A complete “rig-zone” was inaugurated at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Dehradun on Monday by the chairman of the Hong Kong based Greka Drilling ltd RS Grewal, making UPES the first educational institution with its own personal drilling rig. UPES director (media affairs) Arun Dhand said that there are about 10 universities and colleges in India which offer petroleum engineering courses but UPES is the first to have its personal drilling rig.
This outdoor zone comprises a complete working drilling rig mounted on a truck back and a movable “mud pump” unit. The students of the Petroleum Engineering streams will now be able to physically operate and learn the various drilling functions including mud pump operations, various drill bit functions, drill string operations etc. Earlier the students used to visit various ONGC sites for this part of the training. The drilling rig would be deployed to train students and utilised by the UPES research and development team to develop and optimise the time taken in various drilling process and activities.