Southwest Petroleum University is Crowned Champion of the ConocoPhillips China & Enactus China FUTURE Energy Innovation Research Project

Final Competition Successfully Held in Chengdu on Aug. 9

CHENGDU – The final competition of FUTURE Energy Innovation Research Project (FUTURE), a cooperative venture of ConocoPhillips China (COPC) and Enactus China, was successfully concluded at Chengdu University of Technology. After a rigorous evaluation process, the research team from Southwest Petroleum University was named the champion.

FUTURE kicked-off in April as part of ConocoPhillips’ vision to encourage innovation for China’s energy future and attracted research teams from 10 targeted colleges and universities nationwide who, in total, contributed 99 research papers. The China Championship of 2018 FUTURE was awarded to the research of ‘Efficient Photocatalytic Environmental Remediation for Rearrangement Fluid of Shale Gas Pressure Fissure Liquid’ from Southwest Petroleum University. The second prize went to Chengdu University of Technology with the research of ‘Differential Fluid Migration Behavior and Gas Content in Wufeng-Longmaxi Shale and Qiongzhusi Shale in Sichuan Using Isotope Geochemistry’ and China University of Geosciences (Beijing), while the research of ‘An Improved Evaluation Method for the Brittleness Index of Shale and Its Application- A Case Study from the Southern North China Basin’ came in third.

FUTURE was created to inspire Chinese postgraduate students to pursue research studies in oil and gas technology innovation and sustainable development that will be essential as China strives to meet the growing energy needs of its expanding economy and achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges including ConocoPhillips Chief Technology Officer Greg Leveille, professors from top universities, and senior engineers from China’s leading oil organizations such as Sinopec Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

“The support of these industry experts was an indispensable prerequisite for the successful project,” said Leveille. “Their involvement made the project not only a competition for the youth to showcase their talent, but also a platform for exchange with industry opinion leaders.

“ConocoPhillips is an enabler in technology innovation, which is a key to underpinning sustainable development in the energy sector,” Leveille added. “We are delighted to see the strong passion of China’s young talents, who share a vision with us to pursue a better future with innovative energy solutions. We support FUTURE’s mission of finding innovative and sustainable solutions that will make positive contributions to help meet China’s growing energy needs -- and even the world’s.”

During the presentation session, the 8 finalists showcased their innovative solutions for tackling technological challenges in unconventional oil and gas production. The research projects were scored based not only on format and presentation, research originality, technical content and applicability, but also on environmental sustainability. By choosing sustainability as one of the evaluation criteria, ConocoPhillips wishes to encourage and inspire future industry practitioners to integrate environment considerations into their research and decision-making processes in the future.

“The FUTURE project is one of the best examples of the implementation of our innovative and forward-looking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts”, said Yang Yumin, vice president of Business Development and Government Affairs, ConocoPhillips China. “Beyond rewarding their efforts in exploring outstanding oil and gas solutions, we value the young talents’ consideration of sustainability in energy. Together with our local partners, we will continue to apply this strategy to develop diversified CSR programs to support sustainable development in China.”

ConocoPhillips China has supported FUTURE for the past four years, thereby allowing numerous promising graduate students and their academic advisors to receive financial support for their research studies and career opportunities. Based on past successful experiences, the 2018 FUTURE project shifted the focus from financial support to inspiring innovation and sustainability in energy.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. By leveraging ConocoPhillips China’s thought leadership in sustainability and innovation in oil and gas, the project encourages the young talents in energy to value innovation and sustainability,” said Enactus China’s General Manager Cathy Ren. “Building upon this partnership, we are looking forward to working closely with ConocoPhillips China to develop such CSR projects to support young talent development in the future.”

In addition to being selected as the winning team by ConocoPhillips, the winning team has been invited by Enactus to participate in its UN Sustainable Development Goals Forum and will present its ideas on how China can meet its energy goals. The forum will take place during the Enactus World Cup Event in San Jose, Calif. in October.

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About ConocoPhillips China

As the world’s largest independent E&P company based on production and proved reserves, ConocoPhillips has been a committed partner in China since the early 1980s and continues to be one of the largest foreign investors in China’s upstream oil and gas sector. For more than 37 years, ConocoPhillips has expanded its overall business scope in China across various fields, including oil and gas exploration and production, LNG supply and other relevant business services. At present, ConocoPhillips has offices in Beijing and Tianjin (Tanggu).


About Enactus

Enactus is a community of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. In China, Enactus established its Social Innovation Program in 2002. After 16 years of operation, and with the support and partnership of over 50 corporations, Enactus China now has 286 universities from 26 provinces or municipalities (including Hong Kong and Macau) participating in the program. For more information, go to www.enactuschina.cn.


Contacts

Lluvia Wu
Director, PR & Communications, ConocoPhillips China
(8610)59184513
Lluvia.Wu@conocophillips.com

Jack Wang
Strategic Program Director, Enactus China
(86)18621358620
Jack.wang@enactuschina.cn