Statement of Interest in Pursuing a PhD Degree in Hydraulic Fracturing

I write to express my interest in pursuing a PhD degree in hydraulic fracturing in the department of Mineral and Resource Engineering, DDD University. I am excited about the opportunities that abound for a research work in unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs and the impact of such work in enhancing optimal development and hydrocarbon recovery. I discussed my interests with Dr. John Doe, who has also obliged to serve as my supervisor should I be admitted into the doctorate program.

The role of shale oil, shale gas, tight oil and tight gas reservoirs, generally classified as unconventional reservoirs, in meeting with the ever-increasing energy demand has come under serious considerations in recent times. While significant successes have been achieved in getting some of these resources out of the ground, detailed understanding on the mechanisms that interplay in these types of reservoirs for their optimal productivity has not being thoroughly researched. This often result in significant hydrocarbons still left unrecovered after such reservoirs have been put to production using existing models and methods of recovery. In essence, there seems to be a need for better characterization of these unconventional reservoirs if they must be developed and produced optimally. It is on this premise I intend pursuing a PhD program with the hope of advancing knowledge that could help solve some part of the problem.

My interest in enhanced oil recovery and optimized production was sparked by a technical conference on oil and gas marginal fields I once attended in my home country, Nigeria. I learnt about how some multinational oil companies abandon or sell off assets which although are still rich in hydrocarbon resources, but production from s...

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...work as a PhD student. I am conversant with Visual Basic programming as well as Petrel for reservoir modeling in addition to data analysis tools in Excel.

I believe pursuing a PhD program will help broaden my knowledge and skill base and could help me contribute my quota to solving some oil and gas industry related problems. Also, I have a passion for teaching and research and I see myself staying in the academia after completing my PhD. I will not shy away either from industry based research positions if such opportunities come up in the future.

I will like to carry out my research work under the supervision of Dr. Garagash who has done extensive research in the area of hydraulic fracturing. I believe with his guidance I will be able to advance knowledge in the area of hydraulic fracturing for unconventional reservoirs.

Thank you for your consideration.