NU Step to PhD: Azza Hashim Abbas, a postdoctoral scholar at NU SMG

Our next NU step to PhD guest is Azza Hashim Abbas, a postdoctoral scholar at NU SMG. Azza graduated with a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the School of Chemical and Energy – University of Technology Malaysia in 2018 and received an MSc  in Reservoir Engineering from Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) in 2012. Prior to that, Azza did her Bachelor’s in Petroleum Engineering from the Petroleum and natural gas engineering college at SUST in 2009. Аfter graduation, Dr. Azza Hashim also spent 8 years as a practitioner working in industrial companies prior to joining academia. Her research interests are reservoir modeling and optimization, resources optimization and green chemicals.

Could you please tell us about your professional background?

I studied my  Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the petroleum and natural gas engineering college at Sudan University of Science and Technology(SUST) in 2009, then graduated with a MSc in Reservoir Engineering from SUST in 2012. 

I held several industrial positions between 2010-2018. My journey started in a joint venture company (GNPOC), where I served as Reservoir Engineer with a focus on field monitoring and Field development plans. In GNPOC, I had a good chance to work with Petronas, CNPC, and ONGC. This provided me with a fantastic opportunity to understand different business models in the oil and gas industry.

Afterward, I continued to work in different Field development studies and projects. In 2014, I decided to pursue my P.hD which was motivated by my father’s encouragement and my late mother’s support. I obtained my  Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the School of Chemical and Energy – University of Technology Malaysia (UTM-2018).

Why did you decide to study Petroleum Engineering? 

I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, where the country was thriving on oil and gas. These were the pictures that I grew up seeing in the streets of Aramco and petrochemical companies. My father is a geologist specializing in civil engineering and road, recalling binging rocks at home from every site. That was tapped into my early childhood memories. It was my dream to work the same job my father did in fascinating companies where I get the chance to see different places in the world.

 Up to date, petroleum practice satisfies my curiosity, and finding solutions to technical problems is my mission. Our duty as Petroleum engineers or Petroleum researchers is to protect the earth’s resources and utilize them for people’s happiness. We are the treasure keeper. All this will tell the future generation of engineers why our jobs are essential for the human race. 

Tell us about your doctoral research?

I worked on applications of sacrificial agents and novel surfactants for chemical enhanced oil recovery. My research focused on the reaction of Gemini surfactants with Clay minerals. The investigation focused on the adsorption at harsh reservoir conditions (High salinity and High temperature). At this stage, introducing low surfactant concentrations to high clay content under harsh conditions was a great industrial challenge. By the end of the adsorption quantification, I decided to revive the usage of a sacrificial agent. I recall my meetings with my supervisors Dr. Wan Rosli Wan Sulaiman and Professor Ahmad Kamal Idris. They advised me to investigate the waste agricultural material or waste material from the paper mill industry. After some screening, we designed a flow with Alkali lignin which was successful in all the initial screening of harsh condition applications.

 What is the applied value of your work?

 The study tackled two problems by using this approach: recycling waste to save the environment and increasing oil production from challenging reservoir environments with high clay content.

The study is a new insight into large surfactant flooding applications, especially continuous surfactant flooding. The study uses minimum Surfactant concentrations and reduces the adsorption by 40-67% under the previously mentioned complicated conditions. On another industrial aspect, it will help to avoid excessive chemical use. Also, adsorption mitigation aided the chemical project profitability margins because it cut down costs.

What can you tell us about the process of writing your thesis?

 I wrote my thesis in 2017. I think it was 300 pages at the beginning. That was a lot, so revising and reducing the page number was critical. At this point, I would like to send my gratitude to my Co. Supervisor for his valuable suggestions and my examiners for their patience in reading and giving constructive feedback.

Please, tell us about your future plans?

To continue contributing to my field and keep living scientific adventures in different countries

What would you advise to future doctoral students?

 Stay positive, appreciate your supervisors, look for collaboration, and don’t cry.