10.26.2018
HOUSTON — Hess is giving a subsea tree second life as a teaching tool for aspiring engineers at the University of Houston’ (UH) Cullen College of Engineering. Used in offshore oil and gas fields, subsea trees are heavy, complex configurations of valves and other components that sit on the seabed to monitor and control the flow of oil and gas to production facilities.
Students who usually rely on drawings and schematics to study this deep-sea equipment now can see and touch equipment that normally operates thousands of feet underwater, said Jason Harry, Hess Subsea Engineering Advisor.
"It's something many people already working in the field don't get to experience," he said.
“The donation aligns with our Hess values and our commitment to creating a long-lasting, positive impact on the communities where we do business,” said Chris Starcke, Senior Manager, Supply Chain at Hess, who helped coordinate the donation.
UH started the country’s first academic program in subsea engineering in 2011 and offered the first subsea engineering master’s degree in 2012.