Four Ph.D. students from the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering secured second place in the 2024 Chevron National Engineering Week Competition, held in February.
Abdulrahman Abdulwarith, Ahmed Kareb, Mohamed Gabry and Sameer Salasakar worked together to create their winning presentation. It focused on optimal AI applications in drilling engineering for enhancing the Rate of Penetration (ROP) and expediting well drilling, in reservoir engineering for accelerating Reservoir simulation models, and in production engineering for detecting Sucker rod failures and preventing the loss of oil production.
Hosted by the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, the virtual competition challenged participants to address "Best Use Cases using AI in the Petroleum Industry." A panel of expert judges evaluated each team based on their understanding of the problem, creativity in proposing solutions, research on currently available technologies, presentation quality, and the question-and-answer session.
Abdulwarith served as team lead throughout the competition. His Ph.D. research is supervised by Birol Dindoruk, the American Association of Drilling Engineers Endowed Professor of Petroleum Engineering & Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
“The competition provided a great opportunity to represent the University of Houston and the Department of Petroleum Engineering, showcasing our skills and applying what we've learned in petroleum engineering,” he said. “We utilized AI algorithms while adhering to engineering physics principles and integrating them with data-driven models.”
Kareb, who is also being advised by Dindoruk, said the focus on collaboration in their group was vitally important.
“The competition offered an excellent opportunity to demonstrate collaborative work through integrated approaches and knowledge sharing,” he said. “This collaboration was the key to our success.”
Mohamed Soliman, Professor and Department Chair for Petroleum Engineering, is the supervisor for Gabry's doctoral work.
“The competition provided an invaluable platform to showcase our innovative applications of AI in petroleum engineering,” Gabry said. “It was a rewarding experience to see our research come to life and make a real impact in the industry.”
Salasakar's doctoral research is being guided by Ganesh Thakur, Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Engineering.
“Participating in the competition was a testament to the effectiveness of collaborative efforts and the power of interdisciplinary approaches,” Salasakar said. “We were able to leverage AI techniques to address complex challenges in petroleum engineering.”
Chevron and USC have hosted the annual eWeek competition since 2014. This year marked a milestone for the University of Houston and the Petroleum Engineering departments as they participated and clinched the second place prize award.