RGU academic appointed as chair of Sand Management Network

Tuesday 01 November 2022

Dr Gbenga Oluyemi
A Robert Gordon University (RGU) engineering academic is the new lead for a network which helps the oil and gas industry deal with issues around sand.

RGU’s Dr Gbenga Oluyemi will spearhead the Sand Management Network (SMN) into the future after taking over from Prof Iain Steel who recently retired as Head of Engineering at the university. The SMN is made up of a large group of operating and service companies from the industry who work together to deal with sand-related issues both onshore and offshore.

 Dr Oluyemi’s own research interests lie in understanding the petroleum geomechanics problems associated with oil and gas field development, and CO2 and Hydrogen storage in porous media and developing appropriate solutions to address these problems. 

 He said: “I am delighted to take over as Chair of SMN from Prof Iain Steel following his retirement from RGU.

 “Indeed, I am excited to take on the chair’s responsibilities at a time the Network is in transition to Phase 11, starting in January 2023. 

"I look forward to working with all the members of the Network and providing the much-needed leadership that is required in this critical period to take the Network to the next level.

 “My goal is to expand our portfolio of events, grow membership, improve membership participation and engagement, and transform the Network to be more responsive to the sand management needs and challenges of our industry, locally and internationally.”

 The SMN has been in place for 20 years and has twenty member companies, a mix of operator, service companies and universities who work together to deal with sand-related issues both onshore and offshore. Regular events are held to discuss and debate sand related case studies, plus a chance for the members to network in person and online.

 Earlier this month, SMN announced a new competition which challenges both students and recent graduates to come up with solutions to tackle sand-related production issues.

 SMN members will nominate talented individuals to take part and a panel of industry experts will assess the students with six going through to the final event next month.

 The six students will present their sand management ideas before being asked some probing questions following their presentation. On the day the presentations will be evaluated before a winner is selected. The network will award cash prizes to the top three presenters.

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