A Sound Reservoir Engineer Must Be a Jack of Many Trades and Master of Some — Prof. Isehunwa

A Professor of Petroleum Reservoir Engineering at the University of Ibadan, Professor Sunday Oloruntoba Isehunwa, has asserted that a sound reservoir engineer must be “a jack of many trades and a master of some.”

He made this assertion while delivering the 596th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan on behalf of the Faculty of Technology, titled “Development Planning for Oil and Gas Fields: The Reservoir Engineer as a Jack of Many Trades and Master of Some.”

Professor Isehunwa explained that effective reservoir engineering requires a holistic integration of technical and economic data, emphasizing that the discipline demands both objective, deterministic assessment of subsurface conditions and subjective, stochastic forecasting of economic, commercial, operational, and policy variables.

Tracing the origins of reservoir engineering, he noted that the field emerged in the 1930s following massive oil discoveries during the global economic crisis, which shifted focus from individual wells to the management of entire reservoir systems. This transformation, he said, paved the way for more efficient field development and the evolution of reservoir engineering as a distinct discipline.

Highlighting the core competencies required of a reservoir engineer, Professor Isehunwa listed areas such as reservoir data acquisition, management and analysis, surveillance, modelling, hydrocarbon resource management, reserves calculation and auditing, and hydrocarbon maturation planning.

He cautioned, however, that the profession comes with challenges, noting that engineers often work with incomplete data and uncertain subsurface information. Despite these limitations, they must produce reliable models and estimates with minimal uncertainty.

Professor Isehunwa emphasized that reservoir engineers must develop multidisciplinary skills to create realistic development plans for oil and gas fields, while ensuring that technical, economic, operational, and political considerations are factored into decision-making.

He further called for the restoration of a holistic, integrated approach to national and state development planning, urging that fine technical details not be ignored in broader strategic frameworks.

The don also advocated increased funding for Nigerian universities to improve staff welfare, research, and teaching facilities, and encouraged government and industry to support postgraduate education through scholarships and research grants in critical areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Professor Isehunwa concluded by recommending stronger partnerships between academia, government, and industry beyond conventional research funding, to foster innovation and drive national development.

The lecture marked the nineteenth in the University’s Inaugural Lecture Series for the 2024/2025 academic session.