pack prior to testing was evaluated as a means of rearranging the grains into a denser, more compact structure and in turn decreasing the level of variability. A modification of the procedure defined by API RP19D was used to compare the different cell loading techniques in a timely manner. Five methods of applying vibrational energy were investigated, with successively more refined technologies used as research progressed. Preliminary results were encouraging and led to the development of two vibrational methods that substantially decreased gross variance of conductivity measurements. The cell loading technique outlined in API RP19D produced a variance ranging from 13% to 51%, with an average variance of 31% for the entirety of the stress ramp. Both vibrational methods produced variances below the threshold of 20% throughout the stress ramp, with an average variance of 6% for one vibrational method and 11% for the other. These results demonstrate the potential for a vibration modification to the cell loading process to improve the science of conductivity testing.

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There is a concern in the oil and gas industry about an imminent shortage of professionals. Many factors contribute to this expected staff shortage, including large numbers of oil workers nearing retirement age, worker diasporas during lean times, lack of job prospects for students during the 80's and 90's and the resulting decline in enrollment in petroleum engineering programs. Currently, the industry is recruiting aggressively, offering high salaries; many college students have jobs arranged by their junior year. It might be expected that students would be enticed to prepare for careers in the oil and gas industry, especially in areas like west Texas, where the oil industry contributes enormously to the economy, oil jobs are plentiful, and are salaries high. However, a discussion with college bound juniors and seniors at Odessa High School in west Texas revealed that very few intended to pursue oil and gas-related careers. This disturbing result led to the authors to develop a survey to evaluate high school students for their interests in, and attitudes about, the industry. Survey questions cover the students' overall view of the industry, their impressions of industry technology, their desire to work in industry, factors affecting that desire, and general demographic data Initial observations indicate that students believe the oil and gas industry is low-tech, jobs are highly paid but unreliable, oil and gas will not be major energy resources in the future, and that a high school education can earn an employee close to what degreed employees earns, diminishing the value of a petroleum degree. Introduction At a recent presentation at a high school in Odessa, TX, a group of math and science students were asked to raise their hands if they were interested in a career in the oil and gas industry. No hands were raised. This might not be surprising in an area geographically removed from oil and gas production, but it is surprising in Odessa, a town located in the Permian Basin, that is currently enjoying an oil-and-gas-driven economic boom. What does this kind of response mean to the oil and gas industry, as it is facing an upcoming personnel crisis? There are many references to the "big crew change" facing the oil and gas industry. Many factors lead to this situation, including the "busts" in the industry when numerous people were laid off, the image of the industry as an unattractive career choice (low-tech, dirty industry with an uncertain future) (Tealdi, 2006), and the general lack of math, science and engineering graduates, leading to increased competition from other industries. A serious shortage of petrotechnical professionals has been predicted for many regions of the world, such as North America and the Middle East (Schlumberger, 2005), and lack of experienced personnel could cost the industry as much as $35 billion a year (Brett, 2007). In the Permian Basin region alone, a 2005 workforce assessment indicated the need for more than 28,000 additional oilfield workers in the next ten years (Modisett, 2006). There has been an increase in the number of petroleum engineering degrees awarded in the past few years (Fig. 1), perhaps indicating that students recognize the current oil boom and believe that it is stable. While this rise is encouraging, the total enrollments of almost 2500 students in petroleum engineering in 2006 are still much lower than the 12000 + students enrolled in the early 1980's (Heinze, 2004). Women are still not well represented in the industry, with female enrollment in engineering schools in the West at around 20% (Sbiti, 2004). There is also a downward trend in enrollment in math and science at the high-school level in the US (Starling, 2004), which may limit the number of students able to enroll in petroleum engineering programs. So, while universities are working to rebuild and grow their departments and employers are working to recruit qualified graduates, some attention should be paid to reaching out to students before they reach college age, both to encourage them to consider the petroleum industry as a career and to motivate them to enroll in the math and science courses that will help them prepare for such a career.

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