Mr Kobbina Tuyee Awuah, a Machinery/Project Engineer of ConocoPhillips (an oil refinery - Bayway Refinery - located in New Jersey, USA), has given a presentation at a petroleum refining and economics seminar organised by The Energy Center, KNUST. The seminar which took off Friday 9th April, 2010 at the e-Classroom, was part of his ‘’service to the society’’. He commended the College of Engineering and The Energy Center, KNUST, in its effort to create the awareness of petroleum refining and economics to up and coming engineers.

The aim of the seminar was to inform participants on what was happening in other parts of the world in terms of petroleum refinery and economics, specifically, in the United States of America. He spoke on how Ghanaians and Engineers can contribute to the discovery of oil in the country through the knowledge they acquire here at the University. He said that discovering the oil is just a small aspect of it but refining it will enable the crude oil to be broken down into useful products.

Kobbina talked about how oil plays an important role in the supply of energy. He mentioned some of the processes involved in the production of oil, the methods of modern day oil refining and oil treatment. He also attributed the current trend of oil prices to current oil regulations – stating that some of the oil regulations contribute to an increase in the operating cost which subsequently reduces margins. 

He noted one important thing that if we stick to, will be beneficial to oil industries/companies. He said that, if oil companies are able to plan their operations in a manageable and efficient way, they should be able to meet the current demand and with that, increase their margins. By so doing, all parties will be satisfied.

Kobbina Tuyee Awuah earned his Masters and BS degrees from Cornell University, where he also acted as a Teaching Assistant for two different classes (Thermodynamics and Mechanical design) and taught the class whenever the Professor was absent. He has worked on a variety of projects at the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit at the refinery and has also given several presentations at internationally recognized scientific institutes such as BrookHaven National Lab and Cornell's Energy Center for Sustainability.  Kobina Awuah is the son of Prof (Mrs) Esi Awuah, Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Geomatic Engineering here at KNUST.

Please click here for the pdf version of his presentation.