UNAM, champion in international competition on the oil industry

Mexico.- With impeccable articulation and knowledge on various topics related to the oil industry, a team of five students from the Faculty of Engineering (FI) of the UNAM, with the representativeness of this study house and of Mexico, won in San Antonio, Texas, the 2023 edition of the International PetroBowl competition, organized annually by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

The group is made up of Paula Guadalupe Pulido Galicia (captain), Ulises Avilés Hilario, Daniel Delgado Gómez, Alejandro Gutiérrez Mercado and Brandon Ángeles, from the Petroleum Engineering major, and was guided by Fernando Samaniego Verduzco, professor emeritus of this entity academic, as well as the mentoring of coaches José Organista Jaimes and Ian Nava Hernández, from the 2018 generation, and Carlos Estrada Arzate, from 2019.

The dynamics of the contest consisted of answering a series of quick questions in English, focused on topics in the oil industry such as: geology, geophysics, history, deposits, geopolitics and, recently, data science, artificial intelligence, energy transition, new energies and renewables, as well as security.

Oil has been the engine of industrialization. Mexico is an oil country and now that the energy transition is occurring, all these issues of sustainability, clean energy, are important because citizens have to be aware of these topics, regardless of whether we are students of the degree, said Pulido Galicia, a student at the tenth semester.

Winners

For Gutiérrez Mercado, learning the English language was crucial: “at the time of the competition you can be very sure of your answer and if they give it to you as wrong you have every right to appeal and defend the answer given, then the way you communicate with the judges is vital to be able to convince them.”

We all have that mystery of knowing how good UNAM is internationally, and we see that it is not only recognized in Mexico, it also has a global presence. When we carry the shield it is impressive, we are professional enough and we can demonstrate it, even more so to compete and win, added Brandon Ángeles.

Avilés Hilario recognized that the competition has changed and now focuses on the energy transition, so to the preparation of all the technical topics that are included during the race, topics such as data science, security and human factors were added.

Delgado Gómez, who is in the sixth semester, said: “I didn't see myself in this competition, I wasn't even sure about the race, it never crossed my mind to be on the team and even less to win, I still can't believe it. However, it is a great responsibility because we carry the shield of the Faculty of Engineering and the flag of Mexico; Being the only university in the country that went to compete, being in another place, speaking in another language and emerging victorious is a very great emotion!”

Samaniego Verduzco stated that this contest is a parameter for evaluating the quality of the studies in the Petroleum Engineering career.

“This competition began in 2002, but until 2009 it was only closed or exclusive to American universities; In 2010 it opened and we started attending. The team's performance has always been on the rise with these young graduates; The group reached the top spot for the first time in September 2018. We have also had two MVP (Most Valuable Players) students from UNAM, out of a total of six, so we are very satisfied,” he recalled.

Route

For the final, 32 universities met during the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), which took place in San Antonio, Texas, some remotely and others in person.

The UNAM team played its first round against the Mbarara University of Science and Technology, from Uganda; later against the University of Indonesia and the University of Zulia, Venezuela.

The semifinal was played with the University of Texas, in Austin; later they won against the University of Batangas, Philippines.

With information from UNAM