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In an effort to support Southeast Texas greatest petrochemical expansion in decades, ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ announced the establishment of the Center for Midstream Management and Science. Approved and funded by the 86th Texas legislature, the Center for Midstream Management and Science will focus on midstream research and teaching across the LU campus.

Due to a drastically increased volume of domestic oil and gas production, ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ founded the Center to meet the need for midstream technology and additional needs of the upstream and downstream industries. The Center for Midstream Management and Science is dedicated to discovering solutions to distribution and storage modalities, environmental impacts, and to optimizing commodity movements and market access.

The new Center will serve as a bridge between ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ and local industry connecting breakthroughs in access to oil and gas to the downstream advances in refining and liquefaction technologies.

“The Center was established to grow a multi-industry/university collaboration that advances in midstream capacity, resiliency, environmental compliance and safety,” said Brian Craig, dean of the College of Engineering. “The Center will develop advanced education, training and solutions for the midstream industry, such as technology gaps related to capacities, distribution, storage, optimization, reliability, inspection, data analytics and decision making, predictive maintenance, resilience, cyber physical security, IIoT, safety, environmental compliance, economics, new and emerging markets, and future business opportunities. These solutions and knowledge can then be broadly distributed to the industry, workforce, policymakers, students and scholars.”

The Center for Midstream Management and Science will support students, faculty members, labs and post-doctoral fellowships across ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ with an emphasis on applied research that is vital to the midstream industry. Additionally, the Center facilitates training for the midstream community by hosting events and seminars. The Center also supports the development of academic courses and certificate programs at LU to train the next generation of midstream professionals.

During the first year, the Center will focus on research topics including:
-Optimization and integration of the Oil and Gas Supply Chain
-Advanced Resiliency, Reliability and Inspection Technologies
-Distributed Sensor Technology and Networks
- Big Data Analytics and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
-Environmental impacts and Safety

“We are uniquely positioned to team with industry leaders and midstream providers for solutions not only to distribution and storage modalities but also to optimize flow rates and gain access to the best-suited markets,” said ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ President Kenneth Evans. “With a highly-regarded engineering program, dedicated research faculty in the environmental field, a business college actively involved in this industry and a center committed to port science and management, LU has the talent pool to drive the science and management of these vital midstream processes.”

A kickoff symposium is scheduled Nov. 21 on the LU campus, hosting midstream industry operators and suppliers, state legislators, regulators and LU faculty and students. Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association will be the keynote speaker.

“The research, development and problem-solving efforts generated within institutions of higher learning has rooted our nation in strength and security," said Staples. "This creative thinking has resulted in innumerable outcomes making lives better, and TXOGA members appreciate the opportunity to partner with the ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ Center for Midstream Management and Science to continue to develop innovative solutions in the midstream sector of the oil and natural gas industry that will ensure a cleaner, stronger energy future for Texas and around the globe.”



With approximately 15,000 students, ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ is a research institution serving Southeast Texas and beyond with more than 100 programs of study leading to bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees. LU is a member of the Texas State University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The 300-acre campus located 90 miles east of Houston and 25 miles west of Louisiana, is recognized for the quality of its core curriculum, diversity of its student body and low student-to-faculty ratio. In addition to its five academic colleges, LU offers students the opportunity to study in the Reaud Honors College in numerous locations across the world through faculty-led study abroad programs and in co-op work programs as well as dynamic partnerships with business and industry. Your moment is here. Your moment is now at ¿ìÉ«ÊÓƵ.