About the job

We have a vacancy for a three-year PhD Fellowship at Department of Geoscience and Petroleum (IGP), NTNU, in reservoir engineering (CO2 storage in depleted fields). For a position as a PhD candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The position is part of the activities of the CEORS Gemini-Centre (CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery & Storage, https://www.ntnu.edu/ceors).

CO2 can be stored both in depleted oil and gas fields and in saline aquifers. While the latter is believed to represent a larger total storage resource, depleted fields have the advantage of proven seals (containment of hydrocarbons) and an extensive amount of exploration and operational data. This makes them good candidates for rapid development of CO2 storage. Specific challenges related to safe and reliable injection into a depleted field will need to be investigated and managed.

The successful candidate will be supervised by Associate Professor Ashkan Jahanbani Ghahfarokhi (NTNU) and co-supervised by Dr. Alv-Arne Grimstad (SINTEF). The position is in reservoir engineering and petrophysics group, and reports to the Head of the Department for employee matters and to the supervisors for project management and supervision.

Your immediate leader is Head of Department.

Duties of the position

The work will involve:

• Modelling of non-isothermal flow in wellbore and reservoir, thermodynamics studies, well-reservoir coupling to investigate issues related to CO2 storage in depleted fields for example injectivity, stability of injection operations and safety.
• Collaborating with CEORS Gemini-Centre (CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery & Storage, https://www.ntnu.edu/ceors), focusing on storage and enhanced recovery, where knowledge, education and research help to maximize the utilization of oil and gas resources and at the same time contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Collaboration with other PhD and master students in the group working on similar topics is foreseen.
• Writing conference and journal articles and scientific reports.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Petroleum/Chemical/Mechanical Engineering, Geophysics, or similar, with a strong focus on modelling
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program in Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme)

Applicants are strictly advised to address and document the following qualification requirements in their application:

• Competence in modelling (numerical and analytical)
• Expertise in programming  
• Excellent written and oral English language skills (the following tests may be used as such documentation: TOEFL, IELTS).

The appointment is to be made in accordance with  Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant  

Preferred selection criteria

• We prefer candidates with research experience and high-quality publications on topics such as subsurface CO2 storage modelling and flow assurance

Personal characteristics

The candidate should:

• Be motivated and able to engage in multi-disciplinary collaboration.
• Have good communication and networking skills and, be proactive and forthcoming, and able to work independently if needed.
• Be creative, with a strong ability to work problem-oriented and take keen interest in learning and working in teams.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English or Norwegian.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• Cover letter specifically addressing how the candidate complies with the required qualifications for the position (no more than one page)
• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project proposal (2-page research proposal and plan discussing the applicant’s ideas/plans for the PhD project based on the description of the project and the foreseen duties given above.)
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Ashkan Jahanbani Ghahfarokhi, e-mail ashkan.jahanbani@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Anne-Lise Brekken, e-mail: anne.lise.brekken@ntnu.no.

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 22.12.2022.

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Geoscience and Petroleum

We conduct teaching and research related to management of Earth’s geological resources. Norway’s rich resources of wind, water, oil, gas and minerals have been and are essential to the country’s prosperity, and will continue to be in the future. The Department plays a key role in the development of technology and the education of graduates who enable value creation based on our natural resources. The Department of Geoscience and Petroleum is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 22nd December 2022
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Institutt for geovitenskap og petroleum