Technology Trends

The article that was reviewed was entitled: Field Courses Gives Petroleum Geoscientist a Top-to-bottom View of the Structural Geology of Oil Exploration. This article is about a course that will be taught at the Southwest Research Institute that will help geologist identify oil reserves under the surface of the earth. The institute designed this course not only to help oil companies in their search for petroleum, but also to aid the petroleum geoscientist in their research of the earth's geologic structure and it's development. Before this course was developed, the exploration geologist found their oil reserves, located under the earth's surface, by mapping geologic structures that already existed. The article states that "in the past 40 years oil and gas exploration has been driven deeper underground, requiring the use of seismic reflection imaging to find hydrocarbon reserves." The author states that in the field the students analyze complex geologic structures that are analogous to those commonly found in the oil and gas exploration provinces around the world: and the goal of the course is to provide geoscientist and geophysicist the field experience to recognize and interpret subtleties of structural style and recognize weak points in the interpretation.

This article is closely related to an English major in that it deals with the education of the mind. As an English major, with a concentration in education, any aspect of learning can be directly correlated to my major and it's focus. The course is designed to teach those individuals in the oil and gas industry a more efficient way to identify oil reserves. With this course as a prerequisite, both industries should flourish in their advancements in the geological world. This is a tactful strategy of the Southwest Research Institute, and proves that education is needed on all levels...even after college!

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