Ian Gates
Professor
Director of the Global Research Initiative
B.Sc. with Distinction, Chemical Engineering
M.A.Sc. Chemical Engineering
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (Minor in Mathematics)
Contact information
Phone
Location
Courses
Courses I Teach or Have Taught
- ENGG201: Introduction to Properties of Fluids and Solids
- ENCH315: Process Engineering Calculation
- ENCH401: Analyses of Chemical, Oil and Gas Engineering Processes
- ENPE429: Introduction to Reservoir Engineering
- ENER480: Fluid Mechanics
- ENCH501: Transport Phenomena
- ENPE505: Surface Production Operations
- ENPE523: Introduction to Reservoir Engineering
- ENPE525: Enhanced Oil Recovery
- ENPE511: Final Year Oil and Gas Design Project I
- ENPE531: Final Year Oil and Gas Design Project II
- ENPE571: Unconventional Oil Exploitation (Heavy Oil/Oil Sands Reservoir Engineering)
- ENCH619.90: Applied Thermal Simulation (CSS, SAGD, SF, ISC, ...)
- ENCH703: Advanced Mathematics for Engineers
- Industrial Shortcourses in Heavy Oil and Oil Sands Recovery Process Design, Thermal Reservoir Simulation, Optimization, and Analysis (Interpretation), Reservoir Engineering
Preferred method of communication
For Those Interested in Graduate Studies & Post-Doctoral Fellows
I am always looking for energetic, proactive, and enthusiastic graduate students and funded post-doctoral fellows (PDFs). Although research opportunities are within areas of research listed above, projects can be tuned to your interests.
If you are interested, send me (ian.gates@ucalgary.ca) an email (please do not call) with a summary of your undergraduate/graduate grades and CV or resume plus a 1 page description of your research interests. I will contact you if I think you are a good fit into my research group.
For Those Interested in Conducting a Research Project
New projects keep us active and energized and relevant - if you or your company would like to support research activities or have a research problem you wish to solve, send me (ian.gates@ucalgary.ca) an email and I will get back to you. Our focus within industrial and other sponsored research projects is providing new knowledge and/or solutions, training graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and getting the research done in a timely manner.
Research and teaching
Research areas
- Advanced Oil Recovery
- Thermal Recovery Processes
- In-Situ Combustion
- Reservoir Simulation
Research activities
Dr. Gates’ current research interests are in heavy oil and oil sands recovery process design and optimization, thermal (SAGD and CSS) and thermal-solvent (ES-SAGD, SA-CSS) oil recovery processes, cold production of heavy oil with sand (CHOPS) and follow-up process design, reservoir engineering and simulation, reservoir process optimization, reactive reservoir processes and simulation, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, biofilm evolution in porous media, and bioreactor design (think of the reservoir as a bioreactor).
Dr. Gates is leading one of the Energy Research Strategy’s Major Initiatives, the matching funds research project: Innovation of Oil Sands: Social, Economic, and Technology (iOSSET) under the university’s strategic theme, Energy Innovations for Today and Tomorrow. This team of researchers is working to identify the technical and social factors that contribute to the slow rate of innovation in the oilsands industry, and offer strategies to stimulate the pace of future innovation. They are also working to establish effective public engagement strategies to enable innovation in the oil sands ecosystem and the social and political dimensions that encapsulate it.
The Gates Research Group is involved in design and modelling research to stimulate innovative technologies for oil sands. The group has initiated several research projects in key areas aimed at advancing responsible development of oil sands and improved environmental performance. These include:
1. thermal (CSS, SAGD, SF) and thermal-solvent (ES-SAGD, SA-CSS, VAPEX, N-Solv) methods for heavy oil recovery
2. inflow control devices for improved steam conformance in steam-based recovery processes (CSS and SAGD)
3. automated control of thermal recovery processes
4. reactive thermal reservoir simulation: aquathermolysis (H2S and CO2) in CSS and SAGD, in situ gasification, in situ combustion of heavy oil and oil sands
5. well-wormhole for modelling Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS) operations
6. pilot and commercial field data analysis
Based on their research, the Gates Research Group has developed operational strategies, well placement strategies, and completion designs that improve steam conformance, lower greenhouse gas emissions and water use than that of conventional SAGD.
The group’s key areas of research are:
1. Thermal Recovery Processes in Ultra-refined Geological Models
A key uncertainty of heavy oil and oil sands recovery processes arise from the underlying geology of the formation. Researchers in the Gates Research Group have developed ultra-refined reservoir models to understand the impact of heterogeneity on thermal and thermal-solvent recovery processes. These models reveal optimal wel placement within the reservoirs to improve process performance.
2. Accurate Imaging of Oil and gas reservoirs
Heterogeneity in reservoirs leads difficulty in identifying rock and fluid properties, which affects traditional imaging. This, in turn, leads to long processing times and highly subjective results. Researchers in the Gates group have developed a new, highly efficient imaging system for oil and gas reservoirs – PULSAR (Pulse Sequencing, Acquisition and Ranging). The patented PULSAR technology can operate in a continuous, real-time environment while recovery equipment is still active, and provides much higher resolution imaging compared to traditional reservoir imaging methods.
3. Exploring socio-technical factors to stimulate oil sands innovation
Impediments to oil sands industry projects often have technical and social aspects. As such, it is important to find solutions that are acceptable to all stakeholders. The Gates Group are using a holistic approach to investigate the socio-technical dimensions of oil sands innovation. The innovative research would lead to a wider deployment of sustainable techniques in oil sands operations, and can potentially increase the volume of production and reduce the aggregate environmental footprint of the oil sands industry.
Biography
Dr. Gates joined the department of chemical and petroleum engineering at the University of Calgary in 2004 after working a total of 7 years in industry. He is a registered professional engineer (PEng) in the Province of Alberta and has been a consultant for many small and large energy companies both in Canada and internationally. Dr. Gates holds a BSc with distinction (University of Calgary) and an MASc (University of British Columbia) in chemical engineering, as well as a PhD in chemical engineering with a minor in mathematics from the University of Minnesota.
His current research interests are in heavy oil and oil sands recovery process design and optimization, thermal (SAGD and CSS) and thermal-solvent (ES-SAGD, SA-CSS) oil recovery processes, cold production of heavy oil with sand (CHOPS) and follow-up process design, reservoir engineering and simulation, reservoir process optimization, reactive reservoir processes and simulation, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, biofilm evolution in porous media, and bioreactor design (think of the reservoir as a bioreactor). Previous work includes: design of thermal and thermal-solvent recovery processes, thermal and compositional reservoir simulation, automated optimization of recovery processes, analysis of steam and steam-solvent transport in depletion chambers in oil sands processes, thermal-solvent gravity drainage oil recovery processes (simulation and physical model experiments), steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), solvent-enhanced steam-assisted gravity drainage (ES-SAGD), cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), optimization of steam scheduling, genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, modeling and experimentation of coating flows, analysis of free surface flows by using the Galerkin/finite element method, linear stability analysis of free surface flows, coating flows.
Publications
For list of current and past publications (peer-reviewed, some conferences, and patents), please view my Google Scholar webpage
Awards
Killam Annual Professor Award, Professorship recognizing research and teaching excellence and service to the University of Calgary and wider academic community (includes $10,000 award),2018
SSE Graduate Educator Award, Awarded for excellence in graduate mentorship and training by the Schulich School of Engineering, 2017
SPE Regional Award for Reservoir Description and Dynamics, Society of Petroleum Engineers Regional (Canada) Award, 2017
Schulich School of Engineering Research Achievement Award, Faculty Award, 2017
Schulich School of Engineering Teaching Achievement Award, Faculty Award, 2017
Winner ASTECH Award, Category: Innovation in Oil Sands Research, Sponsored by Syncrude Canada Ltd. (includes $10,000 award), 2016
UofC Peak Scholar Patent Recognition Award, Recognized for patents awarded, 2016
Recognition for Outstanding Teaching Performance for ENPE571 (Unconventional Oil), Awarded for excellence in teaching by the Schulich School of Engineering, 2015
Schulich School of Engineering Mentoring Excellence Award 2014
- Faculty Award: Awarded for excellence in providing significant, positive impact through mentoring
Recognition for Achievements for Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2014
- Recognized for achievements in startup ventures, commercialization and technology transfer
Outstanding Teaching Performance for ENCH501 (Transport Phenomena) 2014
- Awarded for excellence in teaching by the Schulich School of Engineering
Professor of the Year, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering 2014
- Student-Elected Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching
- Elected by final year chemical and oil & gas undergraduate students
Third and Fourth Year Engineering Students Excellence in Teaching Award 2013
- Student-Elected Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching
- Elected by third and fourth year chemical and oil & gas undergraduate students
Killam Innovation in Teaching Award 2013
- Awarded by the Killam Trust and the University of Calgary
Achievement in Innovation 2012
- Awarded by the University of Calgary and Innovate Calgary
Third and Fourth Year Engineering Students Excellence in Teaching Award 2011
- Student-Elected Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching
- Elected by third and fourth year chemical and oil & gas undergraduate students
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Round 6 Winner (Jointly with Dr. Michael Kallos, ChemE & PetE) 2011
Schulich School of Engineering Departmental Teaching Excellence Award 2010
- Faculty Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching within Department
First and Second Year Engineering Students Excellence in Teaching Award 2010
- Student-Elected Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching ENGG201
- Elected by first and second year undergraduate students
Schulich School of Engineering Common Core Teaching Excellence Award 2009
- Faculty Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching among Common Core Courses
Schulich School of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award 2009
- Faculty Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching over all Departments
Winner ASTECH 2009 Award: Category: Outstanding Commercial Achievement in Alberta Science and Technology (gross sales < $25M) for Gushor Inc. (University of Calgary Spin-off Company; co-Founder; Gushor was sold to Schlumberger in June 2013)
Dr. R.M. Butler Memorial Best Paper Award 2008 Winner; Presented 2009
- Title: Impact of Steam Trap Control on Performance of Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage
- SPE/Petroleum Society of Canada, Canadian International Petroleum Conference
Early Research Excellence Award, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary 2009
- Faculty Award: Awarded for excellence in research
First and Second Year Engineering Students Excellence in Teaching Award 2008
- Student-Elected Award: Awarded for excellence in teaching ENGG201
- Elected by first and second year undergraduate students
Dr. R.M. Butler Memorial Best Paper Award 2006 First Runner Up
- Title: The origin, prediction and impact of oil viscosity heterogeneity on the production characteristics of tar sand and heavy oil reservoirs
- Petroleum Society of Canada, Canadian International Petroleum Conference
Oil and Gas Professor of the Year 2004
- Student Elected Award: Awarded for oil and gas engineering capstone design course
- Elected by undergraduate students in final year of oil and gas engineering program