Overview
The Oil and Gas Development
Partnership (OGDP) of Memorial University was launched as a
strategic initiative in 2000 with the goal of helping to transform
Newfoundland and Labrador into an internationally recognized leader
in education, training, research and development related to all
facets of the oil and gas industry.
Memorial University is meeting this challenge through
partnerships with other academic institutions, government and with
industry. The OGDP has already established significant new research
and development at the university.
The Newfoundland and Labrador offshore oil and gas sector is
leading Canada in new oil and gas exploration.
The White Rose field is a major project that has recently come on stream joining the Hibernia and the Terra Nova producing oil fields, which together allow Newfoundland and Labrador to produce about 40% of Canada's conventional light oil.
The gain in this sector have enabled the provincial economy to
lead economic growth in Canada for 2007 as projected by the Royal
Bank of Canada.
Memorial University is the largest university in Atlantic Canada.
As the province's only university, Memorial plays an integral role
in the education and cultural life of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Offering diverse undergraduate and graduate programs to over
18,000 students, the university provides a distinctive and
stimulating environment for learning in St. John's, a safe friendly
city with great historic charm, a vibrant cultural life and easy
access to a wide range of outdoor activities.
Memorial has an established team of faculty, research associates
and graduate students in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science, as well, in the Marine Institute and in the Department of
Earth Sciences.
These personnel support strong teaching and research programs in
the oil and gas sector; thereby building complementary strengths in
the faculties of Science, Business Administration and the Arts.