The OU Reservoir Geomechanics & Seismicity Research group had a very busy summer with some high-impact experimental and numerical research on reservoir geomechanics. The group also attended three major conferences to present its research.
The Group played an active role in the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) 52nd Conference held in Seattle, Washington, June 17-20. MPGE professor Ahmad Ghassemi, the Chair of ARMA’s Awards Committee and a member of the Organizing Committee, along with seven graduate students attended the conference. The group presented a total of 9 papers involving multiple topics: induced seismicity, 3D hydraulic fracturing modeling, brittleness evaluation, fracture propagation and coalescence, EGS stimulation, etc. Prof. Ghassemi also co-chaired three technical sessions. OU was further recognized for its involvement in making the symposium a success through high-quality volunteer work with five MPGE Ph.D. students (Qian Gao, Lianbo Hu, Zhi Ye, Amir Kamali and Behzad Hemami).
Prof. Ghassemi and two Ph.D. students, Varahanaresh Sesetty and Zhi Ye, attended the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) held in Houston, Texas ion July 23-25. This year the group presented 2 papers separately exhibiting a P3D hydraulic fracture model for anisotropic shale, and an advanced fracture propagation and coalescence experiment proving mixed-mode fracture propagation during stimulation.
In addition, Prof. Ghassemi served the technical committee of SPE Forum on Geomechanics: Drilling and Completion Geomechanics (Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 8-13) where he co-chaired one technical session and served as a discussion leader for another theme.