MIDLAND Midland College officials announced a new partnership with Ovintiv USA, Inc. through the award of $8,000 in scholarships for Energy Technology students on Tuesday.
One of North America’s oldest oil and natural gas producers, Ovintiv’s roots go back to the late 1800s when workers for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) drilled a water well and discovered natural gas. Since the early 2000s, Ovintiv has focused on North American “resource plays.” In 2007, Ovintiv’s culture of knowledge sharing led to the transfer of horizontal drilling techniques, first employed in the Barnett Shale of Texas, to Canada’s Montney formation, where it was successfully refined and returned to Texas. Currently, Ovintiv has a multi-basin portfolio anchored by large, contiguous positions in the heart of the Permian and Anadarko basins, and the Montney.
“We are extremely grateful to Ovintiv,” Pete Avalos, MC program chair of Automotive, Diesel and Energy Technology, said. “Their commitment to advancing Permian Basin workforce development is shown through their investment in awarding scholarships to our Energy Technology students.”
MC and Ovintiv recognized scholarship recipients Sebastian Hernandez, Donnett Perry, Diego Ramos, Nyck Reyna, Logan Stricklen and Edward Torres. These students have GPAs over 3.0 and, in addition to taking classes, are employed full- or part-time.
MC’s Energy Technology program prepares students for careers that benefit the oil and gas industry within the Permian Basin. MC offers two Energy Technology credentials—an Associate of Applied Science degree and a Petroleum Energy Technician certificate.
