JOHOR BAHRU, Jul 1 – The Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering (FKT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), successfully hosted the Final Field Development Plan (FDP) Presentation for its final-year Bachelor of Petroleum Engineering students today at Block N01, UTM Skudai.

A total of 65 fourth-year students, organised into 13 groups, presented their integrated field development proposals under the course Final Field Development Plan (SETP 4834). The presentation marks the culmination of their Final Year Project, challenging students to synthesise the technical and economic aspects of oil and gas field planning into comprehensive, industry-standard development strategies.

The proposals were evaluated by a distinguished panel comprising academic staff from the Department of Petroleum Engineering, together with 12 industry experts representing leading energy companies, including PETRONAS, Shell, SLB, EnQuest, Dimension Bid (M) Sdn Bhd, and Mise Energy. The panellists assessed each group on the technical soundness, economic viability and overall feasibility of their proposed strategies, while sharing practical insights drawn from their extensive field experience.

Bringing together seasoned reservoir engineers, production technologists, well intervention specialists, and geoscientists, the session gave students a valuable opportunity to defend their work before real-world practitioners and to receive direct, constructive feedback on their readiness for the energy industry.

Adding a special significance to the occasion, many of the participating industry experts are themselves UTM alumni who have gone on to build successful careers across the energy sector. Their return to evaluate and mentor current students reflects a meaningful full-circle moment, former graduates giving back to their alma mater and helping to shape the next generation of petroleum engineers who will one day follow in their footsteps.

“We are deeply grateful to our industry partners who took time away from their demanding schedules to be with our students today. Their willingness to share real-world expertise and give honest, constructive feedback is a contribution that cannot be measured — it directly shapes our graduates into industry-ready engineers.

“Many of them are our own graduates, and to see them return to give back to their alma mater fills us with tremendous pride. On behalf of the Department of Petroleum Engineering, thank you for giving back to the next generation of talent,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Noorul Anam Mohd Norddin, the former Head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering.

The strong industry turnout reflects FKT’s continued commitment to strengthening academia–industry collaboration and ensuring its graduates are equipped with the competencies demanded by the oil and gas sector.

The faculty extends its sincere appreciation to all industry panellists, supervisors, and lecturers for their commitment and support in making the session a success.

The programme featured industry panel members from PETRONAS, including Senior Reservoir Engineer, Hakim Basri; Principal Well Intervention, Shahril Ahmad; Principal Production Technology, Suzanna Juyanty M. Jeffry; Production Engineer, Ezan Sahizzah; Head of Production Enhancement (DPE), Nor Aisyaha Borhan; and Technical Professional of DPE, M. Hafizi M. Yusof.

Other panel members comprised Senior Reservoir Engineer, Ahmad Ismail Azahree from EnQuest; Technical Advisor, Coiled Tubing Services, Kung Yee Han and Senior Operation Engineer Mohammad Faizal Ali from Dimension Bid (M) Sdn. Bhd.; CBO and Co-founder, Muhammad Al Siediq Ahnap from Mise Energy; Senior Technical Specialist (Production Geoscientist), Khairun Niza Baharaldin from Shell; and Reservoir Engineer Nur Asyikin Ahmad from SLB.