Student Industry Field Trip - SIFT

Calgary, ABMay, 2010

Who Gets to Go?

The SIFT program invites one student representative from each of the Canadian universities offering degrees in geology, geophysics and/or geological engineering to Calgary for a comprehensive introduction to the petroleum industry.

During this two-week period, the students attend several lectures presented by experienced, well-known professionals in the petroleum industry. Topics covered in these lectures include: well logging and log interpretation, carbonate and clastic reservoirs, heavy oil, international and Canadian east coast exploration, and geophysics to name a few.

What Do You Learn?

The students go to Dinosaur Provincial Park for a one day field trip and have the opportunity to visit parts of the park that are not open to the public, looking at the clastic depositional environments exposed in the park and, of course, looking for dinosaur bones.

Field Trips

They also spend four days traveling through the Rocky Mountains, learning about Western Canadian geology from industry experts Peter Fermor, Kevin Root, and David Repol.

On the final day of SIFT, the students get to do a fly-over of the same route that they followed during the four-day field trip, to allow them to have a bird's eye view of the major structures and features.

The final field trip that the students participate in is a rig tour, giving them the opportunity to view the equipment that they have been learning about in action and hearing directly from the individuals working on the rig what it is like to live and work there.

Throughout the duration of the trip, students are also involved in an exploration game. The students are grouped in teams of 4 or 5, with each team representing a fledgling oil and gas company. Each company is given an initial sum of money, which they use to buy land and drill wells. At the end of the trip, the companies present their results to judges who determine the winning team for best geological interpretation and for most money earned. This game allows the students to apply techniques practiced in the petroleum industry.

Exploration Game

Every year, SIFT students have the opportunity to participate in a summer job finding program. This year (2008) seven of the SIFT students were hired by petroleum companies including ConocoPhilips, EnCana Corporation, Harvest Energy, Paramount Energy, Shell, and Total.

Job Opportunities & Networking

The students are kept very busy through the two weeks but they also have the opportunity to bond with one another and share their many new experiences. Many of the students form friendships and connections that will last for the rest of their lives and a number will find jobs in Canada's petroleum business in future years and become part of our big team, looking for oil and gas, wherever it may be hiding.

It’s your Future!