PhD Candidate in Reservoir Engineering

About the job

We are looking for a candidate to work on reduction of emissions from hydrocarbon production through alternative and energy efficient drainage strategies.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

A three-year PhD scholarship is available in the LowEmission research center for petroleum activities (https://www.sintef.no/projectweb/lowemission/ ), a SINTEF led research center for reducing emissions in the oil and gas industry. The PhD position is organized within the group Reservoir engineering and petrophysics at the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum (IGP), NTNU.

This PhD project is an interdisciplinary initiative between NTNU and SINTEF. The PhD student is assigned to the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum (IGP) at NTNU, but the PhD candidate is expected to spend considerable time at the Department of Applied Geoscience of SINTEF Industry. The candidate is supervised by Prof. Carl Fredrik Berg from the Department of Geoscience and Petroleum (IGP), and Research Scientist Per Bergmo from SINTEF Department of Applied Geoscience will act as co-supervisor.

The topic of the PhD will be related to energy use in petroleum production. Focus will be towards a whole system analysis with coupling between subsurface reservoir drainage, topside energy consumption, oil and gas processing and injection operations, to optimize production and drainage strategies for better and more energy efficient production.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement.

Start-up date is expected to be Q3 2023.

Your immediate leader is Head of Department.

Duties of the position

• Perform high-quality scientific research on energy use in petroleum production
• Publish the outcome through journal publications and other relevant channels
• Collaborate with project partners and within the project team

Required selection criteria

• You must have a relevant background in petroleum engineering, physics, mathematics or equivalent education
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by the start of the PhD.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme )

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate  and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Good educational background on relevant topics
• Excellent written and oral English. Norwegian language skills is advantageous, but not required
• The candidate is expected to have good skills in dissemination of research
• A background in reservoir simulation and optimization is preferred
• It is an advantage if the candidate has some previous knowledge on petroleum production processes in general
• Prior knowledge with software such as OPM Flow, Eclipse, MRST and ResInsight is advantageous
• Programming background, e.g. in C++ and Python, is advantageous

Personal characteristics

• Strong analytical skills
• Dedication towards solving scientific problems of practical relevance
• Good skills in communication, both orally and written
• Motivation to work on cross-disciplinary topics. The candidate is expected to expand his knowledge in new scientific fields.
• Preferred personal characteristics include a positive, balanced personality who can take initiative, think creatively and critically, work independently and consistently on the research project. (S)he should also enjoy interdisciplinary research and take keen interest in learning and working in teams.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme ) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation . You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Carl Fredrik Berg, telephone +47 90708869, e-mail [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Anne-Lise Brekken, e-mail: [email protected] .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 14.03.2023.

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Geoscience and Petroleum

We conduct teaching and research related to management of Earth’s geological resources. Norway’s rich resources of wind, water, oil, gas and minerals have been and are essential to the country’s prosperity, and will continue to be in the future. The Department plays a key role in the development of technology and the education of graduates who enable value creation based on our natural resources. The Department of Geoscience and Petroleum  is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 14th March 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Institutt for geovitenskap og petroleum