![[Left to right] Ganesh Thakur, NAE, Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Engineering and the Director of UH Energy Industrial Partnerships, and George K. Wong, Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Graduate Studies Director, are lead PIs for four grants totaling more than $1 million from the Ocean Energy Safety Institute.](/sites/ccoe.egr.uh.edu/files/images/news/2025/thakur-and-wong-01-crop.jpg "[Left to right] Ganesh Thakur, NAE, Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Engineering and the Director of UH Energy Industrial Partnerships, and George K. Wong, Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Graduate Studies Director, are lead PIs for four grants totaling more than $1 million from the Ocean Energy Safety Institute.")
A pair of professors in the Petroleum Engineering Department of the Cullen College of Engineering have received four Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) grants totaling $1.1 million for works on reservoirs and analysis of past efforts to effectively produce high impact deepwater Gulf of America (GoA) reservoirs.
The PIs for the projects will be Ganesh Thakur, NAE, Distinguished Professor and the Director of UH Energy Industrial Partnerships; and George K. Wong, Associate Professor and Graduate Studies Director. Funding was approved on July 31 as part of the OESI TRUST (Technical Response for Urgent and Significant Topics) initiative.
The four grants are:
- “Statistical Analysis and Lookback Study — Paleogene,” PI: George Wong, $175,477.
- “Reservoir Simulations with One Factor at a Time (OFAT) Methodology Study: — Non-Paleogene,” PI: Ganesh Thakur, $359,021.
- “Reservoir Simulations with Multiple Variable Methodology Study — Non-Paleogene,” PI: Ganesh Thakur, $359,021.
- “Statistical Analysis and Lookback Study — Non-Paleogene,” PI: Ganesh Thakur, $249,489.
According to a Statement of Work filed by Thakur and Wong, there are three research objectives for the projects.
- Utilize simulation to quantify the relative impact of different reservoir parameters to EUR (estimated ultimate recovery) between commingled zones in Gulf of America (GoA) formations.
- Utilize simulation to apply a targeted multiple variable methodology to compare commingled and sequential production schemes and impact to EUR for different reservoir types in the GoA.
- Utilize statistical analyses and lookback findings within GoA fields and fault blocks, to systematically compare and contrast production strategies based on production data, reservoir parameters and other critical factors.
Research connected to the grants began on Aug. 1, with a draft simulation expected to be completed by the end of November. Final simulation study results are projected to be completed in a fast-paced environment by February 2026, with time management being absolutely critical for this research project.