Alejandro Escalona

The University of Stavanger is offering a fully funded PhD Fellowship in CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2EOR) and storage, based at the Department of Energy and Petroleum Engineering and the National Centre for Sustainable Subsurface Utilization of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS2030). This position is ideal for candidates interested in advancing research on maximizing resource utilization and long-term carbon storage in hydrocarbon reservoirs, with a focus on modeling and simulation rather than experimental work. The successful candidate will join a vibrant research environment, participate in national and international collaborations, and benefit from career guidance and development opportunities throughout the three-year appointment. The project centers on developing workflows and guidelines for converting depleting hydrocarbon fields into carbon storage facilities, with relevance to field-scale models from the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Research topics may include compositional multiphase reservoir simulation, upscaling methodologies, optimization of well positions and control strategies, economic assessments, machine learning, proxy-model based methods, geological features, geomechanics, and reactive flow. The project scope can be tailored to the applicant’s skills and interests through the required project proposal. Applicants must submit a project proposal (up to 4 pages) outlining the state of the art, knowledge gaps, objectives, methodology, deliverables, work plan, and references. The position requires a five-year master’s degree (or equivalent) in petroleum engineering, geosciences, computational engineering, physics, or chemistry, with strong academic performance (minimum B grade for thesis and average). Experience with reservoir simulation or computational programming is essential, and additional skills in reservoir engineering, optimization, decision analysis, field-development analysis, reactive transport modeling, geostatistics, static model building, petrophysics, physics-based machine learning, and proxy modeling are advantageous. Applicants must demonstrate motivation, independence, teamwork, creativity, structured work habits, and proficiency in English (with required test scores for international candidates). The fellowship is funded by the NCS2030 research centre, supported by the Norwegian Research Council, industry partners, and academic institutions. The annual salary is NOK 550,800 gross, with automatic membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, favorable insurance and retirement benefits, discounted public transport, gym membership, and relocation support. The university offers free Norwegian language courses and a supportive, inclusive work environment that values diversity and equal opportunity. Applications must be submitted via the Jobbnorge portal by February 3, 2026. Required documents include the project proposal, proof of reservoir simulation and computational programming experience, CV, references, certificates/diplomas, Diploma Supplement and conversion scale (if applicable), proof of English proficiency (if required), and any publications. All documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language and not exceed 100 MB in total. For further information, contact Associate Professor Pål Ø. Andersen ([email protected]) or Professor Alejandro Escalona ([email protected]). This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to sustainable energy research in a dynamic academic and industrial setting, with access to state-of-the-art resources and a collaborative international network.