Two women engineers from our team are preparing to compete on the global stage of petroleum engineering. Their achievement is commendable, not only for their knowledge, but also because of what they represent as an inspiration for new generations of women in this field.

There’s no doubt that these two students are making history: Melanie Micheltorena and Sofia Stratico, both Reservoir Trainees, are on the first team from the National University of Buenos Aires (UBA) to qualify for the PetroBowl® Championships, the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ largest student competition.

The PetroBowl® competition is a tough, fast-paced quiz embracing the technical and non-technical aspects of the oil & gas business that pits groups of students from around the world against each other in a series of matches. The Argentine 5-student team put all their efforts and determination into getting through the different rounds before placing third in the Latin American Regional Qualifiers held in May earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro. “It was such an exciting moment,” exclaims Melanie as, “we’d worked so hard and finally we made it!” For Sofía, this achievement represents much more than a personal win: it’s as much a triumph for the University of Buenos Aires as for all the young women who, like them, dream of making their mark in the world of petroleum engineering.

And so it was that the team made it to the next stage: the PetroBowl® Championship. The news that the Argentine UBA team had qualified for the international round spread through the hallways of our offices like wildfire, filling everyone with pride.

"Since I started working at Tecpetrol, I’ve learned so much and that’s helped me raise the quality of my answers. Plus, going up against such high-level contestants is a challenge in itself. It prepares you to tackle pressure situations in both academic and work environments,” comments Melanie.

PetroBowl® contestants have to demonstrate technical knowledge as well as present complex strategies. "Each team has its own way of organizing and competing. In our case, each member has an area of special expertise. I focus more on the reserve-related issues, Mel on reservoir engineering. The challenge also covers non-technical aspects that have to do with what we experience daily at work. This makes it much easier to organize ourselves, learn how to express ourselves and respond with certainty. In fact, it’s an experience that’s not too different to what we do in our work, and that’s a major driver,” says Sofía.

This September, New Orleans will not only be the headquarters of the 2024 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (ATCE) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), but also the stage where our two future engineers will show that there are no bounds to passion and dedication. With their eyes set on the future, they’re preparing to represent their university and their country in the World Championships, in the knowledge that this is merely the beginning of a long career full of opportunities to make history.