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

PET E 664 - Advanced Drilling Engineering

Recent advances in drilling techniques. Optimization of drilling operational parameters, directional drilling and deviation control, design aspects of horizontal and multilateral well drilling, measurement while drilling, drill string mechanics, bottomhole assembly design, tubular stability, drag and torque problems. Prerequisite: PET E 364 or consent of instructor.

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