Professional Qualifications

Mr. Walters has 15 years of engineering experience, participating in large reservoir and geomechanical engineering studies throughout the world within a multi-disciplinary team environment.  Mr. Walters has also participated in numerous domestic petroleum reservoir and geomechanical studies although involved with international projects on a more routine basis. These include traditional reservoir engineering studies such as history matching and forecasting primary and waterflood performance for traditional oil fields and well test analysis, as well as enhanced oil recovery methods such as such as SAGD and CSS combined with hydraulic fracturing and geomechanical effects. Coupled reservoir and geomechanical experience includes steam stimulation projects of heavy oil reservoirs, compaction of sandstone and chalk reservoirs, compaction induced seismicity, modeling fracturing in jointed media, produced water reinjection, waterflood fracturing, stress dependence of fractured reservoirs, sand production and wellbore stability. 

Education and Professional Associations

Mr. Walters attended the University of Calgary and graduated with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 1993.  He received a M.Sc. in Geotechnical Engineering from the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, in 1995.

He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Petroleum Society of the CIM, and APEGGA. He has published numerous technical papers through the SPE, CIM and various rock mechanics societies.

Chronology of Experience

2000-present  Taurus Reservoir Solutions Ltd.  Vice-President

Responsible for business development, development of new technology and software and conducting special studies.

1997 – 2000    Duke Engineering & Services (Canada) Inc. Engineer

Responsible for conducting reservoir and geomechanical engineering studies. 

1996 – 1997    Golder Associates Ltd.  Engineer

Responsible for geotechnical based design and modeling (underground mine design, large strain consolidation modeling, mine/reservoir interaction) and lab testing and design.

1996 – 1997    University of Calgary.  Research Engineer

Conducted FEM (ABAQUS) modeling of the geomechanical behavoir of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD).

1996 – 1996    Advanced Geotechnology Inc..  Engineer

Modified and implemented petroleum software relating to fracture propagation and growth characteristics.

1995 – 1996    Syeman Associates Ltd.,  Geotechnical Engineer

Focussed on geotechnical applications to railway design and stability.

Summer 1995   Imperial Oil Resources Ltd.,  Research Engineer

Presentation, modeling and interpretation of field results from the high rate pulsed injection pilot project and thermocouple results from the steaming of horizontal wells.

Language Capability

English:      Excellent in speaking, reading and writing

Publications and Presentations

"Choosing a reasonable MOP for SAGD", at Slugging It Out XIX: Crude Awakening, Heavy Oil Conference, 19th Annual Conference co-hosted by CHOA and SPE, April 11, 2011, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

"Land uplift due to subsurface fluid injection", Journey of Geodynamics, 2010 (with Pietro Teatini, Giuseppe Gambolati, Massimilian Ferronato, A.(Tony)Settari)

“Geomechanics for interpreting SAGD monitoring using micro-seismicity and surface tiltmeters”, Paper SPE/PS/CHOA 117688, presented at the the 2008 SPE International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 20–23 October 2008 (with Johan de Koning, Hans de Pater and Shawn Maxwell)

“Ground Movement above Compacting Petroleum Reservoirs – Physics, Parametric Study of Typical Offshore Reservoirs, and Integration with Seismic Imaging”, Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 10, EGU2008-A-09735, 2008 (with V. Sen and  A. Settari)

"Coupled Simulation of Geomechanics and Multiphase Flow in Fractured and Faulted Rock Masses with Application to Petroleum Reservoirs”, Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 10, EGU2008-A-12101, 2008 (with A .Settari and M.A. Bagheri)

"Simulation of cold heavy oil production using an integrated modular approach with emphasis on foamy oil flow and sand production effects", Proceedings at the 1st World Heavy Oil Conference, held in Beijing, November 12-15, 2006 (with J. Wang, A. Settari and R.G. Wan)

"An integrated modular approach to modeling sand production and cavity growth with emphasis on the multiphase flow and 3D effects", Golden Rocks 2006, The 41st U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS): "50 Years of Rock Mechanics - Landmarks and Future Challenges", held in Golden, June 17-21, 2006 (with J. Wang, A. Settari and R.G. Wan)

"Decoupling Damage Mechanisms in Acid-Fractured Gas/Condensate Reservoirs", SPE 100570-MS, SPE Gas Technology Symposium, 15-17 May 2006, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, (with R.C. Bachman, A. Settari, Z. Rahim M.S. Ahmed)

“How To Approximate Effects of Geomechanics in Conventional Reservoir Simulation”, SPE 97155, SPE Annual Technical Meeting, Dallas, October, 2005, (with A.Settari and R. Bachman)

“Numerical techniques used for predicting subsidence due to gas extraction in the northern Adriatic”, Land Subsidence - Special Volume, Multi-disciplinary Assessment of the Subsidence Phenomena in the Ravenna Area, p. 101-120, Proceedings of the seventh International Symposium on Land Subsidence, Shanghai/ P.R. China, 23-28 October, 2005 (with A. Settari,  D.H. Stright, Jr., and K. Aziz)

“Field derived compressibility of deep sediments of the northern Adriatic”, Land Subsidence - Special Volume, Multi-disciplinary Assessment of the Subsidence Phenomena in the Ravenna Area, p. 35-50, Proceedings of the seventh International Symposium on Land Subsidence, Shanghai/ P.R. China, 23-28 October, 2005 (with T. Hueckel, G. Cassiani and J.H. Prevost)

“Characterization of the Pliocene gas reservoir aquifers for predicting subsidence on the Ravenna coast”, Land Subsidence - Special Volume, Multi-disciplinary Assessment of the Subsidence Phenomena in the Ravenna Area, p. 19-34, Proceedings of the seventh International Symposium on Land Subsidence, Shanghai/ P.R. China, 23-28 October, 2005 (with D.H. Stright, Jr., A. Settari and K. Aziz)

“Investigation of the Production-Induced Seismicity in the Lunskoye Field Using Coupled Reservoir and Geomechanical Modeling, presentation at Alaska Rocks 2005, The 40th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS): Rock Mechanics for Energy, Mineral and Infrastructure Development in the Northern Regions, held in Anchorage, Alaska, June 25-29, 2005 (with A. Settari, S. Christensen, P. Jackson, P. Wood and A . Makurat)

“Prediction of Volumetric Sand Production and Wellbore Stability Analysis of a Well at Different Completion Schemes”, Alaska Rocks 2005, The 40th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS): Rock Mechanics for Energy, Mineral and Infrastructure Development in the Northern Regions, held in Anchorage, Alaska, June 25-29, 2005, (J. Wang, A. Settari and R. Wan)

“A Fully Coupled Reservoir-Geomechanics Model to Address Sand Production and Wellbore Instability Problem Using Stabilized Finite Element”, COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS, WCCM VI in conjunction with APCOM’04, Sept. 5-10, 2004, Beijing, China, (with J. Wang,  A. Settari and R. Wan)

“Sand production and instability analysis in a wellbore using a fully coupled reservoir-geomechanics model”, Gulf Rocks 2004, the 6th North America Rock Mechanics Symposium (NARMS): Rock Mechanics Across Borders and Disciplines, held in Houston, Texas, June 5 – 9, 2004, (with J. Wang, R. Wan, A. Settari, and Y. N. Liu)

“Coupled Simulation of Reservoir Flow, Geomechanics, and Formation Plugging with Application to High-Rate Produced Water Reinjection”, SPE 79695, SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, Houston, Texas, February 2003, (with R. Bachman, T.G Harding and A.Settari)

"Coupled Geomechanical and Reservoir Modeling Investigating Poroelastic Effects of Cyclic Steam Stimulation in the Cold Lake Reservoir, SPE 80997-PA, Journal SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, Volume 5, Number 6, December  2002 (with A. Settari, and P.R. Kry)

“Geomechanical and Thermal Reservoir Simulation Demonstrates SAGD Enhancement Due to Shear Dilation”, Paper SPE/ISRM 79208, presented at the SPE/ISRM Rock Mechanics Conference, Irwing, TX., 20-23 Oct. 2002 (with P. M. Collins, M.R. Carlson and A. Settari)

“3-D Analysis and Prediction of Microseismicity in Fracturing by Coupled Geomechanical Modeling”, Paper SPE 75714, presented at the 2002 SPE Gas Technology Symposium held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 30 April–2 May 2002 (with A. Settari, R. B. Sullivan and P. A. Wawrzynek)

“Use of Coupled Reservoir and Geomechanical Modeling for Integrated Reservoir Management”, presented at the 51^st Annual Technical Meeting of the Petroleum Society, June 4-8, 2000, Calgary, Alberta (with A. Settari and A. Behie)

“Poroelastic Effects of Cyclic Steam Stimulation in the Cold Lake field”, presented at the 2000 SPE/AAGP Western Regional Meeting held in Long Beach, California, 19-23 June 2000 (with A. Settari and P.R. Kry)

“Reservoir geomechanics: New approach to reservoir engineering analysis”, paper CIM 99-116, presented at the 8th Saskatchewan Conference of the Petroleum Society of CIM, Regina, Oct. 18-20, 1999 (with A. Settari)

“Advances in Coupled Geomechanical and Reservoir Modeling With Applications to Reservoir Compaction”, presented at the 1999 SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, Houston, Texas, 14-17 February 1999 (with A. Settari)

“The Hydraulic and Mechanical Response of an Oil Sand Fracture Under a Varying Confining Pressure” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 1999 (with R.C.K. Wong)

“The Application of Computer Assisted Tomography in the Analysis of Fracture Geometry”, Geotechnical Testing Journal, Dec, 1998 (with R.C.K. Wong)

“An Investigation of the Surface Characteristics of an Oil Sand Fracture and the Effects on Two-Phase Flow”, presented at Petroleum Society of CIM’s 47th Annual Technical Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, 1996 (with R.C.K. Wong)

“The Mechanical Characterization of an Oil Sand Fracture”, appeared in the 2nd North American Rock Mechanics Symposium, Montreal, Quebec, 1996 (with R.C.K. Wong)