2015 Graduate Stories
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June 24, 2015
The UT PGE Class of 2015, comprised of 111 talented students, is setting out on a journey to change the world. Get to know two students who are both passionate about petroleum engineering, but will be taking their knowledge and expertise in two different and interesting directions.
Cameron McClendon – BSPE ’15
Over the last decade booms have occurred in both the oil and gas industry with the wide-spread use of hydraulic fracturing and in the technology industry with the rapid development of software and apps. Technology has infiltrated how business is conducted in almost every industry, including oil and gas. So when Cameron McClendon, UT BSPE ’15, pursued his career he found his calling in a tech start-up for the oil and gas industry.
The RigUp office is reminiscent of a scene out of the new HBO series “Silicon Valley” - from the bare bones office space with basketball hoops to the young, motivated staff. The company is aiming to increase efficiency of E&P companies through a one-of-a-kind industry software platform. The Austin based company is a mobile app and online resource connecting E&P companies with service providers. RigUp’s goal is to help companies find service providers in a more efficient manner with cost saving benefits.
McClendon applied for an internship with RigUp the spring of his senior year after receiving an email from UT PGE’s Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator, Arletta Tompkins.
“I was skeptical at first of working for a start-up, but there is just so much potential,” said McClendon. “RigUp is the product of merging industries – computer science meets oil and gas meets communications.”
Experience with garnering service quotes from previous industry internships sold McClendon on the value of RigUp. He says what used to take him weeks can now be accomplished within a day using their system.
The team, consisting of previous Google employees and top UT Austin computer science graduates, may not seem like a fit for a petroleum engineering graduate, but McClendon says his petroleum engineering intuition and knowledge is a huge asset to the company. In return, RigUp has provided McClendon exposure to business development, product management and sales.
“The most beneficial knowledge I gained while at UT PGE was being encouraged to think outside the box. I was challenged my entire college career and this is another challenge for me to get people to embrace the available cutting-edge technology,” said McClendon.
As the Millennial generation moves into industry and leadership positions, technology will likely continue to play a vital role in enhancing efficiency and revenue. The RigUp team is small, but growing. Mike Meller, UT BSPE ‘14, was hired alongside McClendon after gaining valuable field experience with Halliburton.
“Cameron and I look at the RigUp software from a petroleum engineering perspective to give advice on how we would use the system,” said Meller. “It’s exciting because no one else out there does this service specifically for the oil and gas industry.”
McClendon says RigUp is excited to recruit students from UT PGE next year. He says you don’t have to follow a traditional route after graduation to find success. He found his in a tech start-up.
Patricia Renyut – BSPE ’15
Patricia Renyut was destined for a career in petroleum engineering. Everyone knew it, except for her.
The daughter of Fransiskus Renyut (MSPE ’94), Patricia grew up on a Chevron subsidiary production camp, Caltex, in Duri, Indonesia where her father worked. Surrounded by the industry her whole life it made sense for her to take the petroleum engineering route, but when the time came for her to select a major she went with biomedical engineering.
“My entire childhood was centered on oil and gas, but I wanted to try something else,” said Renyut.
As a biomedical engineering student Renyut couldn’t completely stay away from the oil and gas sector, so she began attending Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) meetings on campus. After speaking with professional representatives in industry, Renyut eventually realized that the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering was where she belonged.
“My parents never pushed me toward this field, but they were probably just smart and knew I’d end up here eventually,” said Renyut. After telling them she was going to switch majors, her father reacted by “smirking.”
At one of the SPE meetings, Renyut met Sue Park. Park is a member of the Chevron recruitment team and a UT PGE alumna (BSPE ’07). After listening to the presentation, Renyut approached Park as she connected with the Indonesia projects Park was discussing in her presentation.
“Patricia was extremely energetic and when we talked about the projects going on around the world, her eyes lit up,” said Park. “It was easy to tell she was genuinely interested in the information we were sharing.”
This connection helped Renyut land an internship with Chevron after her freshman year. She went abroad to intern in Sumatra, Indonesia, close to the city where she grew up. She was part of the production team, and, on several occasions, visited rigs that she described as being “way out in the middle of the jungle.”
For Renyut, the experience allowed her to connect what she was learning in the classroom to what was going on in the real world. She had a total of three internships with Chevron including last summer where she worked on Perdido, a joint venture with Shell and one of the world's deepest offshore oil drilling and production platforms, which is 8,000 feet in depth.
Renyut stayed with Chevron because the company shares her same priorities; outreach and communication initiatives with females. Renyut plans to stay involved with outreach post-graduation and wants to encourage more females to pursue a career in engineering.
Starting full-time with Chevron in Covington, La., Renyut is thrilled about the opportunity. She will be a reservoir engineer working on the Mad Dog field, falling under the deepwater joint venture subdivision of Chevron's Gulf of Mexico assets. She’s sad to leave Texas and her favorite foods behind, but she is happy to continue working with Chevron and directly across from her mentor.
“I really respect her as an engineer,” said Park. “I’m excited to see her grow into her potential.”
