In developing petroleum engineering research programs, we must get real, and take cognizance of the following aspects:

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1 My Research Philosophy: Hemanta Sarma Pragmatically speaking, I believe the direction and pace of research is dictated, particularly in the field of petroleum engineering, by the industry s needs, location, funding sources and strength of in-house research infrastructure. This is further impacted by industry s drive to use leading edge technology towards achieving a faster-paced enhanced productivity in an economic and safe manner. Moreover, as the petroleum sector is essentially a multi-disciplinary one, most petroleum engineering research epitomises an assimilation of various engineering disciplines, geosciences and business-driven goals. In developing petroleum engineering research programs, we must get real, and take cognizance of the following aspects: 1. Unlike in other areas, we always deal with huge risks and uncertainties; for, we are unable to see or quantify with confidence the commodity (petroleum) which we are after. Resort often must be had to risky judicious judgement/assumptions through synchronized and coordinated analyses based on multidisciplinary input. 2. Our key stakeholder, the industry, is always in public focus in every sphere, be it technical, social, ethical, environmental and safety. In addition, industry s strategic decisions are subject to fluctuations, dictated primarily by the market conditions. Therefore, the industry seems always to be on guard and cautious to maintain a flexible approach with regard to R&D. Its R&D priorities can, and do change, more often than we would like or expect. 3. The above two aspects puts an enormous responsibility (and uncertainties) on those of us engaged in petroleum engineering research. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the following critical aspects: a. Importance of understanding and accommodating the needs of the research sponsor or beneficiaries in short-, medium- and longer-terms, b. Balancing between basic and field-application oriented research so the sponsor sees a value in supporting our research, c. Being aware of our priorities to synchronize research progress (output) time-cycle in tune with industry-needs, d. Being ready and willing to involve industry interactions during course of research and having flexibility to adopt, and adapt to, changes in a reasonable time frame, and finally, e. Delivering optimum results within the budget and on time by the deadline. I have followed and practised the above philosophy, perhaps more so because, up until I switched to academia in 2002, I was engaged primarily in industry-driven, time-bound research projects. Even at the University, I have experienced more receptive responses and support to research that is applied with direct relevance to applications. Therefore, my research efforts have targeted a blend of basics and commercial aspects. I have conceptualized this approach through Figure 1. I also believe that University- Industry partnership is a healthy and win-win partnership with a potential for faster deliverables that add better value. Therefore, this partnership should not end just with the completion of a research project at the University; rather, it should continue beyond; i.e., to the next phase of field implementation as depicted in Figure 2. Eventually, our research needs to address the integrated total system, either in parts or whole, as depicted in Figure 3.

2 R&D-to to-real World Approach Relevance & Value Field Field / Commercialisation Applied (Engineering) R&D Basic/Fund (Sciences) Road Map Identify and address needs & priorities Close industry interaction Coordinate R&D Cycle with industry needs Interim reviews & decision gates Aim for a steep learning curve R&D-Industry Linkage/Partnership Figure 1: R&D Linkage to Industry Our Preferred Industry-funded R&D Project Route Field Test Feasibility & Value Demonstrated Post-Test Review Understanding and Further Upgrading Concept/Idea and Research Deliverables Recommendations Identify Technology Needs (Idea/Concept) Match/Identify Opportunity to Capability Proposal Work plan Implementation Partnership-Sharing: R&D Group-Industry Industry-R&D Groupy Figure 2: University-Industry Partnership: A Continued Win-Win Partnership Petroleum Engineering Research Needs an Integrated Approach and Recognition of Uncertainties. reserves operations $ facilities geology completion r&d environment health/safety Figure 3: An Integrated Total-System Research Strategy is a Necessary Reality

3 Research Projects (Completed and Ongoing) and Interests: (For further details and enquiries for Graduate and Post-Doctoral Research opportunities in the projects listed below, please contact me at: The following project list is not exhaustive as new project ideas can developed based on specific interest in the areas of EOR, IOR and reservoir engineering. Completed Projects 1. Smart waterflooding: A project aimed at improving Waterflood Recovery Efficiency through Salinity Variations and Ionic Exchange for both Sandstone and Carbonate Reservoirs. 2. A Study of the Potential of Asphaltene Precipitation Due to Gas Injection in Asab Field, UAE, funded by R&D Oil Sub-Committee, Abu Dhabi 3. CO2 Flooding and CO2 Sequestration: CO2 EGR and EOR cum sequestration using CO2 from stationery industrial sources. Specific topic areas included/can be included: a. CO2-oil-rock interaction studies, including viscosity and IFT reduction, swelling, extraction b. CO2-water interaction c. Relationship between CO2 dissolution and pressure d. Displacement studies at reservoir conditions of P and T and the effect of heterogeneities e. Relative permeabilities for CO2-Water, CO2-Oil and Oil-Water systems f. Wettability alteration and likely impact on CO2 escape and migration g. CO2 PVT/Phase behaviour studies and modelling h. Study of conformance control using gels and foams using a simulation approach i. Experimental visualization of possible asphaltene problems due to CO2 and determination of onset conditions j. Emulsification characteristics k. Establishing Minimum Miscibility Pressure and its implication on the recovery factor l. Simulation studies to evaluate impact of flood pattern and alignment, and gravity-stable injection reservoirs with vertical relief. m. Simulation studies to evaluate efficiency of injected CO2 to evaluate process efficiencies: i. continuous injection versus WAG injection? ii. Quantification of CO2 lost (i.e., sequestered) in the formation and recirculated throughinjection-production system n. Estimate CO2 utilization factor, in terms of Standard Volume injected per equivalent Standard Unit Volume of oil or gas recovered. 4. Modelling of CO2 and Green-house gas (GHG) Miscibility and Interactions with Oil 5. Feasibility study of HC gas floods in selected Australian reservoirs 6. Potential of CO2 flood in Tight Reservoirs in Cooper Basin, Australia 7. Carbon Sequestration/Enhanced Coal-Bed Methane Potential in Australian Coals 8. Reaction of Organic Acids with Calcite/Dolomite during Well Stimulation in Saudi Arabian Reservoirs 9. Screening of Selected Australian Reservoirs for Air Injection Process

4 Research Project Ideas Envisaged: 1. Investigation of the Potential of Microbial EOR Process in Australian Reservoirs MEOR using naturally-occurring microbes is a low-cost approach to improve waterflood efficiency and conformance control. Our preliminary study suggests that the process may have a potential in several that are relatively shallow, moderately permeable and are at lower temperature. The objective of this study will be to conduct a thorough screening study in collaboration with the industry and research organizations active in this process. 2. Enhanced coal-bed methane recovery using CO2 and N2 (or air) Project looks into an experimental and simulation approach to investigate reservoir engineering aspects with regard to matrix shrinkage, enhanced gas recovery, CO2 storage and permeability variation due to injection in CBM reservoirs. 3. Using CO2 to produce methane from methane-hydrate reservoirs and to sequester greenhouse CO2 gases This project looks into theoretical (phase behaviour) aspects associated with recovering the methane held in hydrates through replacement with CO2, thus also providing concomitant CO2 disposal in methane hydrate. Given the vast methane hydrate reservoirs around the world, this project offers significant potential in our efforts to understand the exploitation of this relatively up-taped vast energy resource. 4. Development of tight-gas reservoirs: A study of the reservoir engineering and production aspects The objective of this project is to investigate, through a detailed simulation study, the challenges that operators face in terms of reservoir and production engineering aspects when developing a tight-gas reservoir. A series of parametric sensitivity studies will be undertaken. Time permitting; the study will also consider gas reservoirs in fractures shales and coals. 5. Investigation and modelling of asphaltenes precipitation and deposition in gas injection processes Asphaltene content in the oil could be deceptive as certain oils with high asphaltene content pose no problem whereas lighter oils with even a minute content could cause severe problems. In general, field data suggest that light oils with small asphaltene content are more prone to asphaltene problems than heavy oils. Asphaltenes could cause serious and severe operational problems in primary depletion as well as in EOR processes. In particular, it is a big concern during gas injection into light oil reservoirs. During gas injection, changes occur in composition of the reservoir fluids resulting changes in densities, ph balances and pressures, and all such changes affect asphaltene stability in the reservoir oil. Therefore, prior investigative laboratory and simulation studies are a must before any gas injection process is applied in a reservoir that contains even a minute content of asphaltene. In this project, we intend to investigate asphaltenes problem with particular emphasis on the gas injection projects. 6. Use of polymer to improve waterflood efficiency through improved mobility and conformance control Polymer flood is also often referred to as a variation of waterflood. The main objective of a polymer flood is to control the mobility of the displacing phase so that the mobility ratio between the displacing and displaced phase becomes favourable. A favourable mobility ratio yields higher areal and vertical sweep efficiencies and help suppress viscous fingering. This is, indeed, the primary feature that makes it more efficient than a conventional waterflood. At microscopic level, however, both waterflood and polymer flood has the same efficiency as far as their ability to reduce the So is concerned. Compared to other chemical methods, the polymer flood has been reasonably successful. Daqing oilfield in China and Marmul oilfield in Oman are good examples of highly successful polymer flood applications. Even by a conservative estimate, the polymer flood has helped achieve a 12% incremental oil recovery in Daqing oilfield (Oil viscosity = 7cP, k = 300mD, Salinity <8000 ppm and T<70oC).

5 As general overview of polymer project performance data reveals that both the molecular weight (MW) of the polymer and its concentration are the key to the success of the process. The dictum seems to be: Use higher concentration of low to medium MW polymer rather than a lower concentration of high MW polymer. These aspects will be investigated using open-file data using a commercial reservoir simulator. Efforts will also be made to further extend this study using some Australian waterflood field data. 7. Investigation of the potential for acid gas (H2S+CO2) reinjection in reservoirs with high acid-gas content There are many reservoirs with high acid gas content and difficult to produce for HSE reasons and corrosive nature of the oil. The reinjection of acid gas could an optimal strategy to produce such field. In certain cases, H2S present in the gas may help improve the miscibility in a gas injection process.