Roald Sirevaag talks subsea technology at Speaking of Engineering
With a large crowd of students, university faculty members and industry leaders on hand, Roald Sirevaag entertained a captive audience on Wednesday, Nov. 2 during the fall presentation of Speaking of Engineering.
Mr. Sirevaag is the vice president, subsea technology and diving for Statoil, one of the world's leading oil and gas companies. His presentation was titled Subsea Processing – adding value through separation, water injection, oil boosting and gas compression.
Throughout his presentation, Mr. Sirevaag discussed the rewards and challenges of implementing this type of technology. At the conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Sirevaag answered a variety of questions from the audience, including inquiries from students and Memorial University professors.
"You can always tell from the number of questions and from the diversity of questions asked how interesting a lecture has been. Judging by how many questions Mr. Sirevaag was asked and considering how varied each question was, it's safe to say it was a very good presentation that was enjoyed by everyone," said Dr. Ramachandran Venkatesan, dean pro tempore, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. "I want to thank Mr. Sirevaag for taking time to participate in Speaking of Engineering. Having a guest speaker with his background and stature in industry was a great experience for our students and faculty."
Mr. Sirevaag works out of Statoil's main office in Norway and oversees four departments with the international company: one establishing the subsea field layout and solutions for new developments; one unit having specialists within the subsea disciplines providing assistance and advice to projects and operations; one performing subsea modifications to the fields in operations; as well as another providing diving expertise to all operations in the company.
Mr. Sirevaag has been a leading researcher in early phase field development and subsea project execution and operation for close to 25 years. His wealth of experience and expertise was obvious throughout his lecture, as was his enthusiasm for his research and the engineering profession.
"This was an opportunity for our students to learn from a leading researcher and an industry executive from a major international company with operations in 34 countries," said Dr. Venkatesan. "I was pleased to see our students asking Mr. Sirevaag several questions after his presentation and during the reception that followed."
Prior to his presentation at Speaking of Engineering, Mr. Sirevaag toured the engineering facilities at Memorial University. Accompanied by Dr. Venkatesan, Dr. Faisal Khan, chair of process engineering, and Dr. Kelly Hawboldt, associate professor, Mr. Sirevaag took an up close look at Memorial's process engineering labs.
"I was impressed with the technology, facilities and quality of instruction I saw during my tour," said Mr. Sirevaag. "This is a university that is very capable of producing excellent engineers who are prepared to make an immediate impact upon entering the work force on a permanent basis."
Speaking of Engineering is an annual event that features well known, accomplished professionals from the engineering field discussing matters of importance to the engineering profession.
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University and the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) co host the event, presenting a Speaking of Engineering public lecture twice each fall semester and twice each winter semester.
