Duane A. McVay
Associate Professor
Holder of the Mike and Heidi Gatens Development Professorship in Unconventional Resources

3116 TAMU - 401 P Richardson Building

College Station, TX 77843-3116

Phone: (979) 862-8466

Fax: (979) 845-1307

e-mail: duane.mcvay@pe.tamu.edu

Dr. Duane A. McVay conducts research and teaches courses in the areas of applied reservoir simulation and integrated reservoir management. He joined the department in August 1999. Dr. McVay is the lead investigator on two DOE-sponsored research projects and a Joint Industry Project funded by operating and service companies. He has been instrumental in the development and teaching of graduate and senior-level design courses in Integrated Reservoir Studies; these are multi-disciplinary courses involving faculty and students in geology, geophysics and petroleum engineering. He has served on various committees for the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and is 2003 Chair of the Education, Training and Professionalism Program Subcommittee.

• Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1994
• M.S., Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1982
• B.S., Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1980

Dr. McVay worked for over 16 years with S. A. Holditch & Associates, Inc. (SAH), a petroleum engineering consulting firm. He served in various capacities at SAH, including Senior Vice President and Technology Specialist, where he oversaw the company´s application of reservoir modeling technology worldwide. He supervised and conducted integrated reservoir studies involving multi-disciplinary teams of geophysicists, geologists, petrophysicists, and engineers to optimize reservoir depletion plans for industrial and government clients. He also supervised the group responsible for the development and support of the company's commercial reservoir simulation software.

• Applied reservoir simulation
• Integrated reservoir studies
• Reservoir management
• Reservoir simulation software development

• Advanced Technology for Infill and Recompletion Candidate Well Selection. Sponsor: U.S. DOE Stripper Well Consortium. $125,277 (May 2002 to May 2003). The objectives of this research are to develop improved technology to rapidly assess infill and recompletion potential in marginal oil and gas fields. The improved technology will be applied in Cut Bank Field, Montana, operated by Quicksilver Resources, to demonstrate the utility of production data analysis in stripper oil and gas fields. (PIs: D.A. McVay, W.B. Ayers, Jr., J.L. Jensen, R. Gibson).
• CO2 Sequestration Potential of Texas Low-Rank Coals. Sponsor: U.S. DOE. $360,000 (Sept. 2002 to Aug. 2004). The objectives of this research are to evaluate the feasibility and the environmental and economic impacts of sequestration of CO2 in Texas low-rank coal beds. The project objectives will be achieved by combining analysis of volumes and composition of Texas power plant flue gases, detailed characterization of prospective coal beds, and computer simulation of CO2 sequestration in the coals. (PIs: D.A. McVay, W.B. Ayers, Jr., J.L. Jensen).
• Natural Gas Reservoir Characterization and Management. Sponsor: Multiple operating and service companies. $40,000 (Jan. 2002 to Dec. 2003). This is a newly formed joint industry project (JIP) and currently has two member companies. The overall objective of this JIP is to develop improved technology for natural gas reservoir characterization, production and management that will enable more cost-effective discovery and production of natural gas. Active research areas include cost-effective gas reservoir characterization using electrofacies-based quality mapping, rapid history matching of gas reservoirs, rapid assessment of infill drilling and recompletion potential, and hydraulic fracturing. (PIs: D.A. McVay, A. Datta-Gupta)

• Hui Gao – Ph.D.
• Elyezer Lolon – Ph.D.
• Guohong Zhang – Ph.D.
• Anthony Aniekwena – M.S.
• Linhua Guan – M.S.
• Bulent Izgec – M.S.
• Luke Saugier – M.S.

• PETE 400, Reservoir Description (coordinator). Senior-level, multidisciplinary capstone design course taught to students in petroleum engineering, geology and geophysics.
• PETE 401, Applied Reservoir Simulation (coordinator). Senior design course on application of reservoir simulators to petroleum engineering problems.
• PETE 611, Application of Petroleum Reservoir Simulation (coordinator). Graduate course on application of reservoir simulators to petroleum engineering problems.
• PETE 685, Integrated Reservoir Studies (coordinator). Graduate multidisciplinary design course taught to students in petroleum engineering, geology and geophysics.

• Alvarez, C.H., Holditch, S.A., and McVay, D.A.: "Effects of Non-Darcy Flow on Pressure Transient Analysis of Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells," paper SPE 77468 presented at the 2002 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, 29 Sept.-2 Oct.
• Guan, L., McVay, D.A., Jensen, J.L., and Voneiff, G.W.: "Evaluation of a Statistical Infill Candidate Selection Technique," paper SPE 75718 presented at the 2002 SPE Gas Technology Symposium, Calgary, Alberta, April 30-May 2.
• McVay, D. A. and Spivey, J. P.: "Optimizing Gas Storage Reservoir Performance," SPEREE (June 2001) 173-178.
• McVay, D.A., Valkó, P.P., Lee, W.J., Jensen, J.L., and Bowman, C.H.: "A Relational Database for Engineering Curriculum Management," paper presented at the 2001 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Section Annual Conference, College Station, Texas, March 28-30.
• Lee, W. J., Kuo, T. B., Holditch, S. A., and McVay, D. A.: "Estimating Formation Permeability From Single-Point Flow Data," Gas Reservoir Engineering, Reprint Series, SPE, Richardson, TX (1999) 52, 116-126.
• Yao, C.Y., Hill, N.C., and McVay, D.A.: "Economic Pilot-Floods of Carbonate Reservoirs Using a Pump-Aided Reverse Dump-Flood Technique," paper SPE 52179 presented at the 1999 SPE Mid-Continent Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, March 28-31.
• Hill, N. C., McVay, D. A., Illiassov, P. A., Morris, B. E., and Dickson, D. L.: "Integrated Reservoir Study Optimizes Development for a Communicating Gas, Volatile-Oil and Black-Oil Reservoir Complex," paper presented at the International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition of Mexico, EXITEP 98, Mexico City, November 15-18, 1998.
• McVay, D.A., Illiassov, P.A., Ayers Jr., W.B., Martin, R.B., Diyashev, I.R., Hunt, E.R., Lopez, A., Parra, N., Chacartegui, F., and Escorcia, F.: "Potential for Increased Oil Recovery in the Lower Misoa (Eocene Age) Formation (C-4 and C-5 sands) VLE 196 – Lamar Field Block V, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela," paper presented at the International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition of Mexico, EXITEP 98, Mexico City, November 15-18, 1998.
• Bastian, P. A., Gulick, K. E., Forrest, J. K., McVay, D. A., Mora, C. N., and Arguello, M. L.: "A Case History of an Integrated Study of a Mature Carbonate Waterflood," SPE 39841 presented at the 1998 SPE International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition of Mexico, Villahermosa, Mexico, March 3-5.

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