Barton Community College natural gas instructor Shawgi Ahmed worked for the Ministry of Oil in Sudan for 16 years as a Senior Project Engineer until his passion for education brought him all the way to the center of the United States to share his knowledge in 2019. He holds a wealth of experience in the field and a doctorate in petroleum engineering. He is a skilled researcher and several of his articles have been published, but teaching is what truly inspires him.

“I love to teach students and empower them to advance professionally throughout their prospective careers, which can enable them to have a better quality of life,” he said. “Ultimately, this provides me more pride than anything else I do.” 

Ahmed said natural gas is a vital part of the energy infrastructure for the world and there is a plethora of jobs available right now and beyond. 

“The dependency of the energy global market on natural gas is growing,” he said. “Unlike other fuels such as coal and oil, natural gas is clean energy (less CO2 emission), has a lower and more stable price and can be easily transported. The natural gas supply chain includes different business lines, such as production, processing, transportation, storage facilities, and measurement (metering) systems. Therefore, gas companies are always looking for technicians that have knowledge in those areas.”

Ahmed said that finding jobs for his students is his top priority and that there are many. A career in natural gas can be lucrative with starting salaries in some positions fetching up to $50,000 annually or more and said the in-depth and hands-on nature of Barton’s program is rare. 

“The natural gas program at Barton is designed to provide students with immense knowledge and hands-on skills that can help them to find jobs,” he said. “It is worth mentioning that some of the gas companies continually send us opening positions for gas technicians and operators.”

Ahmed has recently had articles published about best practices for maintaining the integrity of storage containers and transmission systems integrity so that natural gas can be stocked and moved safely and in an environmentally friendly way. He said it is important to him to contribute to the academic community surrounding natural gas and energy so that we may continue to utilize them as a resource in society and he enjoys the dialogue of education at all levels, not just in the classroom. 

His most recent published articles are titled “Failure Mechanisms of the Wellbore Mechanical Barrier Systems: Implications for Well Integrity” and “Performance Evaluation of Liner Dual Barrier System in CO2-rich Geothermal Wells.”

“My research provides the reader with invaluable information regarding the existing knowledge gaps and limitations of current industry standards and regulatory guidelines,” he said. “The objective of this article is to minimize the risk of failure in the oil and gas wells and to elevate the safety level.”

For more information on Barton’s Natural Gas Program visit naturalgas.bartonccc.edu or contact Ahmed at ahmeds@bartonccc.edu or call 620-792-9381.