The University of Wyoming in Laramie has announced a software donation valued at $73 million from Houston-based Schlumberger, a leading oilfield service company.

The gift will enable UW students, faculty, and researchers to access the Eclipse Parallel Tools Platform, a state-of-the-art exploration and production modeling software suite used by global oil and gas companies. The software will be used in the EnCana Reservoir Simulation Laboratory, the first of three petroleum engineering labs to be funded by a $2 million gift from natural gas and oil producer EnCana, with matching funds provided by the state.

In addition to the teaching component, the software will be used collaboratively across several UW departments to teach the fundamentals of petroleum engineering and related disciplines and will be made available to undergraduate students, exposing them to advanced contemporary engineering practice and providing them with opportunities typically reserved for graduate students.

Schlumberger also announced that it will renew its original software gift to the Wyoming Oil Recovery Institute to support students' understanding of oil and gas reserves. The new software licenses are valued at $32.9 million.

"Schlumberger continues to show its dedication to partnering with UW and Wyoming in the expansion of the university's efforts as a national leader in energy education and research," said UW president Tom Buchanan. "Without Schlumberger's gifts, our faculty and students would not have the important tools to fulfill their educational and research goals."