Ergun Kuru, PhD, PEng

Area of Study / Keywords

Petroleum Engineering

About

EDUCATION

• PhD Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, U.S.A., 1990.
• MSc Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, U.S.A., 1985.
• BSc Petroleum Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Turkey, 1982.

Research

RESEARCH INTEREST

Development of Effective Hole Cleaning Strategies for Oil and Gas Well Applications; Turbulent Flow of Newtonian / Non-Newtonian (Drag Reducing/ Pseudoplastic/ Yield Power Law/ Viscoelastic) Fluids in Pipes and Annuli; Drilling Optimization; Design and Development of Non-Damaging Fluids for Oil/Gas Well Drilling, Completion and Stimulation Applications; Development of Effective Strategies for Unloading Gas Wells; Problems Associated with Long Term Integrity of Plugged and Abandoned Wells.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Investigating Combined Effects of Fluid Rheological Properties and Near-Wall Turbulence for Developing Effective Hole Cleaning Strategies

• Turbulent Flow of Non-Newtonian Fluids (Drag Reducing/ Pseudoplastic/Yield Power law/ Viscoelastic Fluids) in Horizontal Pipes and Annuli – Experimental Investigation Using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)
• CFD Study of Turbulent Flow of Non-Newtonian Fluids (Drag Reducing / Pseudoplastic /Yield Power Law / Viscoelastic Fluids) in Pipes and Annuli
• Hole Cleaning with Non-Newtonian Fluids (Drag Reducing/ Pseudoplastic/Yield Power law/ Viscoelastic Fluids) in Pipes and Annuli
• Particle Settling Velocity in Non-Newtonian Fluids (Drag Reducing/ Pseudoplastic/ Yield Power law/ Viscoelastic Fluids)

Conceptual Design and Development of a Non-Invasive Drilling, Well Completion, and Well Stimulation Fluids

• Design and Development of Aqueous/Non-Aqueous Aphron Based Fluids
• Investigating Fluid Extensional Viscosity as a Mechanism of Building Internal Filter Cake

Comprehensive Study of Factors Controlling Frac Fluid Load Recovery

• Experimental Investigation of Factors Controlling Frac Fluid Retainment in Propped Fractures
• Experimental Investigation of Spontaneous Imbibition in Oil/Gas Producing Shales
• Experimental Investigation of Proppant Transport and Distribution in Rough Fractures

Development of Effective Strategies for Unloading Gas Wells

• Experimental Investigation of Annular Two-Phase Flow in Vertical Wells – PIV Application
• Mechanistic Modeling/CFD Study of Annular Two-Phase Flow in Vertical Wells

Integrated Modeling of Geomechanical, Hydraulic, Thermal and Chemical Response of Wellbore Systems for Assessment of Long Term Integrity of Plugged and Abandoned Wells

• Analytical and numerical modeling studies to characterize cement sheath damage and determine critical stress conditions yielding micro cracks at the cement/casing, cement/formation interfaces as well as in the cement sheath.
• Experimental, analytical and numerical modeling studies to investigate efficiency of fluid-fluid (for mud removal) and fluid/solid (for mud cake-cuttings removal) displacement process in irregular wellbores.

Teaching

TEACHING INTEREST

• Drilling Engineering
• Well Control
• Well Design and Completion
• Well Logging and Formation Evaluation
• Production Engineering