Formulation of Novel Drilling Fluid for Deep Water and Unconventional Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

Since production from conventional, easy-to-produce, hydrocarbon reserves has started to decline, extraction of unconventional resources has then become the focus of oil and gas industry. Offshore operations have also been moved further away from shallow and medium depths to deepwater regions. Deepwater drilling operations have been considered the most complex and expensive operations, which force the oil and gas industry to create more advanced technologies to adapt into harsher environments. Deepwater challenges, which are mainly resulted from the combination of narrow pressure window margin between pore and fracture pressure gradients and extreme temperature conditions, demand the development of a more rheologically-stable drilling fluid.

Recently, magnetically controllable fluids attracted a lot of attention in oil and gas industry due to interesting fundamental physics questions that can be answered with their application. In particular, the magnetoviscous effect and the effect of dipolar interactions on the dynamics, structure and phase transitions of such modified fluids.

In this research, the student needs to formulate a new range of magnetically controllable drilling fluids and evaluate their phase behaviour, rheological properties and rate of heat transfer during the mud circulation process.

The successful candidate should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum of a UK Honours degree at 2.1 or above (or equivalent) in Engineering, Chemistry, Geoscience.

Essential knowledge of: Engineering, Chemistry or Geoscience.

Desirable knowledge of: Petroleum Engineering and/or Chemistry.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Formal applications can be completed online: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply. You should apply for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, to ensure that your application is passed to the correct person for processing.

NOTE CLEARLY THE NAME OF THE SUPERVISOR AND EXACT PROJECT TITLE YOU WISH TO BE CONSIDERED FOR ON THE APPLICATION FORM.

Informal inquiries can be made to Dr R Rafati ([Email Address Removed]) with a copy of your curriculum vitae and cover letter. All general enquiries should be directed to the Postgraduate Research School ([Email Address Removed]).