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EME Faculty

Bio

Biographical Sketch

Turgay Ertekin has had extensive experience with the development and application of fluid flow models in porous media. He has been deeply involved in the mathematical modeling of flow problems using various techniques for more than 30 years. He has taught courses in fluid flow dynamics in porous media at the graduate and undergraduate levels and has directed the research work of graduate students on reservoir modeling and reservoir engineering. His research efforts with his graduate students have produced 27 Ph.D. and 64 M.S. theses, while two M.S. and five Ph.D. students' research works are still in progress. Ertekin has given more than 200 invited lectures, paper presentations and seminars and more than 25 workshops and short courses throughout the world, and has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications including four books and four book chapters. Ertekin has served on the Society of Petroleum Engineers Editorial Board holding various positions including a two-year term as the Executive Editor of the Formation Evaluation Journal and currently is an Associate Editor of the Reservoir Engineering Journal.

Academic Positions

Educational Background

Ph.D. (Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering), The Pennsylvania State University, 1978

M.Sc. (Petroleum Engineering), Middle East Technical University, 1971

B.Sc. (Petroleum Engineering), Middle East Technical University, 1969

Active Research Projects

Turgay Ertekin's current research deals with the flow of gases in unconventional gas reservoirs, coal seam degasification process, well test analysis for composite reservoirs, enhanced oil recovery techniques, and artificial neural network applications in petroleum and natural gas engineering. Ertekin has developed several multiphase, compositional, multidimensional isothermal and nonisothermal numerical flow models that simulate the performance and applicability of some thermal and nonthermal recovery techniques in petroleum reservoirs.

Selected Publications

Books

1. Gas Well Testing: Theory, Practice and Regulations. Co-author: D. A. T. Donohue, Publisher: IHRDC, Boston, MA, 1982, 212 pages. (Also published as E&P Video Library Module, IHRDC, Boston, MA, 1990, 214 pages.)
2. Technical Editor Workshop Coursebook, Society of Petroleum Engineers, 125 pages, Dallas, Texas (March 1992).
3. Reservoir Simulation. Co-Author: M. A. Adewumi. E&P Video Library Modules, IHRDC, Boston, MA, 1995, 166 pages.
4. Basic Applied Reservoir Simulation. Co-Authors: J. H. Abou-Kassem and G. R. King. Textbook Series, Society of Petroleum Engineers Publications Department, Dallas, Texas, 2001, 406 pages.

Chapters in Books

1. Principles of Numerical Simulation of Oil Reservoirs-An Overview. Heavy Crude Oil Recovery. Edited by E. Okandan, NATO Advanced Study Institute Series. Chapter 11, pp. 379-408. Martins Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague (April 1984).
2. Oil and Natural Gas Drilling and Transportation: Environmental Problems and Control. Environmental Consequences of Energy Production. Co-Author: M. A. Adewumi. Edited by Shyamal K. Majumdar, Fred J. Brenner and E. Willard Miller. Chapter 11, pp. 141-163. The Pennsylvania Academy of Science Publications (May 1987).
3. Underground Storage of Natural Gas: Theory and Practice. Edited by M. R. Tek, NATO Advanced Study Institute Series. Part II, Chapter 2, pp. 76-91. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands (September 1989).
4. Structural Properties of Coal Controlling the Coalbed Methane Production. Co-Authors: W. Sung and H. I. Bilgesu. Edited by Douglas C. Peters. Chapter III in EMD Coal Volume on Geology in Coal Resource Utilization, pp. 105-124. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tech-Books, Fairfax, Virginia (December 1991).

Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Sams, N.W., G. Bromhal, S. Jikich, T. Ertekin and D. Smith. Field - Project Designs for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration and Enhanced Coalbed Methane Production. Energy and Fuels (September 2005).
2. Ertekin, T. and N. Silpngarmlers. Optimization of Formation Analysis and Evaluation protocols Using Neuro-Simulation. J. Petroleum Science and Engineering, V.49 Issues 3-4, pp. 97-109 (December 2005).
3. Bromhal, G.S., W. N. Sams, S. Jikich, T. Ertekin, D. H. Smith. Simulation of CO₂ Sequestration in Coal beds: The Effects of Sorption Isotherms. Chemical Geology, 217 (2005), pp 201-211.
4. Ayala, L. F. and T. Ertekin, M. A. Adewumi. Compositional Modeling of Retrograde Gas-Condensate Reservoirs in Multi-Mechanistic Flow Domains. SPEJ 2005, pp.480-487 (December 2006).
5. Ayala, L. F. and T. Ertekin, M. A. Adewumi. Study of Gas/Condensate Reservoir Exploitation Using Neurosimulation. SPEJ 2007, pp. 140-149 (April 2007).
6. Gorucu, F. B., S. A. Jikich, G. S. Bromhal, W. N. Sams, T. Ertekin and D. H. Smith. Effects of Matrix Shrinkage and Swelling on the Economics of Enhanced Coalbed Methane Production and CO₂ Sequestration in Coal, SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering J. pp. 382-392 (August 2007).
7. Ayala, L. F. and T. Ertekin. Neuro-Simulation Analysis of Pressure Maintenance Operations in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs, JPSE 58 (2007) 207-226 August 2007).
8. Ayala, L. F. and T. Ertekin, M. A. Adewumi. Numerical Analysis of Multi-mechanistic Flow Effects in Naturally Fractured Gas-Condensate Systems, JPSE 58(2007) 13-29 (August 2007).
9. Sams, W. N., G. Bromhal, S. A. Jikich, T. Ertekin, D. H. Smith. Using Horizontal Wells to Sequester CO₂ and Enhanced Coalbed Methane Recovery: A Simulation Study of Operating Procedures. E-Journal of Reservoir Engineering, Vol 1, No.1 (2008).
10. Ertekin, T. and L. F. Ayala. Numerical Analysis of Retrograde Gas Behavior in Fissured Systems: The Single-Block Model. Petroleum Science and Technology 26:1141-1160, (July 2008).

Recent Activities and Awards

Activities

• Member, Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME (1974-present).
• Member, Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (1984-present).
• Member, American Society for Engineering Education (1995-present).
• Member, Petroleum Society of CIM (2001-present).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions

• The Pennsylvania State University, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson Outstanding Teaching Award (April 1982).
• Quentin E. and Louise L. Wood Fellow in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (1990-2001).
• The Pennsylvania State University Graduate Faculty Teaching Award (April 1995).
• Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty (September 1998).
• The Pennsylvania State University, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson Outstanding Service Award (May 1999).
• The Pennsylvania State University Twenty-Five Years Service Award (December 2000).
• George E. Trimble Chair in Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University (2001-present).
• Society of Petroleum Engineers Lester C. Uren Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Technology of Petroleum Engineering (October 2001).
• Elected as Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Member by the Board (October 2001).
• Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer (September 2004 - May 2005).
• The Pennsylvania State University, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson Award for Excellence in Research (April 2004).
• Society of Petroleum Engineers Publications Division "A Peer Apart" Award (November 2007).
• Society of Petroleum Engineers Publications Division "Outstanding Associate Editor Award" (August 2008).

Research Interests

• Advanced reservoir simulation models
• Artificial expert system applications in reservoir engineering
• Coalbed methane degasification
• Pressure transient analysis applications in complex reservoir systems
• Unconventional gas and oil reservoirs

Teaching

EM SC 100S - Earth and Mineral Sciences First-Year Seminar (3)

P N G 425 - Principles of Well Testing and Evaluation (3)

P N G 430 - Reservoir Modeling (3)

P N G 490 - Introduction to Petroleum Engineering Design (1)

P N G 492 - Petroleum Engineering Capstone Design (1)

P N G 511 - Numerical Solution of the Partial Differential Equations of Flow in Porous Media (3)

P N G 512 - Numerical Reservoir Simulation (3)