Seyyed Abolfazl Hosseini

Seyyed Abolfazl Hosseini
Research Professor, Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences

Email: seyyed.hosseini@beg.utexas.edu
Work: +1 512 471 1534
Office: BEG 2.102S
Mailcode: E0620

Dr. Hosseini has B.Sc. in chemical engineering from University of Isfahan and MSc. in chemical engineering-biotechnology from Sharif University of Technology. He has PhD in petroleum engineering from University of Tulsa and has been a postdoctoral fellow at Texas A&M university.

Research interests are mainly topics related to fluid transport in porous media. Current research includes:
Enhanced Oil Recovery- Primary focus is on numerical simulation and reservoir (oil, gas and saline formations) characterization and modeling. This involves incorporating of multiple sources of information into the static models and history matching based on actual field data.
Enhanced Gas Recovery-Developing analytical equations for production and pressure build-up analysis due to CO2 injection into formation with residual gases.
Upscaling and Upgridding-Developing techniques to optimize models for better integration of micro-scale properties into simulation models especially dealing with new challenges in development of unconventional resources. I have been involved in developing a commercial Petrel plug-in for upgridding and upscaling of geological models(CONNECT).
AZMI monitoring- Developing new application based on available well testing techniques for Above Zone Monitoring Interval (AZMI) in CO2 sequestration sites.
Unconventional Reservoirs - Developing analytical models for fluid flow in finite scale cores to investigate laboratory observations.

Areas of Expertise

CO2 sequestration in saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields Reservoir Simulation and History Matching with focus on CCS Machin learning in subsurface applications for dynamic and static properties predictions.


Research Locations



Current Research Programs & Projects

SECARB Stacked Storage Test at Cranfield Field, MS ( view )CO2 Sequestration in Hydrocarbon Reservoirs ( view )The Sequestration Training, Outreach, Research and Education (STORE) ( view )Fluid Flow Modeling in Shale Gas Cores ( view )EASiTool ( view )

Grant for develping analytical simulation tools (PI- $ 995,000) - DOE-NETL (2013)

Career-Development Publications Award - GAAC, BEG (2011 - 2013)

Exceptional Talented Fellows Scholarship Award - Iranian Ministry of Science (2006 - 2008)

Best Oral Presentation Award - Iranian National Chemical Engineering Society (2005)

Committee member, GAAC Award Committee, BEG (2013 - Present)

Postdocs:

Sahar Bakhshian, 2018-2019, Currently: Research Associate at Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin
Baole Wen, 2017-2018, Currently: Postdoctoral Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Ali Goudarzi, 2016 - 2018, Currently: Technology/Intellectual Property Analyst at UT Austin Office of Technology Commercialization, UT Austin
Reza Ganjdanesh, 2015 - 2017, Currently: Research Associate at Center for Subsurface Energy & the Environment, UT Austin
Houman Bedayat, 2014 - 2015, Currently: Data Scientist at Amazon Alexa
Seunghee Kim, 2013 - 2014, Currently: Assistant Professor at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Neraska-Lincoln

Graduate students:

Ph.D., Dissertation Committee, Reza Ershadnia, Understanding of Methane Fate and Transport in Groundwater, Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2022
Ph.D., Dissertation Committee, Pooneh Hosseininoosheri, CO2 Trapping Mechanisms Assessment Using Numerical and Analytical Methods, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex., 2020
Ph.D. Dissertation committee, Hojung Jung, Analyses of Coupled Thermo-Chemo-Mechanical Processes for Safe Carbon Geological Storage, The University of Texas at Austin, Petroleum Engineering, 2017
Ph.D. Dissertation Committee, Sayantan Bhowmik, Particle Tracking Proxies for Prediction of CO2 Plume Migration Within a Model Selection Framework, University of Texas at Austin, Petroleum Engineering, 2013

Summer interns:

Masoud Alfi, TAMU
Mehrdad Alfi, TAMU
Alireza Sanaie, UT-Austin
Amirhossein Kamali, OU
Alex Tarakanov, TAMU
Mohameh Mehana, OU
Samir Prasun, LSU
Sassan Hajirezaie, Princeton

Visiting Scholars:

Mahmood Shakiba, UT Petroleum Engineering
Xueyan Liu, SCSIO
Hassan Dashtian, USC
Kristian Gundersen, University of Bergen
Dong Feng, Beijing University

Short-term projects:

Emmanuel Belostrino, B.Sc., Chemical Engineering
Ian M. Hanes, B.Sc., Hydro-geology
Kyle Goncalves, B.Sc., Petroleum Engineering
Mahyar Shakiba, B.Sc., Chemical Engineering
Noah Binford, B.Sc., Geology
Margaret Murakami, B.Sc., Geology


Site characterization and reservoir history matching for geological CO2 Sequestration at the S3 site, NETL-DOE, Pittsburgh-PA (2012)

Monitoring, Verification and Accounting (MVA) for CO2 Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery, AAPG-SWS, Fort Worth-TX (2012)

Cranfield Phase III Modeling, Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Stakeholders, Atlanta, GA (2011)

Brine Reinjection into Shallower Aquifers during CO2 Sequestration: A Pressure Management Practice, NGWA Ground Water Summit, Baltimore, MD (2011)

Gas cap impact on CO2 plume migration for long-term storage in saline aquifers, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, San Antonio, TX (2010)

Analytical upgridding method to preserve dynamic flow behavior, SPE International Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, Denver, CO (2008)

Isolation of a new indigeneous thermophilic strain and investigation of its ability toward biodesulfurization, National Iranian Chemical Engineering Congress, Tehran,IR (2004)

Graduate Positions

Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
March 27, 2018
Postdoctoral Fellowship Position

The Bureau of Economic Geology in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin currently has long-term, funded projects on the environmental implications of CO2 sequestration. We are currently recruiting recent Ph.D. scientists or engineers for a postdoctoral fellowship position.

Position: Numerical and Analytical Modeling of Fluid Flow in Porous Media Related to CO2 Injection

General topics of research is related to reservoir fluid flow modeling and simulations in CO2-EOR/Sequestrations settings with various focuses including history matching, optimization algorithms, regional geomechanics and economics related to oil and gas production. We are interested in outstanding fellowship applicants with direct experience in reservoir simulation using commercial packages specially CMG package (all modules). Experience in running simulations in parallel environment is a plus. Candidates must have interest in theoretical analyses and mathematical modeling of fluid flow problems. Strong and deep understanding of fundamentals of reservoir engineering and coding skills in Matlab, Python or other relevant programing languages are required. We anticipate that the successful candidate will have formal training in petroleum engineering or related fields.

Successful candidate will be part of Gulf Coast Carbon Center (GCCC), an interdisciplinary team of research geologists and engineers who conduct CO2-sequestration research at the Bureau of Economic Geology. GCCC is one of the world’s leading research groups in CO2 sequestration. Our Frio brine injection experiment was the first to monitor CO2 injection into brine, and we are currently involved in several large scale CO2 injection monitoring projects in the U.S. GCCC collaborates closely with faculty in departments across the UT-Austin campus, other universities, and U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories.

This position will be based in North Austin, at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, The University of Texas at Austin. Austin is often on the list of top 10 places to live in the U.S.

Please send a resume and a short expression of interest to:

Dr. Seyyed Abolfazl Hosseini
Email at: seyyed.hosseini@beg.utexas.edu

The University of Texas at Austin is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. All positions are security sensitive, and conviction verification is conducted on applicants selected.