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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><img width="600" height="171" style="width:6.25in;height:1.7812in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.png@01DB40D7.9A8734A0" alt="Dissertation Defense Announcement at the Cullen College of Engineering"></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#C8102E;mso-ligatures:none">Characterizing and Modeling the Pore Space of Conventional Reservoir Rocks Using Rate-Controlled Porosimetry and 2-D Rock Images</span></b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#C8102E;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Jeffrey Kojo Mbia Daniels</span></b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">December 3<sup>rd</sup>, 2024; 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. (CST)<br>
Location: Technology Bridge, Building 9, Room 140</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19*3ameeting_MzFkMTE3OWQtOTE3Yy00NWIzLWFmMDMtZTA2MWE2YjFmNzZl*40thread.v2/0?context=*7b*22Tid*22*3a*22170bbabd-a2f0-4c90-ad4b-0e8f0f0c4259*22*2c*22Oid*22*3a*2219cd64ca-67c2-4e7a-839a-5900fabbde08*22*7d__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUl!!LkSTlj0I!Hiy_GXIhY3fxgCYzzq-6ZfU9L1qLgab74_tFnqmRtzqH0iIogSBgnfC2ZOzy9HawkqbjyNsmt1kynJGQz2KzNoIe0J8$"><span style="color:blue">Virtual
Microsoft Teams Meeting Link </span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Committee Chair:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
Michael T. Myers, Ph.D.</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Committee Members:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
Lori A. Hathon, Ph.D. | Mohamed Y. Soliman, Ph.D. | Kyung Jae Lee, Ph.D. | John W. Dudley II, Ph.D.</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#C8102E;mso-ligatures:none">Abstract</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#C8102E;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">The pore structure of conventional reservoir rocks significantly determines their flow and transport properties and warrants comprehensive understanding to optimize
hydrocarbon recovery and geologic CO<sub>2</sub> storage. Traditional methods of comprehensive pore structure characterization require integrating data from multiple characterization techniques, making the process financially and computationally expensive.
This dissertation explores integrating the analyses of rate-controlled porosimetry and digitized thin sections as an efficient and cost-effective pore structure characterization approach. We designed and constructed a bespoke Apparatus for Pore Examination
(APEX) with high pressure and volumetric resolutions to infer micropores and larger-sized pores from rate-controlled capillary pressure measurements. The capability of an APEX to infer micropores represents a state-of-the-art advance. Two right circular cylindrical
core plug samples widely considered as benchmarks were tested: the Berea Sandstone and the Indiana Limestone. Wavelet-based closure effect correction techniques were developed for their rate-controlled capillary measurements to allow for reliable pore space
statistical inferences. Two-dimensional pore network models were developed using the proposed pore structure characterization approach to estimate single-phase permeability. Finally, fractal analysis was used to quantitatively describe their pore structure
heterogeneity from the rate-controlled capillary measurements and digitized thin sections. The closure pressure levels determined by the wavelet-based closure effect correction techniques consistently agreed and aligned with values published in the literature.
Their pore structure characteristics, including their capillary pressure increments, were observed to follow non-Gaussian distributions and exhibit power-law behavior with extreme tails. The magnitude spectra of their rate-controlled capillary curves were
observed to follow “1/<i>f</i> <sup>â</sup>” scaling, indicative of their fractal characteristics. The single-phase permeabilities predicted from their two-dimensional pore network models closely agreed with their experimentally measured values (i.e., considered
acceptable within a factor of 2). The findings suggest that integrating the analyses of rate-controlled porosimetry and 2-D rock images for the pore structure characterization and modeling of conventional reservoir rocks is a promising and cost-effective approach
that allows for a robust understanding of their pore structure and its impact on fluid flow behavior to optimize hydrocarbon recovery and site selection for geologic CO<sub>2</sub> storage.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><img border="0" width="600" height="82" style="width:6.25in;height:.8541in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.png@01DB40D7.9A8734A0" alt="Engineered For What's Next"></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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