2011-2012

News Release

REF NO.: 116

SUBJECT: Dr. Lesley James appointed Chevron Chair in Petroleum Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland

DATE: February 9, 2012

            Memorial University professor, Dr. Lesley James, has been appointed as the inaugural Chevron Chair in Petroleum Engineering.
            In late 2010, Chevron Canada Limited, the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) and Memorial University announced a five-year, $1-million dollar partnership to create a chair that would strengthen the capacity for petroleum engineering research in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
            Chevron’s contribution of $500,000 is being utilized to establish the chair position. RDC is also investing $500,000 in partnership with Chevron to increase research and development in petroleum engineering given its importance to the future of Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore petroleum industry. Its funding comes from its CollaborativeR&D Program.
            “On behalf of Chevron Canada, I want to congratulate Dr. James on being selected as the Chevron Chair in Petroleum Engineering,” said Mark MacLeod, vice-president (Atlantic Canada), Chevron Canada. “I am confident that her work will strengthen industry-relevant, petroleum engineering research in the province.”           
            Dr. James, who assumed the position on Dec. 1, 2011, has a blend of academic and industry experience. She holds a PhD in chemical engineering and has worked as a management consultant. Her research, which is largely focused on enhanced oil recovery (EOR), aims to improve the percentage of oil recovered from petroleum reservoirs. As the Chevron Chair in Petroleum Engineering, Dr. James will research ways to maximize the recovery of oil from offshore Newfoundland and Labrador fields based on an understanding of their fluid-fluid and rock-fluid interactions. Dr. James is also excited by the opportunity this work provides to bring locally relevant, real-world data and industry challenges into the classroom and teaching laboratory. 
            “Industry relevance and applying science to real world problems is really important to me,” she said. “I’m looking forward to tackling some of the interesting challenges that are present in the local offshore industry. Extending the production life of a field through EOR, and maximizing those valuable resources will yield tremendous benefits for both industry and the province. EOR is field specific and, coupled with the challenges of remote offshore locations, it’s a very exciting area of research.”
            “The Chevron Chair in Petroleum Engineering represents a new focus on upstream oil and gas research at Memorial University. Dr. James will be leading this effort through a world-class program of applied research,” said Dr. Christopher Loomis, vice-president (research). “It is also a further illustration of how Memorial, in partnership with industry and the RDC, is addressing the needs of and helping to build future prosperity for our province.”
            In 2008, Memorial University was selected for Chevron Corporation’s University Partnership Program. Through this program, support is provided to a global network of more than 95 colleges and universities to develop talent in key academic disciplines, foster research capacity, increase community engagement and build relationships critical to the global workforce. 
 
About Lesley James
Dr. Lesley James is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University. Dr. James’ time is split between research, teaching and various committees and outreach. She returned to her native Newfoundland and Labrador after 19 years during which time she completed her bachelor’s of applied science in chemical engineering and diploma in technology management and entrepreneurship (1997) from the University of New Brunswick, and a master’s (2003) and PhD (2009) in chemical engineering from the University of Waterloo. Between degrees, Dr. James worked as a management consultant with Accenture for more than four years with work assignments in Canada, the United States and Europe.
 
About Chevron Canada
Chevron Canada Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation. Since 1938, Chevron Canada has been involved in exploring for, developing, producing and marketing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in Canada. In offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Chevron Canada has significant interests in the Hibernia Field, the Hebron Development as well as exploration acreage in the Orphan Basin, the Flemish Pass Basin and on the Labrador shelf. For more information about Chevron Canada, go to www.chevron.ca.
 
About the Research & Development Corporation  
The Research & Development Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for improving Newfoundland and Labrador’s R&D performance. RDC works with R&D stakeholders including business, academia and government agencies and departments. In Budget 2011 Standing Strong: For Prosperity. For Our Future. For Newfoundland and Labrador, the provincial government allocated more than $19 million to make strategic research and development-related investments in people, strategic opportunities and infrastructure. For more information about RDC, go to www.researchnl.com.

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