Three students from the University of Guyana have claimed top honours at Guyana’s first-ever PetroChallenge, a high-intensity oil and gas simulation hosted by SLB on March 24 and 25, 2026.

Alesia Chase, Irshaad Ali and Tyresse Phillips, competing under the team name PetroNOVAC, outperformed two other university teams and one high school entry to win the inaugural event. The Bishops’ High School was the only secondary institution represented and drew praise for its strong showing against university-level engineering students.

The simulation placed participants at the centre of a mock energy environment, requiring them to build, manage and sustain their own oil and gas companies while navigating the full exploration-to-production lifecycle. Teams were also challenged to weigh environmental responsibility and long-term value creation as part of their strategic decisions.

The programme concluded with a closing ceremony attended by Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning Keoma Griffith and SLB Managing Director for Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname, Paul Hosein. Both commended participants and stressed the importance of early industry exposure in developing a capable local workforce.

Hosein described the event as a meaningful step in SLB’s local content commitment. He noted that the company aims to meet students where they are and help move them forward, adding that developing talent early and creating opportunities for it to thrive is what building local content truly looks like.

The PetroChallenge is part of SLB’s broader engagement in Guyana, which includes career fairs, oil and gas orientation sessions, resume writing workshops and STEM initiatives aimed at strengthening the national talent pipeline. The event was facilitated by OilSim coordinator Meghan Clark.

Source OilNOW, “UG SPE student chapter shines at SLB’s inaugural PetroChallenge in Guyana,” April 22, 2026