Message from the President

It is a privilege to be part of a team of faculty, staff, and administration dedicated to the vision and mission of The Petroleum Institute in creating an institution that aspires to be a premier engineering school in the United Arab Emirates and beyond. We are fortunate to have the strong support of the leadership as well as the dedication and financial support of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and four other major international companies, namely BP, Shell, JODCO, and TOTAL. In addition, we are fortunate to benefit from the sponsorship and contributions of a number of other companies and institutions.

As we view the future, most scientific and technical projections agree that there will be a growing demand for at least the next twenty to thirty years for hydrocarbons while the world actively seeks to find alternative energy resources and technologies that can respond to the growing demand for clean energy. The Petroleum Institute (PI) is uniquely positioned to benefit from the significance that energy plays in the twenty-first century and the role PI can play as a hub for research and technology development in enhanced exploration, production and utilization of hydrocarbons, while also actively participate in search for Energy alternatives of the future.  Just as for the past sixty years, half of the economic growth in the US was linked to technological innovation, the leaders who now drive technical innovation in the UAE and beyond are the single most important ingredient for economic growth in the modern world. 
To ensure that our students can meet these leadership challenges, the PI is expanding its programs and facilities. To provide equal opportunity and to encourage talented young women in the UAE to pursue careers in science and technology, The Petroleum Institute admitted its first cohort of female students in the fall of 2006.
To foster technological innovation and research and development, the PI initiated its graduate studies program this fall, with plans to build major research centers focusing on petroleum and gas exploration and development (upstream processes); petrochemicals and the refining processes; and the remaining supporting areas of significance to the energy industry. We are also reaching out to distinguished international institutes to establish collaborative opportunities and multi-university research and educational activities with The Petroleum Institute and its partners.
We pull together as a team with education, talent, and energy to build an institution and a community that serves as a hub of energy technologies, an intellectual environment for prosperity and professional development, and an institution sensitive to the needs of its sponsors and for economic expansion and prosperity of UAE as a whole.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Michael Ohadi
Provost and Acting President