The 2024 Energy Development Scholarship winners are geologist at the Barbados National Oil Company Limited, Kevin Best, and technical officer, Coastal Zone Management Unit, Shamari Cave.
Mr. Best will pursue a Master of Science degree in Exploration Geophysics at the University of Leeds, while Mr. Cave will study for a Master of Science degree in Coastal Engineering, at the University of Plymouth, both in the United Kingdom.
Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, during a brief ceremony at the Warrens Office Complex.
Senator Cummins underscored the importance of the Energy Development Scholarship as she congratulated the young men, who will be leaving the island soon.
“We are ensuring that we’re able to build an ecosystem that creates new minds, new interests, new areas for investment, and new opportunities for Barbados to emerge…. This is a moment where Barbados now has to begin to cash in on our reputation…as that country with the most ambitious renewable energy transition goals in the world….
“Barbados has to begin to use that reputation, [and] the skills that we have developed to then become the leading exporter of skills, knowledge, and innovation. That’s where the Ministry of Energy is going with these scholarships and … partnerships like the ones that we have invested in so far,” she stated.
The Minister encouraged the young men to be innovative in their thesis choice, and gave the assurance that Ministry officials would maintain contact with them.
“We are looking forward to seeing the outputs of your research and seeing you excel,” Senator Cummins stated.
Mr. Best said he was “extremely grateful” to be awarded the prestigious award. In giving the rationale for his choice of study, he explained that local teams have strong geological backgrounds and knowledge of the Barbados petroleum system but are not qualified for specialised tasks, such as wavelet extraction, reservoir property modelling, and characterisation using 3D datasets.
“On completion of the programme, we will be able to fully evaluate new and existing 3D seismic volumes, de-risk and catalogue leads, and even discern between fluid phases within our offshore reservoirs,” he pointed out.
Like his colleague, Mr. Cave is also thankful for the scholarship. He said his area of study would be extremely beneficial to the island’s energy sector.
He continued: “This degree would allow me to gain new knowledge in engineering and coastal processes, and it will also be a big advantage in terms of helping Barbados’ offshore energy sector, especially now in the exploration of deep-water hydrocarbons.”
The Energy Development Scholarship was established by the Ministry of Energy and Business to ensure that the relevant skills and expertise are available to guide the development of Barbados’ offshore energy sector.
This year’s scholarship is funded by Woodside Energy, an international energy company that was granted effective licences in 2020 to explore the island’s offshore acreage in search of hydrocarbons.