Awards / Accolades
Dr. Pooladi-Darvish's research interest is in various areas of reservoir engineering including gas production from gas-hydrate reservoirs, modeling and understanding long-term issues of CO2 sequestration, solution-gas drive in heavy oil reservoirs, and recovery mechanisms in naturally fractured reservoirs. Dr. Pooladi-Darvish's Research - pdf
The expertise of the group in modelling of gas production from hydrate reservoirs is internationally recognized (paper #1 below). In the past few years, we have developed one of the few comprehensive numerical simulators available for modelling gas production from hydrate reservoirs (papers 3 and 18). This simulator has been used for numerous mechanistic and sensitivity studies, examining the feasibility of gas production from hydrate reservoirs and improved understanding of the mechanisms involved (papers 2 and 3). We are currently using the simulator for interpretation of the production tests conducted on Mallik-5L production research well in the N.W.T., Canada. The planned research for 2004 includes development of interpretation techniques for tests conducted on hydrate wells, and investigation of importance of intrinsic kinetics of hydrate decomposition on overall rate of gas production. Imperial Oil Resources Ltd, and the Geological Survey of Canada support this research.
Ongoing research on CO2 sequestration of this group deals with modeling processes that are responsible for sequestration of CO2 in deep aquifers over many centuries. Accurate modeling of diffusion and convective mixing cells, effect of formation heterogeneity and dispersion on these mixing process that lead to improved dissolution of CO2 in brines are of primary interest.
The current research on solution-gas drive in heavy oil systems focuses on experimental determination of the factors affecting recovery performance under cold production of heavy oil, and development of the required mathematical models (Paper 8 - 15). The planned research for 2004 includes depletion experiments in 2-D models and validation of the developed numerical model for a wide range of experimental data including rate, oil viscosity, and flow geometry. This research is conducted in collaboration with Imperial Oil Research centre in Calgary.
Our research in naturally fractured reservoirs has traditionally been on experimental or mathematical determination of recovery mechanism on a relatively small scale of a few matrix blocks and the associated fractures. We have studied thermal gravity drainage in heavy oil fractured reservoirs, water imbibition (Papers 14 and 15) and miscible displacement. The planned research for 2004 includes improved gravity drainage by CO2 injection in previously water-flooded reservoirs such as Wayburn.
Other areas of interest and research include well testing and moving boundary problems in heavy oil reservoirs such as those encountered in SAGD and VAPEX (papers 17 - 20).
Recent Publications
A- Papers related to Gas Production from Hydrate Reservoirs
1. Pooladi-Darvish M.: "Gas Production from Hydrate Reservoirs and its Modelling," invited paper, Distinguished author series, Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT), (June 2004) 65 - 71.
2. Pooladi-Darvish, M. and Hong, H.: "Effect of Conductive and Convective Heat Flow on Gas Production from Natural Hydrates by Depressurization," Accepted (December 2003) for publication in Recent Advances in Study of Gas Hydrate, Editors: Charles Taylor and Johnathan Kwan, Kulwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
3. Hong, H. and Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "Numerical Study of Constant Rate Gas Production from In-Situ Methane Hydrate by Depressurizations," paper presented at the Mallik International Symposium, Chiba, Japan, December 8 - 10. Accepted (December 2003) for publication in the Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Canada, December 2004.
4. Hong H., Pooladi-Darvish, M., and Bishnoi, P.R.: "Analytical Modelling of Gas Production from Hydrates in Porous Media," Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT) November 2003, Vol. 42, (11) p. 45 - 56.
5. Khairkhah, D., Pooladi-Darvish, M., Bishnoi, P.R., Collett, T.S., and Dallimore, S.R.: "Production Potential and Viability of Gas Production, Mallik Field Reservoir," published in Scientific Results from JAPEX/JNOC/GSC Mallik 2L-38 Gas Hydrate Research Well, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 544, P. 377 - 390, 1999.
6. Clarke, M.A., Pooladi-Darvish, M., and Bishnoi, P.R.,: "A Method to Predict Equilibrium Conditions of Gas Hydrate Formation in Porous Media," published in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, February 1999, Vol. 38, (2) p. 2458 - 2490.
7. Hong, H. and Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "A Numerical Study on Gas Production from Formations Containing Gas Hydrates," paper CIPC 2003-60 presented at the 2003 CIPC Conference, Calgary, AB, June 10-12. Under review for publication in Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT).
B-Papers related to Solution-Gas Drive in Heavy Oil Reservoirs
8. Javadpour, F. and Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "Network Modelling of Gas Relative Permeability in Heavy Oil," Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT) (April 2004) 23 - 30.
9. Talabi, O. and Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "A Simulator for Solution-Gas Drive in Heavy Oil, Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT) (April 2004), 31 - 38.
10. Kumar, R., Pooladi-Darvish, M., and Okazawa, T.: "Effect of Depletion Rate on Gas Mobility and Solution Gas Drive in Heavy Oil," Society of Petroleum Engineers' Journal (SPEJ), June 2002, 213 - 220.
11. Kumar R., Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "Solution Gas Drive in Heavy Oil: Field Prediction and Sensitivity Studies Using Low Gas Relative Permeability," Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT), March 2002, Vol. 41, (3) p. 26 - 32.
12. Kumar, R. and Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "Effect of Viscosity and Diffusion Coefficient in the Kinetics of Bubble Growth in Solution Gas Drive in Heavy Oil Reservoirs," published in Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT), March 2001, Vol. 40, (3) p. 30 - 37.
13. Pooladi-Darvish, M. and Firoozabadi, A.: "Solution Gas Drive in Heavy Oil Reservoirs," published in Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT), April 1999, Vol 38, (4) p. 54 - 61.
C- Papers related to Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
14. Pooladi-Darvish, M. and Firoozabadi, A.: "Co-Current and Counter-Current Imbibition in a Water-Wet Matrix Block," Society of Petroleum Engineers' Journal (SPEJ), March 2000, Vol 5, (1) p. 3 - 11.
15. Pooladi-Darvish, M. and Firoozabadi, A.: "Experiments and Modelling of Water Injection in Water-Wet Fractured Media," published in Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT), March 2000, Vol 39, (3) p. 31 - 42. (Recipient of the Best Paper Award of 2000)
16. Xie, J. and Pooladi-Darvish, M.: "Upscaling of Tracer Injection in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs," paper CIPC 2003-75 presented at the 2003 CIPC Conference, Calgary, AB, June 10-12. Under review for publication in Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT).
D- Other reservoir engineering papers
17. Shokoya, O. S., Mehta, R.G., Moore, R.G., Pooladi-Darvish, M., Chakma, A.: "The Mechanism of Flue Gas Injection for Enhanced Light Oil Recovery," Journal of Energy Resources Technology, ASME Petroleum Division Transactions (June 2004) 119 - 124.
18. Shokoya, O. S., Mehta, R.G., Moore, R.G., Pooladi-Darvish, M., Chakma, A. "Does Miscibility of In Situ Generated Flue Gas with Light Crude Oils Contribute to Its Recovery Under High Pressure Air Injection?," Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT) October 2002, Vol. 41, (10) p. 58 - 67.
19. Javadpour, F., Pooladi-Darvish, M., Jeje, A., and Shen, L.C.: "Effect of Transient Temperature on MWD Resistivity Logs," accepted for publication Petrophysics, 2003. (March 27, 2003)
20. Pooladi-Darvish, M. and Mattar, L.: "SAGD Operations in the Presence of overlying Gas Cap and Water Layer - Effect of Shale Layers" Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology (JCPT), June 2002, Vol. 41, (6) p. 40 - 51