Dandina Rao
Emmett C. Wells Jr. Distinguished Professor
Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering
Louisiana State University
3209W Patrick F. Taylor Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225-578-6037 / Fax: 225-578-8433
Educational Background
- June 1983 - Ph.D. in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, The University of Calgary.
- May 1977 - M.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan.
- April 1974 - B. Tech. (Honors with Distinction): Chemical Engineering, Osmania University, India.
Employment History
- 2008 - Present Professor - Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
- August 2004-2008 Associate Professor - Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
- January 1999 - August 2004 - Assistant Professor - Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
- January 1998 - December 1998 - Principal Petroleum Engineer, TRW/BDM Petroleum Technologies, Bartlesville, OK.
- April 1997 - December 1997 - Staff Engineer, HydroFlame Engineering Consultants, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- June 1986 - March 1997 - Petroleum Recovery Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- January 1986 - June 1986 - Research Engineer, Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- April 1984 - December 1985 - Senior Engineer, Budra Research Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- July 1983 - March 84: Research Associate, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, The University of Calgary.
- September 1978 - April 1984 - Instructor - Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Research Interests
- Reservoir Engineering
- Characterization of reservoir wettability at subsurface conditions
- Measurements of dynamic contact angles and gas-oil, oil-brine, and brine-gas interfacial tensions at elevated pressures and temperatures
- Spreading, adhesion and stability of wetting films in reservoir rock-fluids systems
- Applicability of Zisman-spreading, critical spreading tension and line-tension concepts in solid-liquid-liquid-gas systems
- Correlation of wettability with relative permeability measurements
- Enhanced Oil Recovery
- Development of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) process
- Demonstration of the GAGD process in a Louisiana oil field
- Development of Nitrogen-GAGD process for offshore oil fields
- Enhancement of oil recovery by reservoir wettability alteration
- Relative permeability effects in chemicals floods
- Flue gas/CO2-GAGD for heavy oil recovery
- Field demonstration of HydroFlame technology for efficient heavy oil recovery
- Further development of the Vanishing Interfacial Tension (VIT) technique for gas-oil miscibility determination