ExxonMobil advocates STEM-related careers at OTC Asia
KUALA LUMPUR: To further promote efforts to encourage students to pursue an education and career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc (EMEPMI) provided young students with the exclusive opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the oil and gas industry.
This was done via a High School STEM Programme organised in conjunction with the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Asia 2018 held from March 20 to 23, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur.
EMEPMI’s support as a primary sponsor for the High School STEM Programme at the OTC Asia 2018 is part of its ongoing contributions towards developing the nation’s talents. As a science and technology-driven company, ExxonMobil places an emphasis on ensuring today’s students are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century.
Speaking at the panel session during the programme, Hazizi Hasan, EMEPMI’s Tapis Asset manager shared his own career journey and explained the nature of his work, emphasising the importance of STEM knowledge and its application in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources.
“Throughout my 12 years of working for a global oil and gas company, I’ve had the privilege to do various jobs, from being an engineer to overseeing operations on the offshore platforms.
“In my current role as asset manager for the Tapis field, my main responsibility is to ensure our operations are safe, environmentally responsible and profitable,” Hazizi said.
“In the energy industry, the world’s growing demand for energy creates a dual challenge where we must provide energy to meet the world’s needs while simultaneously mitigating risks that are associated with the industry; such as health and safety as well as the environment.
“So, in order to tackle these challenges responsibly, we need future STEM experts who are able to design and innovate new technology and equipment that are more efficient and safer while fully understanding and optimising the entire value chain,” he added.
The full-day programme enabled students to further understand the exploration, development and production of the upstream business in the oil and gas sector through the Energy4me workshop, a programme powered by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
The workshop consisted of a series of hands-on activities along with a mini competition, allowing students to observe, analyse and form hypotheses on the formation and process of discovering and extracting oil and natural gas. The workshop and mini competition were conducted by industry professionals to test students’ STEM skills and knowledge.
ExxonMobil has a long history of investing in educational programmes in Malaysia and globally, with a focus on STEM initiatives. In Malaysia, other STEM initiatives supported by EMEPMI include the National Science Challenge (NSC), the biennial Asia Petroleum Geoscience Conference & Exhibition, ExxonMobil STEM Awards, Terengganu-ExxonMobil Mathematics Innovation Challenge and Spark Your Creativity Challenge.
The biennial OTC Asia marks the second consecutive time around EMEPMI has supported theHighSchoolSTEMProgramme to encourage and engage the next generation of energy professionals to venture into STEM-related disciplines.