Dr. David Alexander has been a lecturer and researcher at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) since 2007. He is currently the Overall Programme Leader of the Petroleum Engineering programmes at UTT. He has a wealth of experience in strategies for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions including enhanced oil recovery. Dr Alexander holds a BSc. in Chemistry/Analytical Chemistry and a M.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of the West Indies. He also holds a Ph.D. in the field of Petroleum Engineering from The University of Trinidad and Tobago in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Alexander is also a former Commissioner in the Environmental Commission of Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr. Donnie Boodlal is an Assistant Professor in Process Engineering. He holds a B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering, a Postgraduate Diploma in Petroleum Engineering, an M.Sc in Industrial Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management and a Ph.D in Process Engineering. His research efforts have been primarily focused on Environmental Management and Clean Production. His work on the Cost-Effective Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Trinidad and Tobago is highly rated and he is regarded nationally as being at the forefront of the field of sustainable emissions reductions. His work is well recognized locally and internationally. This recognition results in his frequent invitations to speak annually at the Trinidad Energy Conferences and the Caribbean Energy Conferences. Additionally, he has spoken at many international conferences and events. He is also a member of the Energy Chamber's Energy Efficiency and Alternate Energy Committee in Trinidad, a UNDP appointed expert in GHG Inventory and is well published in the field of Carbon Quantification and Management.

Dr. Ejae John is attached to the Heavy Oil Correlation aspect of the project.  She is an Associate Professor in Process Engineering at UTT. She completed her PhD in Process Chemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) and her BSc in Chemistry at American University (USA).  She has participated in interdisciplinary research (chemistry and chemical engineering) in industry and academia to address a wide variety of technical and environmental challenges. Her research interests include biofuel production, heavy oil recovery, alternative fuel blends, and sustainable processes.

Mr. Boodoo has been involved in the industry since 2000. His first five years were in the Operations group followed by twelve plus years in Resource Management group. The Resource Management group is responsible for the approval, monitoring and regulating of all Enhanced Oil Projects and for the quantification of the country’s oil and gas reserves and resources. He is currently a Senior Petroleum Engineer at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries.

Testimonial

The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) of Trinidad and Tobago is responsible for the long-term planning, development and implementation of policy initiatives in the petroleum sector. One of the main initiatives is to maximize recovery of our natural resources. This is achieved in part by promoting projects and studies of interest at our local Universities.

Two such projects are as follows.

1. A Techno-economic Analysis of Heavy Oil in Trinidad and Tobago, and
2. A Techno-economic Analysis of Carbon Management in Trinidad and Tobago through coupled Enhanced Oil Recovery and Geological Storage.

The MEEI believes that these projects are of national importance since they provide a route for carbon dioxide mitigation and reduction of emissions while enhancing our oil production and increasing our reserve base. Quantification of the heavy oil resource is critical in understanding our resource base and in developing a model to commercially exploit these resources. The results and recommendations coming out of these two projects will be applied to the industry and will ultimately increase our oil production from our oil reservoirs.

Professor Larry W. Lake has been a professor at the University of Texas at Austin particularly in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering since 1978.He also holds the W. A. "Monty" Moncrief Centennial Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the university and is the director of the Enhanced Oil Recovery Research program. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, at the Arizona State University in 1967. He also continued on to complete his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Rice University in 1973. His areas of interest in research include Fundamental Processes, Integrated Reservoir Characterization, Geostatistics, Reservoir Engineering and Enhanced Oil Recovery. Dr. Lake has published widely and frequently conducts industrial and professional society short courses in enhanced oil recovery and reservoir characterization. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 technical papers, 2 textbooks and the editor of 3 bound volumes. He is attached to the Heavy Oil Inventory project and offers his expertise in this area of research.

Dexter K Daniel - CFE, FCCA, CA Certified Fraud Examiner - Member of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners - ACFE (USA), he is also a Fellow of the Association Chartered Certified Accountants - ACCA (UK) as well as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Trinidad & Tobago - ICATT (T&T). He is currently employed with the Petroleum Company of Trinidad & Tobago (PETROTRIN) i.e. the national oil company of T&T. He has over 28 years of experience in the energy sector ranging from project management, offshore operations, supply chain management, and finance. His current portfolio serves as a Technical Advisor and management of contact with lead professors.

Jason Kanhai is primarily attached to the Heavy Oil GIS component of the project and assists with various other aspects of the Heavy Oil Inventory. He possesses a B.Sc. (Hons) Geology from the University of Western Ontario and MSc. Geoinformatics (GIS) from the University of the West Indies. In addition to GIS development, Jason has experience working in the oil & gas industry where he has developed his skills in geological mapping, prospect identification and production optimization. The project presented the ideal challenge of combining geology, production and reservoir elements with GIS in mapping their spatial distribution and significance in assessing remaining heavy oil reserves.

Joshua Ragoonanan is attached to the Heavy Oil Reservoir Simulation of the project but also contributes to other aspects of the Heavy Oil Inventory. He holds a Master of Engineering Degree in Petroleum Engineering obtained from The University of Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, Joshua has experience working in the upstream energy industry and also possesses knowledge in reservoir modeling and enhanced oil recovery simulation which assisted in the completion of the project. This project was of great interest to him because of the value that it adds to the economy of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jeneisha Hernandez is attached to the Carbon Management aspect of the project. Her educational background includes a NETD in Chemical Engineering and a M.Eng. in Petroleum Engineering both from The University of Trinidad and Tobago; also being enrolled as a MPhil/PhD student at the same university. Her area of expertise is reservoir engineering, energy economics, enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration. Ms. Hernandez has found this project to be very beneficial to the growth of T&T's economy; being an essential bridge between today's energy system and the long-term goal of relying solely on renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Dillon Ramsook is primarily involved in the Carbon Management Project with the roles of evaluating and comparing CO2 capture, conditioning and transport methods for enhanced oil recovery. Dillon attained a Masters of Engineering (M.Eng) in Process Engineering from The University of Trinidad and Tobago and possesses experience on techno-economic evaluations of process simulations from academic exposure. He believes the project would assist the country by providing essential empirical data for sustainable CO2 management techniques through carbon capture and storage.

Narishka Rampersad is attached to the Reservoir Simulation aspect of the Heavy oil project. She has completed her Masters in Petroleum Engineering as well as her Masters in Reservoir Engineering. Narishka Rampersad worked as a Petroleum Operations Engineer within the Energy sector and together with her reservoir simulation knowledge; she is able to contribute both experience and academic knowledge toward the Heavy Oil project. This project will be able to strengthen our oil and gas industry, while positioning Trinidad and Tobago for future growth.

Marsha Mohammed is attached to the Heavy Oil Viscosity Correlations aspect of the project. She is a Masters of Philosophy/Doctor of Philosophy candidate at The University of Trinidad and Tobago. She holds a Masters of Engineering (Hons.) in Process Engineering and a National Engineering Technician Diploma (NETD) in Chemical Engineering from The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Point Lisas. She has exceptional laboratory skills performing laboratory experiments on heavy oil such as specific gravity, viscosity, centrifugation and SARA analysis. This aspect of the project is beneficial to Trinidad and Tobago since oil viscosity is key to understanding fluid transport properties of heavy oil, and in the selection of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods.

Deborah Ramnath is attached to the Offshore Heavy Oil Inventory aspect of the project. She holds a B.A.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering (Hons.) at University of Trinidad and Tobago. Her knowledge and skills gained from advanced engineering courses such as, reservoir engineering and petroleum geology studied at UTT, have contributed towards the volumetric reserve estimation for validating initial hydrocarbons in place within heavy oil reservoir. She believes this project is beneficial to T&T as it would provide a known accurate range of a non-conventional resource to be used for long term national planning purposes that will continue to positively shape the nation.

Mary Ann Chaitoo is attached to the Heavy Oil Viscosity Correlations aspect of the project. She holds a Master of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as, a Post Graduate Advanced Diploma in Petroleum Engineering from the University of the West Indies. She has experience with the use of reservoir simulation and mathematical modelling software. This project brought with it a sense of accomplishment in terms of its contributions towards the overall body of knowledge within the oil and gas industry. The energy sector of Trinidad and Tobago will as a result, become more equipped to re-tap into the natural resources of the country.

Tonya Joseph is attached to the Onshore Heavy Oil Inventory aspect of the project. She pursued a B.Sc (Hons) in Geology (Major) and Geography (Minor) at University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica. With the extensive knowledge she possesses in Caribbean Geology, Structural Geology, Petroleum Geology, Research in Field Geology and Geological Mapping have enabled the creation of T&T Heavy Oil Inventory. She believes this project will be of significant importance to T&T since conventional oil is decreasing, thus the use of innovative technology coupled with the implementation of the most effective heavy oil Enhanced Oil Recovery methods will increase the country's daily oil production resulting in greater revenue being generated and ultimately boosting the country's economy.