Graduate Class Addresses Energy Dilemmas Confronting Cyprus
Originally posted on December 30, 2013.
At a time when Oil & Gas (O&G) exploration offshore Cyprus is progressing at a rapid pace, energy challenges abound. Crucial decisions need to be taken regarding the future cost of power generation, export options pertaining to the Cypriot natural gas, safeguarding the marine environmental, meeting domestic energy demands, or crafting a common energy policy with neighbouring countries. Some of these issues were thoroughly examined by students at the University of Nicosia during a presentation session as part of the graduate level course “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Systems.” Marking a new era in tertiary education in Cyprus energy related degrees have not only managed to attract the attention of Cypriot students but also to enrol many international learners. Educational and research initiatives in Cyprus, in tandem with the emerging O&G sector, hold considerable promise in laying the foundations for transforming the island into a petro-cluster.
Class talks were delivered on Friday and Monday 20th and 23rd of December, respectively. An indicative list of the topics covered:
a) The most promising export markets for Cypriot LNG,
b) Subsea pipeline(s) to Greece versus LNG exports,
c) Cyber attacks on oil & gas installations,
d) Importing marine Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to Cyprus, and
e) Floating LNG (FLNG) versus an onshore natural gas liquefaction plant.
The class constitutes a core subject of the Masters in Oil, Gas & Energy Engineering, launched by the University of Nicosia in September 2013. Taught by Dr. Constantinos Hadjistassou, Lecturer in Offshore Hydrocarbon Technologies, it covers the engineering aspects of natural gas field operations, gas treatment, dehydration, acid gas removal, compression, liquefaction cycles, LNG storage, seaborne LNG transportation, and regasification. Educating the first generation of professionals destined to assume positions in the O&G industry calls for dedicated knowledge of specialist areas such as the LNG value chain and state-of-the-art subsea hydrocarbon technologies.
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