The 2016 National Petroleum Geology Competition was held at China University of Petroleum-Beijing(CUPB) from Oct 28 to 30.

The competition attracted 1,061 students from 19 colleges and universities, receiving 383 entries in total, among which 18 teams and 24 individuals from 11 colleges and universities were awarded with the outstanding award and the first, second and third prize in the comprehensive and single group in the final contest, 30 excellent papers reported on the National Petroleum Geology Academic Forum for postgraduates and 59 exhibition board were displayed.

The competition was sponsored by the petroleum geology committee of the Chinese Petroleum Society, the petroleum geology committee of the Geology Society of China, the Division Institute of Geological Education Research and China University of Petroleum-Beijing and organized by China University of Petroleum-Beijing and the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development.

The competition was intended to be an earth science talents cultivation platform integrating "learning, researching and competing " that would allow students to consolidate their basic knowledge and improve technical skills as they grow into high-end petroleum geological talents devoted to technological innovation and production practice.

According to the competition, contestants were to offer comprehensive solutions to the issues set by the contest committee, including geological explanations of seismic data, solutions to geological structures, analysis of sedimentary facies, evaluation of oil and gas resource and oilfield production geology, demonstrating their masterful knowledge and innovative thinking. Several other academic activities, including academicians' lectures, a national academic forum for master’s degree candidates, a quiz on petroleum geology and academician lecture section, were also held during the competition.

Lei Yujiang, deputy secretary of the party committee of China University of Petroleum-Beijing, said at the opening ceremony that the competition aimed at cultivating petroleum geological talents and encouraging them to make full use of knowledge in their daily working lives. He hoped that participants would demonstrate their professional abilities and improve their innovative thinking abilities in the contest.

Liu Dameng, the secretary of Division Institute of Geological Education Research, vice president of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), suggested that the event offered participants a platform and opportunities to show themselves, exchange ideas and learn from each other. It was an academic carnival on petroleum geology.

Jia Chengzao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the discovery of the Daqing Oilfield raised China the fourth largest oil producer in the world. So far, China has cooperated with more than 80 countries and regions in oil research, exploration and business, which indicates that China's presence in the oil industry is truly world-wide.

In the academician lecture section, Zhao Wenzhi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, shared his views on energy transformation and analyzed future trends in energy development.

Deng Yunhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, introduced a brief history of evolutionary geology and the distribution characteristics of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. He encouraged students to be innovative in exploring new geological areas with petroleum potential.

Jin Zhijun, head of the Sinopec Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute, said the petroleum and petro-chemistry industry is in a significant period of strategic opportunities and high technology will be a more and more important driving force in the industry. He reiterated that talents are the core competitiveness of a company and only through high-quality education can that excellence be brought to bear in an enterprises' development.

Wu Xiaolin, vice president of China University of Petroleum-Beijing, said that through internationalization and informationalization of petroleum higher education, the University will establish a platform for students to consolidate their basic knowledge and improve major skills. She hoped that petroleum universities will contribute more to China's petroleum geology future.

China University of Petroleum-Beijing intends to become an internationally leading research university on petroleum geology, focused on strengthening talent training, integrating innovation and entrepreneurship into major studies and forming a unique training model and education system that gradually promotes students’ innovative and entrepreneurial passions.