VISTA

VISTA is a collaboration between Statoil and The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. VISTA's overall vision is to stimulate basic research in the natural sciences as it relates to the utilization and management of the nation's petroleum resources. Furthermore VISTA aims to be an arena for strategic discussion between Norwegian basic research communities, industry and society. VISTA aims to stimulate and promote research of high quality, with special emphasis on developing young researchers.

VISTA calls for applications within the four priority areas:

• Exploration
• Improved recovery
• Environment
• Future development and operations

VISTA encourages projects that are relevant to several of the priority areas as well as international exchange and collaboration.

Deadlines for 2018: VISTA has two annual deadlines for applying for VISTA funding (PhD and Post Doc).

Step 1: January 8. Qualified candidates from Step 1 are invited to proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: March 9.Funding for up to 5 projects; aiming to start in the second semester 2018.

Step 1: August 15. Qualified candidates from Step 1 are invited to proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: September 27.Funding for up to 4 projects; aiming to start in the first semester 2019.

VISTA calls for applications within the following areas:

ExplorationIncreased knowledge about the structure and development of the continental shelf is essential for our ability to make use of our resources in the future. We need to understand how petroleum resources behave and are distributed. It is particularly important to increase knowledge about geophysical methods and how these methods can contribute to a better understanding of the distribution and behavior of petroleum resources.

Key focus areas in the planning period include, but are not limited to:

Main focus areas include, but are not limited to:

• Large-scale geological and geophysical modeling
• Geophysical methods of measurement and processing
• Basin analysis

Improved recoveryImproved recovery from existing and future fields represents an important focus area to prevent significant resources from remaining untapped. Basic knowledge is required on many different levels, from analysis of entire basins to studies of the variations in the surface of the individual mineral grains, determining how oil and gas move in reservoirs. Improved recovery therefore requires improved basic understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes associated with hydrocarbon mobility.

Key focus areas in the planning period include, but are not limited to:

• Reservoir characterization
• Processes related to production of hydrocarbons, including biotechnology
• Reservoir-simulation and fluid properties

Future development and operationsFuture developments and operations shall address key competences and technologies that can enable new field developments or secure continued operation from existing infrastructure. Future developments will face very strict requirements in terms of their robustness, integrity and accessibility, as production will take place far from the shore, in deeper waters, in areas with ice and in areas with stringent environmental regulations. In addition, the increased cost picture seen for new offshore field developments emphasize the need for simplified, energy efficient, and smart solutions. The industry needs a paradigm shift from classical manned rigs to unmanned surface and subsea facilities. Technology and systems for increased level of automation ranging from remote operations to autonomy needs to be developed. Common for all challenges is that solving them will require new fundamental competence and new technologies.

Key focus areas in the planning period include, but are not limited to:

Integrity of structures:

• Materials technology and expected life time calculation
• Improved methods and tools for strongly nonlinear hydrodynamic phenomena
• Long-distance power supply
• Energy efficiency
• Technologies and competence to enable remote and autonomous operations
• Flow assurance and subsea processing

EnvironmentContinued exploitation of our petroleum resources requires greater knowledge about how operations affect life in the ocean and on land. This knowledge will form the basis for the management and use of the resources in the future without compromising the natural environment. It is particularly important to understand the dynamic and long-term effects of exploration and production on the food web. We need to understand what local consequences petroleum operations will have for the future use of these areas.

Key focus areas in the planning period include, but are not limited to:

• Environmental monitoring
• Dynamic effects on the food web
• Baseline studies in areas not yet opened for petroleum production

Procedures for VISTA applications:

Who can apply?

• The applicant institution must be degree conferring (Eg. have a relevant PhD-program).
• A candidate may only be a VISTA-fellow once.
• The candidate may not have had more than one Postdoc period.
• VISTA normally requires an average grade of B or better for the candidates.
• Applications for a PhD position where the candidate has yet to receive the final grade of their master thesis can still apply, provided documentation of great results*.
• Applications for a Postdoc position must at least have a confirmed date of PhD defense within the step 2 application deadline.
• The candidate must be able to begin their work some time during the following semester.

Applying for VISTA funding is a twofold process:

STEP 1: The applicant submits application form Step 1 (found in the upper right corner). The application must contain

• A short project description (one A4-page)
• CV and transcripts for the candidate (Bachelor and master for PhD-applications. Bachelor, master and PhD for Postdoc applications).
• CV for the project manager. Publication list should be no longer than one page.

Please note: VISTA can grant post-doctoral scholarships for up to three years.

The application must be sent within the deadline to the VISTA administration (vista@dnva.no). The committees for the various areas will evaluate and present a prioritized list of applications to the VISTA board.

STEP 2: The VISTA board invites prioritized applications from Step 1 to submit a complete application. Step 2 applications are evaluated and ranked by the area committees and presented to the VISTA board. The board makes the final approval of projects and candidates.

If any relevant documentation was lacking in Step 1 (Eg. transcripts), they must be provided in the step 2 application.

Practical informationVISTA follows the Norwegian Research Council rules on impartiality and confidence. VISTA complies with Norwegian Government pay regulations, which usually starts at LT 50 for PhD and 57 for Postdoc. Overhead is calculated to 87,5 % of the institutions current TDI-rate. VISTA's current yearly lump sum for operations is up to NOK 150 000. PhD projects have a duration of three years. Accepted VISTA PhD/Postdocs are temporarily employed by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Selection CriteriaThe criteria for selection of projects in the prioritized areas are the qualifications and potential of the candidate, the scientific quality of the research group, the quality of the project, and relevance for the VISTA strategy. International exchange, representation and collaboration are emphasized.

Application and attachments should be sent to the VISTA administration vista@dnva.no. You will get a confirmation of reception. If you do not receive the confirmation, please send a follow-up e-mail. Send all documents merged in one PDF file. The file must not exceed 6 MB. Please do not send the file write-protected.

* VISTA has previously not accepted candidates without documentation of finalized thesis. This new policy is up for trial in 2019.

Apply for VISTA funding

Søknadsfrist: 27.09.2018

Kontakt: vista.no