| Danial Norjidi |
A SIGNIFICANT milestone was reached yesterday as Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) signed a Supplemental Agreement in the presence of Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd (Shell) to continue their relationship in supporting research and development, education and the application of knowledge to enhance the technological capabilities of Brunei Darussalam’s oil and gas sector.
The agreement was signed by Vice-Chancellor of UTB Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman and Managing Director of BSP Dr Ceri M Powell in the presence of Senior Shareholder Representative for Shell Stuart Goodman, in a ceremony held at UTB.
According to a press statement, UTB, BSP and Shell initially signed a Funding Agreement in 2009 to fund the planning and development of the Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering undergraduate degree programmes in UTB.
The Supplemental Agreement was signed to update the scope of the Funding Agreement to include a renewed list of collaborative programmes, including notably in the field of new (renewable) energies, a new composition of the Steering Committee that is to oversee the implementation of the programmes and to extend the term of the agreement for the next five years.
The press statement explained that under the Supplemental Agreement, the parties to it will implement projects that include: Support for the Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Programme Area; continued development of fully fledged Petroleum Engineering and Chemical Engineering programmes in UTB; big data and analytics for the petroleum industry; setting-up of a Core Testing Facility in UTB; and research and development in new energies.
The agreement is also another milestone for BSP in its efforts to fuel Brunei’s future and to be a partner of choice through the energy transition, it was shared.
UTB continues to work with its stakeholders, especially from the industry, to enhance the educational experience of its students and provide solutions to contemporary issues facing the industry and society through translational research, the statement added.
