Milind Deo

EGI Director and Peter D. and Catherine R. Meldrum Professor of Chemical Engineering

Faculty profile 

Phone: 801-581-7629
Fax: 801-585-3540

Research Highlights:

  • Developed a strong oil and gas enhanced oil recovery and reservoir engineering research program at the University of Utah. Important milestone in this development was the establishment of the Petroleum Research Center as one of the State Centers of Excellence.

  • Established a computational component with focus on fractured reservoirs and discrete-fracture models; our group developed a series of multiphase, finite element discrete-fracture models as an alternative to dual-porosity models. These models will help better understand and manage fractured reservoirs.

  • Graduated 17 Ph.D. students and six Masters students; currently advising nine graduate students (7 Ph.D students)

Current Position:

  • Peter D. and Catherine R. Meldrum Professor, Chemical Engineering, University of Utah

  • Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, University of Utah

  • Former Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, University of Utah

  • Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering, Professor,

Chemical Engineering, Director, Petroleum Research Center (PERC), University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2001-Current Professor, Chemical Engineering, University of Utah

  • 1995-2001 Associate Professor, Chemical and Fuels Engineering, University of Utah

  • 1989-1995 Assistant Professor, Chemical and Fuels Engineering, University of Utah

  • 1987-1989 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University, CA

  • 1986-1987 Intern and Research Engineer, Schlumberger Perforating Technology, Houston

June 1981 B.S. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India

May 1987 Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX

1987-1989 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University, CA.

University of Utah College of Engineering, Outstanding Service Award (09/2019)

Distinguished Lecturer, Society of Petroleum Engineers (09/2016) .

Top 15% in Teaching CH EN 6185, University of Utah – College of Engineering (05/2015) .

Awarded the Peter D. and Catherine R. Professorship., University of Utah – College of Engineering (05/2015) .

Top 15% in the college for CH EN 6185 Reservoir Engineering for Spring 2014, College of Engineering (06/2014)

SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, Outstanding Technical Editor Award, 2012

SPE International Outstanding Technical Service Award 2010: Reservoir Characterization and Dynamics – Rocky Mountain Region.

Team member of the U.S. DOE Class I Reservoir project (with Utah Geological Survey)

adjudged the best field improvement project in the Rocky Mountain Region by Oil and Gas World.

The project Reactivating An Idle Lease in the Midway Sunset Field, was adjudged the best project in the Pacific Region by Hart’s Oil and Gas and received a commendation from Mr. Richardson, the energy secretary.

R. Velasco, P. Panja and Deo, M.D, 2020, Moving boundary approach to forecast tight oil production, AIChE Journal, https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.17012

J. Li., Q. Rao, Y. Xia, M. Hoepfner, M. Deo, 2020, Confinement-mediated phase behavior of hydrocarbon fluids: Insights from Monte Carlo Simulations, Langmuir, 36, 26, 7277-7288.

Y. Xia, H. Cho, M. Deo, S.H. Risbud. M.H. Bartl and S. Sen, 2020, Layer by Layer Freezing of Nanoconfined Water, Scientific Reports, 10(1) 1-8.

Wang, Y., Magda, J., Venkatesan, R., Sambath, K. and Deo, M. D., 2020, Experimental and theoretical investigation of waxy crude oil in steady pipe flows, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2020, 59, 30.

Y Xia, A Blumers, Z Li, L Luo, YH Tang, J Kane, J Goral, H Huang, M Deo, M Andrew, A GPU-accelerated package for simulation of flow in nanoporous source rocks with many-body dissipative particle dynamics, 2020, Computer Physics Communications 247, 106874.

J. Goral, P. Panja, M. Deo, M. Andrew, S. Linden, J.O. Schwarz, A. Wiegman, 2020, Confinement Effect on Porosity and Permeability of Shales, Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-11.

J. Goral, M. Deo, J. McLennan, H. Huang and E. Matson, 2020, Macro and micro compression testing of shales, J. Pet. Sci. and Eng., Vol 291 /doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.107034.

P. Panja, P. Asai, R. Velasco and M. Deo, 2020, Pre-processing protocol for nonlinear regression of uneven spaced data, Journal of Modeling and Optimization, 12(1)m 23-37.

P.Panja, R. Velasco and Deo, M.D., 2020, Understanding and modeling of gas condensate flow in porous media, Advances in Geo-Energy Res., 4., 2, 173-186.

P. Panja, TX Pack, M. Deo, 2019, Operational Optimization of absorption column in capturing CO2 from flue gas in coal-fired power plant, Chemical Engineering Communication. doi.org/10.1080/00986445.2020.1774375.

Wang, Yichen, Magda, J., Rama, V. and Deo, M. D., 2019, Effect of Emulsified Water on Gelled Pipeline Restart of Model Waxy Crude Oil Cold Flows, Energy & Fuels, 33 (11), 10756-10764.

Jan Goral, Ian Walton, Matthew Andrew, Milind Deo, 2019, Pore system characterization of organic-rich shales using nanoscale-resolution 3D imaging, Fuel, Volume 258, 10.1016/j.fuel.2019.116049.

Yidong Xia, Ansel Blumers, Zhen Li, Lixiang Luo, Yu-Hang Tang, Joshua Kane, Hai Huang, Matthew Andrew, Milind Deo, Jan Goral, 2019, A GPU-accelerated package for simulation of flow in nanoporous source rocks with many-body dissipative particle dynamics, Computer Physics Communications, accepted, 2019.

J Goral, M Andrew, T Olson, M Deo, Correlative core-to pore-scale imaging of shales, Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.08.009

P Asai, P Panja, J McLennan, M Deo, 2019, Effect of different flow schemes on heat recovery from Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), Energy, 2019, Vol. 175, pp 667-676.

Corredor, EC, Deo, M.D., 2019, Techno-economic evaluation of a process for direct conversion of methane to aromatics, Fuel Processing Technology, 183, 55-61.

Hoepfner, M. P. and Milind Deo, 2019, 19th International Conference on Petroleum Phase Behavior and Fouling, Energy & Fuels 2019 33 (5), 3631-363.

Panja, P., Pathak, M. and Deo, M.D., 2019, Production of volatile oil and gas-condensate from liquid rich shales, Advances in Geo-Energy Research 3 (1), 29-42.

M Pathak, H Huang, P Meakin, M Deo, 2018, Molecular investigation of the interactions of carbon dioxide and methane with kerogen: Application in enhanced shale gas recovery, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 51 1-8.

Velasco, R., Panja, P. and Deo, M.D., 2018, Simplification workflow for hydraulically fractured reservoirs, Petroleum, 4(2) 134-147.

Corredor, EC, Deo, M.D., 2018, Effect of vapor liquid equilibrium on product quality and yield in oil shale pyrolysis, Fuel, 1498-1506.

Cho, H., Caputo, D., Bartl, M. and Deo, M. D., 2017, Measurements of hydrocarbon bubble points in synthesized mesoporous siliceous monoliths, December 2017, Chemical Engineering Science, DOI10.1016/j.ces.2017.12.005.

Pathak, M., Kweon, H., Huang, H. and Deo, M.D., 2017, Kerogen Swelling and Confinement: Its implication on Fluid Thermodynamic Properties in Shales, December 2017, Scientific Reports 7(1), DOI10.1038/s41598-017-12982-4

Velasco, R., Panja, P., Pathak, M. and Deo, M. D., 2017, Analysis of North-American Tight Oil Production, November 2017, AIChE Journal DOI10.1002/aic.16034

Panja, P., Velasco, R., Pathak, M. and Deo, M. D., 2017, Application of artificial intelligence to forecast hydrocarbon production from shales, November 2017, Petroleum, DOI10.1016/j.petlm.2017.11.003

Ting, X, Kweon, H., McPherson, B. J. and Deo, M. D., 2017, Wormhole Generations in Indiana Limestone with CO 2 Intrusion: Numerical Simulations Based on Core Flooding Experiments, October 2017, Energy & Fuels 31(11), DOI10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b01720

Ashley, W., Panja, P. and Deo, M. D., 2017, Surrogate models for production performance from heterogeneous shales, September 2017, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 159, DOI10.1016/j.petrol.2017.09.044

Yidong Xia, Jan Goral, Hai Huang, Paul Meakin and Milind Deo, 2017, Many-body Dissipative Particle Dynamics Modeling of Fluid Flow in Fine-grained Nanoporous Shales, Physics of Fluids, Volume 29, Number 5.

Panja, P., Velasco, R., Pathak, M. and Deo, M. D., 2017, Study Applies LSSVM to Tight Reservoirs, March 2017, The American Oil & Gas Reporter 60(3):50

Jing Zhou, Hai Huang, John McLennan and Milind Deo, A Dual-Lattice Discrete Element Model to Understand Hydraulic Fracturing in a Naturally Fractured System, 2017, Hydraulic Fracturing Journal, Volume 4, Number 2, pp 66-82.

Cho, H., Bartl, M. and Deo, M.D., 2017, Bubble Point Measurements of Hydrocarbon Mixtures in Mesoporous Media, DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b02424, Energy & Fuels, 31 (4), pp 3436-3444.

Pathak, M., Cho, H., and Deo, M.D., 2017, Experimental and Molecular Modeling Study of Bubble Points of Hydrocarbon Mixtures in Nanoporous Media, DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b02422, Energy & Fuels, 31(4), pp 3427-3435.

Pathak, M., Panja, P., Levey, R. and Deo, M.D., 2017, Effect of Organic Matter on Bubble Points of Oils in Shales, AIChE Journal, 63(7), 3083-3095.

H Kweon, M Deo, 2017, The impact of reactive surface area on brine-rock-carbon dioxide reactions in CO 2 sequestration, Fuel, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.010

Krumm R. Gneshin K. Deo M., 2017, Adsorption Characteristics of Coals Pyrolyzed at Slow Heating Rates, Energy & Fuels, 31, (2), 1803-1810.

Podgorney, R., McLennan, J., Huang, H. Deo, M. et al. Rock Mech Rock Eng (2017) Introduction to Selected Contributions from GeoProc, The 5th International Conference on Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical Process in Geosystems 50: 675. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-017-1184-4.

Roehner, R., Panja, P. and Deo, M.D., 2016, Reducing Gas Flaring in Oil Production from Shales, Energy & Fuels, 30, (9), 7524-7531.

E. Camilo Corredor, Pallavi Chitta, Milind Deo, 2016, Membrane reactor system model for gas conversion to benzene, Fuel, 179, 202-209.

Palash Panja, and Milind Deo, 2016, Unusual Behavior of Produced Gas Oil Ratio in Low Permeability Fractured Reservoirs, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 144, 76-83

Pankaj Tiwari, Josh Staten and Milind Deo, Core Scale Oil Shale Pyrolysis, 2016, Chapter 7 in Utah Oil Shale: Science, Technology, and Policy Perspectives Jennifer Spinti, Editor, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, July 2016

Harsh Maheshwari, John D. Roehling, Bryce A. Turner, Jamal Abdinor, Tien B. Tran-Roehling, Milind D. Deo, Michael H. Bartl, Subhash Risbud and Klaus Van Benthem, 2016, Robust mesoporous silica compacts: multiscale characterization of microstructural changes related to physical–mechanical properties, J Mater Sci (2016) 51:4470-4480, DOI 10.1007/s10853-016-9759-0.

Panja, P. and Deo, M.D., 2016, Factors that Control Condensate Production from Shales: Surrogate Reservoir Models and Uncertainty Analysis, SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, January 2016, 130-141

Panja P., Tyler Conner and Milind Deo, 2016, Factors Controlling Production in Hydraulically Fractured Low Permeability Oil Reservoirs, International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal technology, International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology 2016 – Vol. 13, No.1 pp. 1 – 18

Siripong Peerapornlerd, Skyler Edvik, Ana P. Leandro, Ryan Hinckley, Milind D. Deo, Rama Venkatesan, and Jules J. Magda, 2014, Effect of the Flow Shutdown Temperature on the Gelation of Slurry Flows in a Waxy Oil Pipeline, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Publication Date (Web): December 1, 2014 (Article), DOI: 10.1021/ie503771w.

Kweon, H., Payne, C. and Deo, M.D., 2014, Reactive and Pore Structure Changes in Carbon Dioxide Sequestration, Publication Date (Web): November 14, 2014, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Article ASAP, DOI: 10.1021/ie503879a.

Roehner, Deo, Moore and Allis, 2014, Modeling Geothermal Energy Production from Stratigraphic Reservoirs in the Great Basin, Geothermics 51(2014),38-45.

Wriedt, Deo, Han and Lipinsky, 2014 A Methodology for Quantifying Risk and Likelihood of Failure for Carbon Dioxide Injection into Deep Saline Reservoirs, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 20 (2014), 196-211.

Panja, Conner and Deo, 2013, Grid Sensitivity in Hydraulically Fractured Low-Permeability Reservoirs, Petroleum Science and Engineering, Published Online Nov. 8, 2013, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2013.10.009

Pasala, S.M., Forster C.B., Deo, M.D. and Evans, J. P., 2013, Simulation of the Impact of Faults on CO2 Injection into Sandstone Reservoirs, Geofluids (2013)13, Issue 3, 344-358.

Deo, M.D., Hongtao, J., McLennan, J., 2013, The Fate of Injected Water in Shale Formations, Book Chapter, Chapter 40, In Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing, ISBN 980-953-307-651-0, Edited by Bunger, McLennan and Jeffries.

Tiwari, P., Deo, M.D., C.L. Lin and Miller J.D., 2013, Characterization of the Oil Shale Pore Structure Before and After Pyrolysis by Using X-ray Micro CT., Fuel 107 (2013) 547–554.

Jules J. Magda, Ahmed Elmadhoun, Peter Wall, Mark Jemmett, Milind D. Deo, Katherine L. Greenhillb and Rama Venkatesan, 2013, The Time-Dependent Axial Pressure Profile of a Model Waxy Crude Oil in a Steel Pipeline During Gelation and Flow Restart, dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef301513d Energy Fuels 2013, 27, 1909−1913.

Jemmett, M., Magda, J.J. and Deo, 2013, M.D., Heterogeneous Organic Gels, Rheology and Restart, dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef3014629 Energy Fuels 2013, 27, 1762−1771.

Krumm, R., Deo, M. D., and Petrick, M., 2012, Direct Thermal and Catalytic Treatment of Paraffinic Crude Oils and Heavy Fractions, Energy and Fuels, dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef2013985 Energy Fuels 2012, 26, 2663–2671.

Jemmett, M., Deo, M. D., Earl J. and Mognehan, P., 2012, Applicability of Cloud Point Depression to Cold Flow, 2012, Energy Fuels, 2012, 26 (5), pp 2641–2647. Published, 05/2012.

Deo, M.D., and Parra, M., 2012, Characterization and Modeling of Carbon Dioxide Induced Asphaltene Precipitation, Energy and Fuels, dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef201402v, Energy Fuels 2012, 26, 2672−2679

Tiwari P. and Deo, M. D., 2012, Compositional and Kinetic Analysis of Oil Shale Pyrolysis Using TGA-MS, Fuel,Volume 94, April 2012, Pages 333-341.

Bauman, J.H. and Deo, M.D., 2012, Simulation of a Conceptualized Combined Pyrolysis, In Situ Combustion and CO2 Storage Strategy for Fuel Production from Green River Shales, Energy and Fuels, 2012, 26(3), pp 1731-1739.

Tiwari, P. and Deo, M., 2012, Detailed kinetic analysis of oil shale pyrolysis TGA data, AIChE Journal, February 2012, Vol. 58, No. 2, 505-515.

El Gendy, H., Alcoutlabi, Jemmett, Magda, J.J., Deo, M.D., Venkatesan, R. and Montesi A., 2012, The Propagation of Pressure and Wall Shear Stress in A Gelled Model Waxy Oil Pipeline, AIChE Journal, January 2012, Vol. 58, No. 1, 302-311.

Zhao, N., Deo, M.D. and Mclennan M., 2011, Morphology and Growth of Fractures in Unconventional Reservoirs, CSUG/SPE 147509, This paper was prepared for presentation at the Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 15–17 November 2011.

Mandalaparty, M., Deo, M.D. and Moore, J., 2011, Gas Compositional Effects on Mineralogical Reactions in Carbon Dioxide Sequestration, SPE Journal, December 2011, 949-958.

Deo, M.D., Levey, R. and McLennan, J. M., 2011, Unconventional Fuels: Resource Assessment and Sustainable Production Technologies, Proceedings of the ’17th Convention of Indian Geological Congress and International Conference on ‘New Paradigms of Exploration and Sustainable Mineral Development : Vision 2050 (NPESMD 2011 Indian School Mines Dhanbad, November 10-12, 2011, Chapter 60, 639-648.

Bauman J. and Deo, M.D., 2012, Simulation of a Conceptualized Combined Pyrolysis, In Situ Combustion, and CO2 Storage Strategy for Fuel Production from Green River Oil Shale, Energy Fuels, 2012, 26 (3), pp 1731–1739, DOI: 10.1021/ef2017072

Oh, K. and Deo, M.D, 2011, Yield behavior of Gelled Waxy Oil in water-in-oil emulsion at temperatures below ice formation, Fuel, Volume 90, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 2113-2117.

Bauman, J. and Deo, M. D., 2011, Parameter Space Reduction and Sensitivity Analysis in Complex Thermal Subsurface Production Processes, Energy Fuels 2011, 25, 251–259, DOI:10.1021/ef101225g.

Gallin, W., Gani, R., Deo, M., Gani N., and Vanden Berg, M , 2010, Lake Level Controlled sedimentological heterogeneity of oil shale. Upper Green River Formation, eastern Unita Basin, Utah,., in Oil Shale: A Solution to the Liquid Fuel Dilemma, Ogunsala, Hartstein and Ogunsala, Eds., 2010, pp 63-85.

Bauman, M., Huang C., Gani, M. and Deo, M, 2010. Modeling of the In-Situ Production from Oil Shale,., in Oil Shale: A Solution to the Liquid Fuel Dilemma, Ogunsala, Hartstein and Ogunsala, Eds., 2010, Chapter 7, pp 135-146.

Time-Dependent Rheology of a Model Waxy Crude Oil with Relevance to Gelled Pipeline Restart† Jules J. Magda,, Husam El-Gendy, Kyeongseok Oh, Milind D. Deo, Alberto Montesi, and Rama Venkatesan Energy & Fuels 2009, 23, 1311–1315.

Yield Stress of Wax Gel using Vane Method K. Oh; K. Gandhi; J. Magda; M. D. Deo Petroleum Science and Technology, 1532-2459, Volume 27, Issue 17, 2009, Pages 2063 – 2073 .

Yield Behavior of Gelled Waxy Oil: Effect of Stress Application in Creep Ranges Kyeongseok Oh, Mark Jemmett, and Milind Deo Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 8950–8953.

Characteristics of Wax Gel Formation in the Presence of Asphaltenes† Kyeongseok Oh* and Milind Deo Energy & Fuels 2009, 23, 1289–1293.

Michael C. Sukop, Haibo Huang, Chen Luh Lin, Milind D. Deo, Kyeongseok Oh, and Jan D. Miller, Distribution of multiphase fluids in porous media: Comparison between lattice Boltzmann modeling and micro-x-ray tomography, February 2008 issue of Physical Review E (Vol.77, No.2).

Satya S. Roehner, R., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 2007, Estimation of Properties of Crude Oil Residual Fractions Using Chemometrics, Energy & Fuels 2007, 21, 998-1005.

Oh. K. and Deo, M. D., 2006, Near Infrared Spectroscopy to Study Asphaltene Aggregation in Solvents, in the book Asphaltenes, Heavy Oil and Petroleomics, Editor O.C. Mullins, Eric Sheu, Ahmed Hammami and Alan Marshall, Publisher – Elsevier.

Schamel and Deo, 2006, Role of small scale variations of water saturations in Optimization of steamflood heavy oil recovery in the Midway Sunset field, California, SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, April, 106-113.

Oh. K., Ring, T. and Deo, M. D., 2004, Asphaltene Aggregation in Organic Solvents, Journal of Colloidal and Interfacial Science, 271, 212.

P. Leelavanichkul, Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F.V., 2004, Crude oil characterization and regular solution thermodynamic modeling of solid precipitation temperature, Petroleum Science and Technology, Vol 22, 7/8, 973 (2004).

Oh. K., Oblad, S., Hanson, F. V. and Deo, M. D., 2003, Examination of Asphaltene Precipitation and Self Aggregation, Energy & Fuels, 17, 508.

Oh, K. and Deo, M. D., 2002, Effect of Organic Additives on the Onset of Asphaltene Precipitation, Energy & Fuels, 16, 694.

Kim, J. and Deo, M. D., 2000, A Finite Element, Discrete-Fracture Model for Multiphase Flow in Porous Media, AIChE J. , Volume 46, #6, 1120-1130.

Hwang, J., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1996, Dynamic Behavior of Supercritical Fluid Extractions of a Crude oil and Its Vacuum Residue, Fuel, 75, #13, 1591.

Subramanian, M., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1996, Compositional Analysis of Bitumen and Bitumen-Derived Products, J. Chrom. Sci., 34, #1, 20.

Rose, P.E. and Deo, M. D., 1995, New Algorithms for the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage Process Using a Combination of Vertical and Horizontal Wells, Fuel, 74, #8, 1180.

Neer, L. A. and Deo, M. D., 1995, Simulated Distillation of Oils with a Wide Carbon Number Distribution, J. Chrom. Sci., 33, #3, pp 133-138.

Hwang, J., Park, S.J., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F.V., 1995, Phase Behavior of CO2/Crude Oil Mixtures in Supercritical Fluid Extraction System: Experimental Data and Modeling, I&EC Research, 34, #4, 1280.

Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F.V., 1994, Asphaltene Rejection Via Supercritical Fluid Extraction, Fuel, 73, #9, 1493.

Longstaff, D.C., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1994, Hydrotreating the Bitumen from the Whiterocks Oil Sand Deposit, Fuel, 73, #9, 1523.

Whitney, E. M., Deo, M. D. and Bodily, D. M., 1993, Multicomponent Effects in Coalbed Gas Drainage, Chapter 19, Proc. 6th US Mine Ventilation Symp., Edited by R. Bhaskar, SME Publications, Littleton, Colorado, 117-122.

Kwak, S., Longstaff, D. C., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1994, Hydrotreating Process Kinetics for Bitumen and Bitumen Derived Liquids, Fuel, 73, #9, 1531.

Deo, M. D., Hwang, J. and Hanson, F. V.,1993, The Effect of Cosolubilizing Lighter Components on the Asphaltene Content of Heavy Oils, Fuel. Proc. Tech., 34, 217-228.

Deo, M. D., Nutakki, R. and Orr, F. M. Jr.,1993, Schmidt-Wenzel and Peng-Robinson Equations of State for Carbon Dioxide-Hydrocarbon Systems: Binary Interaction Parameters and Volume Translation Factors, SPE Advanced Technology Series, 1, #2, 142-151.

Fletcher, J. V., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1993, Fluidization of Group B Sands at Reduced Pressure, Powder Technology, 76, #2, 141-147.

Tsai, C. H., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1993, Characterization and Potential Utilization of Asphalt Ridge Tar Sand Bitumen I: Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry and Pyrolysis Mass-Spectrometry Analyses, Fuel Sci. Tech. Int’l., 11, #(3 & 4), 475-506.

Deo, M. D., Rose, P. E. and Hanson, F. V., 1992, Response to Comments on Determination of the Solubility of Carbon Dioxide in Tar Sand Bitumens: Experimental Determination and Modeling, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 31, #5, 1424.

Deshpande, D. A., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1992, Correlations for Effective Bubble Rise Velocity in Three-Phase Ebullieted Beds, Fuel Proc. Tech., # 32, 3-23.

Deo, M. D., Hwang, J. and Hanson, F. V., 1992, Supercritical Fluid Extraction of a Crude Oil, Bitumen-Derived Liquid and Bitumen by Carbon Dioxide and Propane, Fuel, 71, #12, 1519-1526.

Tsai, C. H., Longstaff, D. L., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1992, Characterization and Utilization of Hydrotreated Products from the Whiterocks (Utah) Tar Sand Bitumen-Derived Liquid, Fuel, 71, #12, 1473-1479.

Cha, S., Deo, M. D., Hanson. F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1992, Pyrolysis of Oil Sands in a Rotary Kiln, Fuel, 71, #12, 1455-1464.

Longstaff, D. L., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1992, Hydrotreating the Bituen-Derived Liquid Produced in a Fluidized-Bed Pyrolysis Reactor, Fuel, 71, #12, 1407-1420.

Tsai, C. H., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1992, Characterization and Potential Utilization of Whiterocks (Utah) Tar Sand Bitumen II: Pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Analyses, Fuel Sci. Tech. Int’l., 10, #9, 1437-1460.

Deshpande, D. A., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1992, A Model for the Prediction of Bubble Size at a Single Orifice in Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Systems, Chem. Eng. Sci., 47, #7, 1669-1676.

Fletcher, J. V., Deo, M. D. and Hanson, F. V., 1992, Reexamination of Minimum Fluidization Velocity Correlations Applied to Group B Sands and Coked Sands, Powder Technology, 69, #2, 147-155.

Deo, M. D., Wang, C. J. and Hanson, F. V.,1991, The Solubility of Carbon Dioxide in Tar Sand Bitumens: Experimental Determination and Modeling, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 30, #3, 532-536.

Deo, M. D., Fletcher, J. V., Shun, D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1991, Modeling the Pyrolysis of Tar Sands in Fluidized-Beds, Fuel, 70, 1271-1276.

Tsai, C. H., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. G., 1991, Characterization and Potential Utilization of Whiterocks (Utah) Tar Sand Bitumen, Fuel Sci. Tech. Int’l., 9, # 10, 1259-1286.

Lin, L., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. O., 1991, Nonisothermal Analysis of the Kinetics of the Combustion of Coked Sand, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 30, #8, 1795-1801.

Lin, L., Deo, M. D., Hanson, F. V. and Oblad, A. O., 1990, Kinetics of Tar Sand Pyrolysis Using a Distribution of Activation Energy Model, AIChE J., 36, 1585-1588.

Halleck, P. M. and Deo, M. D.,1989, The Effect of Underbalance on Perforation Flow: Results of High-Temperature High-Pressure Flow Experiments, Soc. Pet. Eng. J. Prod. Engr., 4, 113-116.

Deo, M. D., Tariq, S. M. and Halleck, P. M.,1989, Linear and Radial Targets for Characterizing Flow in Perforations: 3-D Finite Element Flow Models, Soc. Pet. Eng. J. Prod. Engr., 4, 295-300.

Research Interests 

  • Production of fluids from shales 
  • Reservoir engineering 
  • Enhanced oil recovery

 

Milind Deo is Interim EGI Director and Peter D. and Catherine R. Meldrum Endowed Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah and Director of the Petroleum Research Center where he has supervised over 20 Ph.D. students and six Masters students.

He received his B.S. from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, India and his Ph.D. from the University of Houston in Houston, TX, in Chemical Engineering. His Ph.D. research concentrated on the development of methods for determining residual fluid saturations after a carbon dioxide flood.

After a short stay at the Schlumberger Perforating Center in Houston where he worked on under-balanced perforating technology, followed by two years of post-doctoral work at Stanford University, he joined the University of Utah in December 1989. At Stanford, his main areas of interest included detailed petroleum characterization and phase behavior of oil, gas, and carbon dioxide mixtures. His main areas of research at the University of Utah have been reservoir engineering and enhanced oil recovery. He is widely published in the field with numerous papers and articles, and has authored several EGI reports.

Research Highlights

Dr. Deo’s research group was involved in two highly successful U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Class I and Class III Reservoir Projects. The Class I Reservoir Project with Lomax Exploration Company led to the revitalization of waterfloods in the Uinta Basin, while the Class III Project reactivated an idle lease in the Midway Sunset Field, resulting in over two million barrels of additional oil produced.

His research group has also developed a new generation of reactive-transport, multiphase reservoir simulators that are also capable of modeling fractures as discrete networks. He is conducting a comprehensive multifaceted study on Liquids from Shales that includes production analysis, development of rapid analysis and forecasting tools, material and geologic characterization, reservoir simulation, and geomechanics.

Currently, he and his students are engaged in research related to production of oil from oil shale, carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and sequestration, heavy oil production, and flow assurance apart from unconventional gas production.

Dr. Deo has developed a strong oil and gas enhanced oil recovery and reservoir engineering research program at the University of Utah. An important milestone in this program was the establishment of the Petroleum Research Center as one of the State Centers of Excellence. He has also established a computational component with focus on fractured reservoirs and discrete-fracture models, including a series of multi-phase, finite element discrete-fracture models as an alternative to dual-porosity models to help better understand and manage fractured reservoirs.