Research
My research activities are primarily in the area of petroleum geomechanics. My current focus is on developing numerical and physical model tests for the prediction of sand production, hydraulic fracturing, caprock integrity, and wellbore stability.
Although my past 20-plus years have primarily focused on petroleum geomechanics, I am motivated to develop solutions for applied problems with the prospect of commercialization. In this light, we developed a technology to recover heat from abandoned thermal pads to produce zero-emission electricity and are improving the in-situ combustion for heavy oil recovery to address the problems that have prevented the broad use of this technology. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic enticed us to conceptualize a clean ventilation technology, the theme of a current Alliance project.Â
My research interests include:
Laboratory testing of SAGD sand control at small and large scale
SAGD sandface-liner interface interaction
Heat recovery from abandoned thermal pads
Improving the in-situ combustion for heavy oil recovery
Clean ventilation technology
Numerical prediction and physical model testing of sand production from producer and injector wells
Downhole sensing of slot plug, clay concentration, and well stream composition in SAGD wells
Numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas, shale oil, and soft sand wells
Integrated reservoir/pipe flow model
Linked hydraulic fracturing and proppant transport model in the simulation of frac-pack placement
Geomechanics of shale oil and shale gas reservoirs
Numerical prediction of sanding from SAGD and CSS wells
Geomechanics of SAGD and CSS reservoirs
Wellbore integrity analysis
Analysis of surface subsidence or heave
Continuous rock failure prediction and model calibration
Caprock integrity analysis for thermal and non-thermal reservoirs
Numerical modelling of sand production from CHOPS wells
Wellbore stability and formation damage issues
Physical and mathematical modeling of borehole breakouts