Elsevier Invests in the Explorers of Tomorrow by Collaborating With ExploHUB

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Trainees undertaking the exploHUB course at the University of Aberdeen to be given free access to Geofacets

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, has today announced that it is working together with exploHUB, a unique professional training centre located at the University of Aberdeen. exploHUB provides full time training to better prepare explorationists for the challenges of discovering the earth's remaining hydrocarbon resources. As part of this collaboration, Elsevier is committing to provide exploHUB trainees with free access to Geofacets, its web-based research tool specifically designed for geoscientists working in upstream exploration.

Started in January 2011, exploHUB seeks to provide a one of a kind training course that brings together industry and academic perspectives in order to deliver comprehensive training to geologists in the fundamentals of hydrocarbon exploration. The programme encompasses training on planning, designing and implementing exploration projects. The University of Aberdeen offers access to a vast wealth of geoscience expertise that is renowned across Europe and the globe. The organisation has a number of strategic relationships with and sponsorships from companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger and industry bodies such as the PESGB (Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain) and the AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) to help it achieve its goal of supporting trainees with state-of-the-art technology and experienced mentors.

The majority of people on the course are employees from major oil companies, national oil companies, independent oil companies, service companies and data providers. The course lasts for nine months and successful trainees obtain a Post Graduate Diploma in Hydrocarbon Exploration.  There is also the option available to extend the nine month course to twelve to obtain an MSc in Hydrocarbon Exploration through the addition of an independent dissertation project.

"Collaborating with Elsevier and Geofacets helps us to extend and enhance the quality of tools that our trainees can interact with as part of their studies. This is exceptionally important as our aim is to make exploHUB feel like a small exploration company and provide a fully immersive training environment," said Dr Stuart Archer, Director of exploHUB at the University of Aberdeen. "We want individuals from the course to graduate with a pioneering spirit that will last for all of their professional careers and technology has a key role to play in that. To drive better business outcomes and recommendations, we believe that geoscientists need high quality technical content delivered in a simple and searchable way. That is why we are so delighted to be working with Elsevier as we know that both organisations are working to the same vision of the future."

The back to basics and 'learning by doing' teaching philosophy advocated by exploHUB provides great context for the application of an innovative resource like Geofacets.

"Relationships such as this are vital to the future of the oil & gas industry," said Friso Veenstra, Director of Market Development at Elsevier. "Our work with exploHUB not only helps geoscientists to enhance their skills, but also ensures that we can keep in touch with these future leaders and evolve Geofacets based on the elements they consider to be most valuable to their work to ensure it remains as pioneering as their explorations."

About Geofacets

Geofacets is a web-based research tool developed for geoscientists working in upstream exploration. It provides access to an extensive database of over 190,000 geological maps from Elsevier's Earth science journals and the Geological Society of London's Lyell Collection, as well as map overlays from leading information providers such as Wood Mackenzie. With intuitive map-based search features and over 115,000 of all available maps downloadable as georeferenced files, Geofacets integrates seamlessly with the geoscientist's workflow in upstream exploration. Its unique interface delivers relevant and high quality content for scientific analysis and seamless integration with GIS and other presentation software. For more information on Geofacets, please visit http://www.geofacets.com/info/

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Tom Reller
Vice President, Global Corporate Relations, Elsevier
+1-215-239-3508
t.reller@Elsevier.com