The story of oil

While studying for a BSc degree in chemical engineering in Iran, Mohammad Mahdi Barzmehri (25) was continuously frustrated by the lack of easily understandable books about the oil industry. His solution: write the book himself. Together with a fellow undergraduate student, he set about writing a book that would, he says, “tell the whole story of oil, and do so using familiar words that everyone can understand.”
Their book, entitled ‘Economics & Engineering in Oil Industries (Oil, Refining and Petrochemical)’, was published in July 2009 and has since won prestigious publishing prizes in Iran, including the national ‘Student Book of the Year Award’. The young authors are now hoping to publish their book in English. Barzmehri is currently an MSc student specializing in sustainable energy at TU Delft’s faculty of Applied Sciences.

Where does the background story of your book begin?
“As an Iranian you’re always hearing about oil issues in your daily life, starting in childhood, and I guess that affected me somehow. Then, while pursuing my BSc degree in chemical engineering, I decided to focus on different methods of gaining energy. Petrochemicals were a big part of these studies, yet it was really hard for us students to find information about the oil industry. We had to read several thick books just to get the smallest bits of information. That’s how we came up with the idea to write our book.”

And your user-friendly book was particularly targeted at students?
“Yes, we wanted to create a handbook, especially for students, and maybe for other interested individuals, that summarized all the books about oil in a logical way. Our book is like an academic textbook that provides the most basic knowledge about all aspects of oil.”

What are these aspects?
“The book starts with the upstream section of the oil industry and contains useful information about the origins of oil. After that the chapters explore drilling and different methods of oil recovery, introduce refinery and petrochemical processes and products, and finally conclude with oil-related financial information.”

Oil is of course a big issue in the Middle East. Did this fact inspire you as well?
“Petrol is Iran’s most important resource, and we have large reserves, but we don’t know how to use them well. We’re just using what we have now and forgetting to think about what will happen in future. Personally, I think solar energy could be a really good solution for Iran, since we have lots of sun, but nobody is currently considering this. Right now everything is about budget and income, and that’s why our book also focuses on the economic aspects of these energy issues.”

As BSc students, how did you gain sufficient knowledge to write an academic book? 
“We read, studied and analyzed many books on the subject. We gathered all the useful information we could and put it in a clearly understandable order. One of our professors also guided us, but he only checked to ensure the technical information was correct.”

What was the most challenging part of creating a book?
“We did literally everything ourselves, from the simplest drawings to the most complex graphs. We had no experience in layout design, so we had some rough times with those software programs. Moreover, the language was challenging: Persian academic language, with all its technical terms, is hard to work with. We proofread and edited the book countless times before submitting to the publisher.”

Were people surprised that this book was actually written by BSc students?
“When we sent our book to the jury, they initially thought it was a PhD thesis, so were really surprised when they learned the truth. I was in Delft on the day we won the book award, but friends back home told me that we were profiled on TV and everyone was commenting on the success of two students who didn’t even have undergraduate degrees.”

Is your book famous now in Iran?
“It’s somehow famous among professionals: all the oil company people have read it and also professors. We hope students will start reading it as a quick way of studying for exams. Students are always looking for the least time-consuming ways to study, so they’ll love this book!” 

Dat bleek afgelopen vrijdag tijdens de presentatie van het DO-rapport ‘Internationale interactie’. Delftsch Overleg is een samenwerkingsverband tussen studentenvakbond VSSD, studentenraadfractie Oras, verenigingsraad VeRa, studieverenigingenraad SVR en studentenpartij Stip. Uit enquêtes, gehouden door het DO, blijkt dat Aziatische studenten graag met grote groepen uit dezelfde regio wonen. Mediterrane studenten wonen liever met minder mensen bij elkaar en willen graag integreren. DO raadt studentenhuisvester Duwo aan om deze studenten niet op ‘een hoop te vegen’ maar juist op die verschillende culturele woonwensen in te spelen.
Jan Willem van Beek, bedrijfsdirecteur Delft voor Duwo, ziet niets in deze aanbeveling. “Ik wil juist proberen om de internationale studenten en de Nederlandse studenten beter met elkaar te laten integreren. Er is een gigantisch cultuurverschil tussen de verschillende groepen, en ik wil dat Aziaten ook onderdeel van de studentengemeenschap worden”, zegt Van Beek. “Dat bereik je niet door ze alleen bij elkaar te laten wonen. Op een aantal plekken in Delft wonen al internationale en Nederlandse studenten door elkaar en dat is een groot succes. We zoeken nu uit hoe we nog meer studenten kunnen integreren.”
De DO-aanbeveling om internationale studenten zelf hun woning te laten kiezen, vindt Van Beek wel interessant. “Nu gebeurt dat nog niet en dat zou eigenlijk wel moeten”, zegt Van Beek. “We gaan meer foto’s van kamers op onze website plaatsen, zodat studenten vanuit het buitenland hun voorkeur voor een bepaald type kamer kunnen uitspreken. We proberen daar dan straks zo goed mogelijk rekening mee te houden.”
Het rapportpunt om na het verbreken van het huurcontract een klanttevredenheidsonderzoek te houden, staat al op de agenda, zegt Van Beek. “We willen graag van onze ex-huurders horen wat er nog verbeterd kan worden.” Wethouder Economische Zaken en Dienstverlening Ronald Vuijk (VVD) neemt de raad om de Engelstalige gemeentelijke informatievoorziening te verbeteren ter harte.
Ook ziet Van Beek brood in een betere, gezamenlijke informatievoorziening van Duwo, gemeente en TU voor internationale studenten. “Maar dan moeten we er wel voor zorgen dat alle informatie overzichtelijk en relevant voor deze studenten is, want bij een teveel aan info zien ze door de bomen het bos niet meer.”
Aan het grootste kritiekpunt, het niveau van het Engels van de TU-docenten, wordt hard gewerkt, zei Madeleine Bos van onderwijs & studentenzaken tijdens de rapportpresentatie. “We houden goed in de gaten welke docenten al getest zijn en wie er nog moeten.”