Contact Details

Telephone

work +44 (0)1224 272977

Email

amin.sharifi@abdn.ac.uk

Address

The University of Aberdeen Room FN147
School of Engineering
King's College
University of Aberdeen
Aberdeen AB24 3UE United Kingdom
 

Biography

PhD Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary

MEng Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary

Recipient of the College of Physical Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2017.

Research Interests

• Tight sand and shale development and production - modelling/optimising hydraulic fracturing process 
• Geomechanics of tight reservoirs
• Experimental investigation of foam-assisted EOR processes
• Thermal/non-thermal recovery from the heavy oil and conventional oil reservoirs (CSS, waterflood, thermal-solvent)
• Leakage from hydraulic fractures/wellbore integrity issues
• Multiphase flow in nanopores
• Well P&A (new material for well abandonment)

Research Grants:

• Development of a software package for optimisation of cement jobs for our client: Oil and Gas Innovation Centre/ Deltatek Global 2019
• Application of Nano-technology in oil recovery, The Royal Society 2017-2018
• Investigation of Nano-foam rheology at reservoir conditions, The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland 2017-2018
• Modelling oil recovery processes through smart waterflooding, Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) 2017-2020 
• Emerging enhanced oil recovery processes for carbonate reservoirs, Sudanese Ministry of Education 2017-2020
• Environmentally friendly drilling fluid designs for directional and deep water drillings, Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education, Ministry of Finance, Indonesia 2016-2019
• Development Trust Fund Chevron 2016

Prospective students:

I am always looking for motivated and independent PhD applicants with a strong technical/scientific background and interest in the above areas. If interested, please send by email (no phone calls please) a CV, and a statement of research interests (1 page). I will contact you if interested.

Also, if you are interested in Enhanced Oil Recovery processes (experimental/modelling)/geomechanics/ directional drilling and drilling fluids please send me a copy of your CV with your research interest.

Current Research

Hydraulic fracturing, developing FUSim, a Fracture Upscaling Simulator:

In this study, we developed FUSim, a simulator that can optimise drilling horizontal wells and production forecast from hydraulically fractured rocks (tight sands/shales). It uses any geomechanics software to propagate hydraulic fractures and produce geo-models to predict gas production or oil production/waterflood in this type of reservoirs. FUSim showed up to 20% cost reduction and production efficiency can be achieved with a more accurate fracturing optimisation.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of thermal EOR methods from heavy oil reservoirs:

This research focuses on the novel and economic thermally enhanced oil recovery processes from both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. Improving the rate of heat transfer and sweep efficiencies through the use of solvents and other additives are being examined. 

Investigation of foam stability and its applications in porous media (EOR methods):

Improving the performance of the CO2 injection process and also steam assisted thermal EOR methods is critical for oil and gas industry. The aim of this study is to analyse/improve the stability of foam at different temperature through the use of nanomaterials. The solutions of this research can potentially reduce the heat loss and costs associated with current gas injection or thermal processes for EOR methods. 

Application of nano-materials in drilling fluid design for deepwater reservoirs: 

This research aims to develop a chemically stable mud for deepwater drilling where hydrate formation is critical. Stable mud which can sustain required rheological properties for hole cleaning purposes is being investigated. Use of additives with suitable electrochemical properties is going to be examined.

Teaching Responsibilities

Courses taught:

Undergraduate level:

EG55HI: Enhanced Oil Recovery 

EG4013: MEng Individual Project

EP3595: Drilling and Well Engineering

Postgraduate level:

EG551W: Well & Production Engineering

EG551R/EG502B: Field Development & Petroleum Economics

EG501Y/EG55Q1: Enhanced Oil Recovery

Workshops and Talks:

• Petroleum Engineering Capacity Development-Unconventional Reservoirs

PetroChina-Canada, Calgary September 2014

• Invited talk on Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods (EOR)

Subsea Engineering Program, Aberdeen November 2016

•  Short course:An Introduction to Drilling in Heavy Oil, Oil Sands, Shale Gas Fields

EU funded capacity building project with University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Tanzania, Aberdeen April 2017

People

Dr Amin Sharifi 

I am a lecturer in the School of Engineering at the University of Aberdeen. My primary research interests are the experimental/theoretical analysis of multiphase flow and thermal processes in porous media, and modelling unconventional reservoirs. The focus of my work is developing solutions for enhanced recovery from unconventional shale and heavy oil reservoirs through understanding and examining them from pore- to macro-scale levels.

I work closely with local and international industry from Africa, Middle East, and North America to address the current problems in oil and gas industry and explore future opportunities. Before joining the University of Aberdeen, I worked on heavy oil recovery modelling and optimisation in collaboration with Devon Energy and Petroleum Technology Research Centre where we developed an in-house simulator for CHOPS reservoirs. 

Review assignments: Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Porous Media, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, ISH Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Petroleum Exploration & Production Technology

PhD External Examinations: 

The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Heriot-Watt University

Current members

PhD Students:

Rizky Novara (with Dr Roozbeh Rafati & Prof James Anderson)

Rizky obtained his BSc in Petroleum Engineering from ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology), Indonesia, in 2011. Then he received his MSc in Oil and Gas Engineering from the University of Aberdeen, 2014. He worked with LAPI-ITB, a foundation for research and industrial affiliation, conducting projects for oil industry in Indonesia, and as an academic assistant at the ITB before starting his PhD at the University of Aberdeen. He studies the application of nanoparticles in drilling fluids for deepwater drilling operations and in the Arctic conditions.

Ahmed Bashir

Ahmed received his BSc in Petroleum Engineering with a first class degree from University of Khartoum (2009) and completed his MSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Engineering at the University of Nottingham with distinction (2013). He worked as a well testing specialist in ASAWER Oil & Gas Company, and as a lecturer at the Dept of Petroleum Eng (U Khartoum) Sudan, before joining our group at the University of Aberdeen. His research focuses on the experimental investigation of foam application in enhanced oil recovery processes from unconventional reservoirs.

Joseph Sherratt

 

Linda Tatiana Lezama

Tatiana received her Bachelor’s & Master’s degrees in Petroleum Engineering, from the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon (UANL) and the University of Aberdeen respectively.Before joining to our group, she worked in Halliburton and Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), with the Coiled Tubing Services and the Formation and Reservoir Solutions teams. She is currently studying the phase behaviour of new surfactants, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of hazardous chemicals in oil and gas industry. 

 

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visiting Scholars

Natalie Boyou

Natalie is a PhD student in Petroleum Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and her research focuses on nano-enhanced fluids for wellbore cleaning in directional drilling. She obtained a B.Sc. in Physics with Electronics and an M.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering. During her visit to Aberdeen in summer 2018, she works on her analysis of cuttings transport efficiency.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former members

                                                                       

Connor Adam                                 Catherine Hendry                      Hussain Al-Momen

MEng Petroleum Engineering        MEng Petroleum Engineering          MEng Petroleum Engineering      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph Sherratt

MSc Reservoir Engineering, University of Aberdeen, 2016.

BSc Geophysics, Imperial College London, 2015.

Currenlty at the University of Aberdeen (PhD student).

 

Rafael Osorio

Rafael graduated with a BSc in Petroleum Engineering from the National University of Engineering in Peru and worked over 4 years in Geoscience and Reservoir Engineering areas before joining the University of Aberdeen. He received his MSc in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Aberdeen in November 2016 and his research was focused on reservoir characterisation through well test analysis. He developed a new series of type curves for characterisation of channelised heterolithic beds. 

Currently with USITEM - Chesterton (Fluid Sealing Specialist).

 

 

Publications 

View publications