SIMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OIL GAME AS AN EFFECTIVE PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING EXERCISE INTO AN ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY LECTURE-FORMAT CLASS

Energy issues typically constitute a section of most Environmental Geology classes, usually incorporating discussions of petroleum formation, accumulation, and perhaps exploration. As energy plays a critical role in today's economy and politics, meaningful understanding of the complexities of the processes of oil exploitation is an important component to what students need to know to be informed participants in the current political discussions on the current state and future of the oil industry. To reinforce student understanding of the process of oil exploitation, it is beneficial to use alternate pedagogies beyond the typical lecture format to reach our goal of an informed and literate student.

In a capstone exercise in a unit on energy in an Environmental Geology class of non-science majors, students participate in a ‘field-based' simulation called the Oil Game, which utilizes readily available supplies and easily constructed equipment. In the Oil Game, the class is divided into oil companies, of no more than 4 employees, in which they are asked to explore and develop an oil prospect in a ‘field area' set up in the classroom. Along the way, they are utilizing the scientific method, and are exposed to skills and tools used by professional geologists. They are asked to (1) acquire ‘field data', (2) construct a geologic model of the field area, (3) ‘drill' an exploration well, (4) calculate the economics associated with a simulated development plan of the newly discovered oil field using the current price of oil, and (5) discuss and recommend to management the economic viability of the prospect by suggesting to proceed with development, or to wait for a particular economic scenario (i.e., price of oil). After using this exercise in several versions of various complexities and lengths over several semesters, most ‘Oil Companies' generate similar final balance sheets, thereby reaching similar recommendations. However, there are usually one or two Companies that generate different, but geologically sound, balance sheets. These different conclusions are then used to discuss the success or failure of different oil companies because of individualized interpretation of scientific data, as all Companies are given the same data set for this exercise.