DACO Library presents Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, a Special Issue published by MDPI in 2025, comprising 13 peer-reviewed research articles covering a broad range of topics in petroleum and natural gas engineering. The collection addresses some of the industry's most pressing technical challenges, including drilling under complex geological conditions, hydraulic fracturing, wellbore stability, reservoir modeling, and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). A significant portion of the publication is also devoted to numerical methods, simulation techniques, and data-driven approaches for reservoir analysis and field development.
Collectively, these contributions provide a comprehensive overview of current research trends in petroleum engineering, highlighting the industry's growing emphasis on production optimization, operational risk reduction, and the adoption of advanced digital technologies to support engineering decision-making.
Highlights of the Research Collection
Wellbore Stability in Heterogeneous Formations
Examines wellbore failure mechanisms and critical drilling conditions in complex geological environments, with a focus on predicting wellbore instability.
Mechanical Modeling of Drilling-Induced Fractures
Presents numerical models for analyzing stress distribution around the wellbore and predicting formation behavior during drilling operations.
Optimization of Drilling Design in Sensitive Formations
Discusses engineering approaches to reducing drilling risks through improved operational pressure window design.
Drilling Fluid Behavior Under Non-Ideal Conditions
Investigates the influence of drilling fluid rheology on wellbore stability and drilling performance.
Hydraulic Fracturing in Low-Permeability Reservoirs
Explores fracture propagation modeling and techniques for enhancing productivity in unconventional reservoirs.
Optimization of Hydraulic Fracturing Design
Evaluates fluid selection and proppant design strategies to maximize fracture connectivity and reservoir stimulation efficiency.
Fluid Flow in Porous Media
Examines fluid transport within reservoir rocks using advanced numerical simulation techniques.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) in Mature Reservoirs
Reviews injection-based recovery methods and production optimization strategies for pressure-depleted reservoirs.
Reservoir Modeling with Limited Data
Introduces estimation techniques for developing reliable reservoir models when available data are constrained.
Computational Methods in Reservoir Engineering
Demonstrates the application of numerical simulation tools to forecast reservoir performance under various production scenarios.
Uncertainty Analysis in Reservoir Behavior
Investigates the sensitivity of key reservoir parameters and their impact on reservoir modeling accuracy.
Production Performance Evaluation Under Complex Conditions
Analyzes production behavior in heterogeneous and multiphase reservoirs through integrated engineering approaches.
Emerging Approaches to Reservoir Management and Optimization
Highlights the integration of reservoir modeling, data analytics, and engineering analysis to support more informed field development decisions.
Overview
This Special Issue represents a significant contribution to contemporary petroleum engineering research, focusing on three strategic themes: safe and sustainable drilling, hydraulic fracturing and reservoir stimulation, and reservoir modeling and production optimization. Collectively, the articles demonstrate how the petroleum industry is increasingly transitioning toward model-driven, data-informed, and simulation-based decision-making, reflecting the growing role of digital engineering technologies in improving operational efficiency and maximizing hydrocarbon recovery.
Guest Editors: Jiashue Li and Pengfei Zhao
Publisher: MDPI
Publication Year: 2025