TWA Editorial Board
Members of the editorial board and their respective employers are not responsible for the opinions, content, and viewpoints of articles appearing in The Way Ahead.
James Blaney is the editor in chief of TWA. He is an application engineer for Chevron's MidCon Business Unit, holding a bachelor's in economics from Georgetown University and a bachelor's in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He cut his teeth in the Permian Basin as a field engineer for Liberty Energy before progressing to a software development role working on pump control software, integrating their new electric DigiFrac and natural gas powered DigiPrime pumps. He sees plenty of room for the role of tech in industry to grow and firmly believes if you're going to do anything twice you should automate it once. A former PetroBowl contestant, he is also a lover of all things trivia.
Mrigya Fogat is the deputy editor in chief of TWA. She is a data scientist at Halliburton based in New Delhi, India. She graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) and was awarded the institute and president’s gold medals. In her present role, she works by integrating her core subject knowledge and data science to come up with efficient and novel solutions for challenges faced in the energy industry. Fogat is an active member of SPE and was the president of the SPE student chapter at RGIPT. She is passionate about affordable, accessible, and sustainable energy.
Aman Srivastava is an advisor of TWA. He is product owner for Halliburton-Landmark. With a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from National Institute of Technology, Surat, India, and a master's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and more than 15 years of experience in on-field and off-field drilling activities, Srivastava holds a special interest in well construction engineering and energy/sustainability. He received the SPE Mid-Continental Regional Award for 2023, is a reviewer of two peer-reviewed journals, and holds a patent for his design of internal combustion engine. In his free time, he loves watching movies and reading books when he is not busy playing with his daughter and spending time with family.
Abdulmalik Ajibade is an artificial intelligence (AI) solutions researcher at OSECUL Nigeria Ltd. He is a certified data analyst and volunteers as a machine learning (ML) engineer at Omdena. He is a winner of the SPE Nigeria Paper Contest for research work in improving production optimization with machine learning. Ajibade’s work focuses on research and development efforts for a machine learning predictive maintenance product, aimed at elevating asset reliability. With a commitment to applying AI workflows across industries, he channels his passion for data science and ML into solving challenges in the energy sector. He has served twice as the vice president of the SPE Nile University of Nigeria Student Chapter. He holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and gas engineering from Nile University of Nigeria.
Abhinandan Kohli started his professional career at Shell India in 2011. He worked as an operational petrophysicist at PDO, Oman, followed by assignments in the Netherlands and Iraq. He currently works as a senior petrophysicist and opportunity lead for Shell in the Netherlands. Before joining Shell, Kohli worked as a researcher for a US-based climate NGO named 350.org. He has been serving and contributing to SPE at various levels for over 10 years. He was awarded SPE STAR scholarship and Young Member Outstanding Service Award for his contributions. He attended the Emerging Leaders Alliance in 2018 and was also invited to Antarctica by the 2041 foundation to talk about the world energy scenarios and climate change challenges. Kohli is the author or coauthor of 5 publications.
Adeshina Badejo is a petroleum engineering PhD student at Texas A&M University under the Texas A&M at Qatar Strategic Research Initiatives Program. He has a strong interest in reducing the environmental impact of the continued use of fossil fuels. His research focuses on flow assurance challenges of the CO2 value chain from the extraction point to the subsurface injectivity point with the integration of machine learning. Badejo has been actively involved with SPE since 2016 as a volunteer. He led the Heriot-Watt University PetroBowl team to the regional qualifiers in Zagreb, Croatia, and received the 2023 SPE Aberdeen Section Student Bursary Award. He also served as the 2018–2019 SPE Programs Chairperson during his undergraduate studies and co-initiated the inaugural edition of The Industry Discourse, a student-led energy conference. He holds a master’s degree in subsurface energy systems from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and gas engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Aleeza Tahoor Asi is a borehole reservoir engineer in the analysis and interpretation business line at SLB. She specializes in formation testing and production logging. She holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and gas engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.
Anaiz Gul Fareed is pursuing his PhD in energy science and engineering at the University of Naples. His research focuses on hydrogen storage and finding innovative solutions for industrial process optimization with a view to digital, ecological, and security transition. He has 8 years’ experience in both academia and the industry in Pakistan, in which he served as a lecturer in the department of petroleum engineering at Karachi University and worked as a renewable energy engineer and production engineer for an energy firm and exploration and production company. Fareed has authored multiple research articles in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences. He holds a master’s degree in energy systems engineering and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering and is always eager to learn more about sustainable energy transition around the globe.
Andrew Yule is a cofounder and managing partner of Pontem Analytics, a global consulting company in the energy industry specializing in flow assurance, production chemistry, and digital solutions. Yule has 13 years’ experience in the energy industry, where he has contributed to a diverse range of projects spanning both offshore and onshore. He has been a member of SPE since 2011 and is a member of the Young Entrepreneurial Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a master’s degree in data science from Southern Methodist University.
Anireju Emmanuel Dudun is pursuing a PhD in systems engineering with a concentration in petroleum engineering at the University of Louisiana (UL) at Lafayette. He has interned with Shell and the Department of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria. He has been an SPE member since 2012 and is presently a member of the UL Lafayette PetroBowl team. He was listed on SEG EVOLVE’s 2022 Wall of Fame for his work on subsurface characterization. Dundun has over seven peer-reviewed publications and serves as a technical reviewer for various industry journals. His current area of research includes CO2 sequestration, hydrogen underground storage, and reservoir modeling such as reactive fluid flow in fracture reservoirs. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from UL Lafayette, a second master’s degree in integrated petroleum engineering and production studies from Shell Center of Excellence in Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering, and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Benin, Nigeria.
Bhartendu Bhardwaj is a reservoir engineer at Bassein & Satellite Asset at Oil and Natural Gas Corp. based at Mumbai, India. He has more than 10 years’ experience in onshore and offshore field development from conceptualization to implementation of new exploration licensing policy as well as nomination regime. He currently serves as a section officer of the SPE Mumbai Section and is actively associated with section activities and functioning. He is also part of Indian Hydrocarbon Appraisal Program, an initiative by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India. Bhardwaj holds a petroleum engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) and a post graduate diploma in business analytics with specialization in finance from Symbiosis International University.
Chiamaka Linda Uchegbu is a commercial operations analyst at Seplat Energy in Nigeria. She also serves as the secretary of the operations and terminals committee under the Oil Producers Trade Section. She began her career as a health, safety, and environment advisor before transitioning into her current commercial role. With over 6 years of industry experience, she has received numerous recognitions for her contributions and actively participates in the SPE Lagos Section. Outside of work, she enjoys hosting events, traveling, staying fit, and engaging in community initiatives. Currently, she is pursuing an MBA program. She holds an MS degree from the University of Ibadan in environmental chemistry and pollution control.
Habib Ouadi is an oilfield operations specialist at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota. His work focuses well drilling, logging, coring, and production, enhanced oil recovery, carbon capture, utilization, and storage, saltwater disposal, geothermal extraction, and facilities and well completion for both conventional and unconventional fields. He has authored and coauthored numerous research publications. Ouadi is a PhD candidate in energy and petroleum engineering at the University of North Dakota and holds an MEng degree in petroleum engineering from the University of North Dakota and MS and BS degrees in petroleum engineering from the University of Boumerdés, Faculty of Hydrocarbons, Algeria.
Haruna Inuwa is a driven and accomplished professional with a proven track record of leadership, innovation, and impact across energy, technology, and consulting sectors. Inuwa is pursuing a PhD in energy systems at the University of Oxford and dedicated to advancing sustainable energy solutions and shaping the global energy transition. His research focuses on integrating emerging technologies to address critical challenges in energy systems, with a particular emphasis on low-carbon fuels and infrastructure optimization. In his most recent role as a senior technology consultant at the Africa’s largest conglomerate, he led the implementation of enterprise digital solutions across various subsidiaries of the Group. Inuwa currently works as a freelance management consultant supporting governments and businesses in driving sustainable change and contributing to a more climate-resilient future, in both developed and developing countries. He can be reached via: haruna.inuwa@st-hildas.ox.ac.uk
Hitisha Dadlani is a senior reservoir engineer at Oil and Natural Gas Corp. She is also a graduate student pursuing master of science degree in energy engineering at Heriot-Watt University, UK. She has experience in chemical and thermal enhanced oil recovery techniques and reservoir simulation. She is one of her organization's youngest members of the New Technology Scouting committee. Dadlani’s SPE journey dates back to her university days, when she served as head of research and development for Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University SPE student chapter and organized the maiden SPE Fest in 2017. She has participated as discussion leader/presenter in numerous SPE Conferences and workshops. In her spare time, she loves to travel and to do monologues, street plays, and dance performances.
James Allotey-Okai is a graduate engineer at Halliburton based in Ghana. He previously interned with Tullow Oil Ghana in the well engineering department. Allotey-Okai is an officer of the SPE Ghana Section serving actively on various committees. He joined SPE as a student member in November 2011, and is a past president of the SPE Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, student chapter. He was also a past transport officer for the Heriot-Watt University SPE student chapter. Allotey-Okai holds bachelor’s and post-graduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the KNUST and Heriot-Watt University, respectively.
Khawaja Hasnain Iltaf is enrolled in a PhD program in earth and environmental sciences, with a focus on geochemistry and petrophysics, at The University of Texas at Arlington. His research is primarily focused on the investigation of rock properties, fluid-rock interactions, and geochemical analysis leveraging core data. During his master's program, he has conducted comprehensive facies and petrophysical characterizations of tight sandstone reservoirs employing a blend of stochastic and deterministic methods. He has also held roles as an intern and research assistant across various exploration and production companies and academic institutions. He has authored or coauthored 13 research papers published in international journals, alongside 15 poster presentations and published abstracts at international conferences and workshops. He also serves as reviewer for three peer-reviewed journals and served as technical program reviewer for five international conferences. He served as a PetroBowl Volunteer in 2017 and as a Student Chapter Award Judge in 2018.
Lokesh Kumar Sekar is a PhD student in petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University and an active researcher at the subsurface engineering for sustainable energy research group focused on carbon sequestration, geothermal energy, and hydrogen storage. He has experience in thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical simulation, fracture modeling, proxy modeling, and digital twin development for subsurface energy systems. He has published 13 technical papers.
Sekar currently serves as director of the Texas A&M University (TAMU) SPE Future Energy Committee and president of the Geothermal Rising TAMU Student Chapter. He holds a master’s degree from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and a bachelor’s degree from Anna University, India, in petroleum engineering.
Maryse Jackman holds a BSc in geology from the University of the West Indies and an MBA in with specialization in oil and gas management from the University of Bedfordshire. She is employed in the Resource Management Division at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries. Her work functions include geological evaluations of open/idle blocks for the purpose of competitive bid rounds. Maryse has been volunteering with the Society of Petroleum Engineers Trinidad and Tobago Section (SPETT) since 2017. She has held various positions such as Director of Publicity, editor of SPETT’s newsletter, Top Drive. She is currently the Finance Chairperson. In her spare time, she enjoys reading inspirational books, playing the violin, dancing, and hiking.
Mohamed Alzaabi is a reservoir engineering specialist at ADNOC Offshore based in Abu Dhabi. He has over a decade of experience as an engineer and researcher. He has worked on a variety of research projects from evaluating unconventional reservoirs’ potential to analyzing polymer injectivity in porous media and exploring strategies to reduce the carbon footprint in the oil industry. In his role at ADNOC Offshore Technical Center, he is currently exploring a sustainable energy future and decarbonization within the oil and gas sector. He holds a BSc in petroleum engineering from Khalifa University, an MSc from the Colorado School of Mines, and a PhD in petroleum technology and reservoir chemistry from the University of Bergen.
Mohamed Mehana is a research scientist at the computational earth science group, environmental and earth sciences division, Los Alamos National Lab. He received his PhD in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma working on multiscale modeling of subsurface phenomena. His research interests include modeling and simulation of transport and interfacial phenomena at the meso/nanoscale, and leveraging machine learning capabilities to enable a predictive concurrent scale-bridging and real-time reservoir management.
Md Imtiaz is a well completion and testing engineer at the Oil and Natural Gas Corp. based in India. He has more than 6 years of experience in well completion and testing operations, well designing, production optimization of high-pressure gas wells, workover operations, surface recovery engineering, and well intervention services. He has been serving and contributing to SPE at various levels for over 11 years and he is actively involved in volunteering activities such as SPE e-mentoring, Energy4me Ambassador, Petrobowl, and Ambassador Lecturer program. His paper was presented at SPE Asia Pacific Hydraulic Fracturing Conference Beijing, Annual Conference & Exhibition of EAGE, Amsterdam, and OTC Malaysia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.
Mohammad Rasheed Khan is a reservoir engineer at Schlumberger, currently based out of Pakistan, focusing on reservoir, production, and well integrity domains, conducting real-time data processing and interpretation for wireline and D&M activities. He holds a combined experience of 4 years with the industry which includes reservoir engineering role at MOL Pakistan and researcher at SLB Dhahran Carbonate Research Center. Khan has authored around 20 conference and journal publications. Khan holds an MSc in petroleum engineering from KFUPM, Saudi Arabia, and is involved with mentoring students and volunteering for SPE on multiple fronts.
Murtadha J. AlTammar is a petroleum engineer in the Production Technology Division of Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Previously, he worked in the field for 18 months as a completion and production engineer with the Gas Production Engineering Division in Saudi Aramco. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Colorado School of Mines in 2010. He also holds master’s and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, with a specialty in hydraulic fracturing mechanics. AlTammar is an active technical reviewer for several journals, and has also been a member of organizing and technical committees for SPE and ARMA conferences.
Nuruddeen Inuwa Aminu is a graduate geoscientist with experience in teaching and research. He specializes in sustainable geoscience solutions: carbon capture and storage (CCS), underground hydrogen storage (UHS), and geothermal energy. His technical skills encompass reservoir characterization, modeling, and simulation for CCS, UHS, and geothermal energy applications, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change.
He joined SPE during his master’s program and has since been actively contributing to SPE’s activities through volunteering and participation. His professional journey includes roles such as graduate assistant at Modibbo Adama University Yola, and an internship with Clean Water Designs Ltd. in Glasgow, United Kingdom, where he contributed to a carbon estimation project. He is the cofounder and chair of the Centre for Science Foundation Jalingo, which mentors high school students for careers in STEM.
He holds a master’s degree in subsurface energy systems from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Modibbo Adama University, Yola.
Osama Radwan is a field petroleum engineer at Petrobel. He is pursuing a master’s degree in petroleum engineering with a specialization in production technology and artificial lift. He has been an SPE volunteer for more than 8 years and is currently a Petrobowl 2022 question writer. His passion in writing, editing, and proofreading started with his involvement with ECHO, the SPE Suez University student chapter’s magazine. After that, he worked as a freelance writer and editor in different petroleum media platforms. Research is part of his daily activities where he finds himself active and updated. Traveling and cooking top the list of his personal interests.
Oyedotun Dokun is a business development professional at OES Energy Services. Dokun has both shore and rig-based experience spanning over a decade. He has supervised drilling campaigns successfully for international operating companies, including Chevron, Agip, and Shell. Dokun is a mechanical engineer, and International Well Control Forum-certified (Level 4) drilling well control supervisor. As a John Maxwell Certified Coach, he facilitates group and personal coaching sessions for individuals and corporates. In volunteer capacity, he is the current president of Garden City Toastmasters Club in Nigeria, and presently an MBA candidate at the University of South Wales.
Piergiuseppe Fiore is a petroleum engineer at Eni. He is part of the reservoir management and production data analysis unit, working on injectivity issues, improved oil recovery, and carbon capture and storage. He has also specialized in CFD simulations, publishing several articles. Fiore is an active member of SPE and is part of the YP Board of the SPE Italian Section. He holds an MSc degree in chemical engineering from the University of Calabria and a second-level master’s in petroleum engineering at Polytechnic of Turin.
Rahul Roy is a digital oilfield technology consultant at IPCOS, based out of Houston. Roy has been involved in the digital transformation journey of several major oil and gas clients across North America. He has over 12 years of experience in the design, development, and deployment of physics-based and data-driven models, engineering workflows, and analytical dashboards for petroleum engineering processes and applications. His proficiency extends across a spectrum of areas, including well and network modeling, integrated production modeling, production optimization, hydrocarbon accounting, well test analysis, automated model creation, and calibration and the configuration of analytical dashboards. He holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India, and is currently pursuing a master’s of science degree in analytics at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Rajeev Ranjan Sinha is a product analyst at SLB for DELFI ProdOps, a scalable industry-proven production operations platform, based out of Houston. He graduated from IIT(ISM) Dhanbad with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering. Sinha started his career in 2013 as a reservoir engineer based out of India. During the initial phase of his career, he provided training, software support, and consulting to oil and gas operators in South Asia in well, network, and reservoir modeling and simulation software products and worked on multiple field development planning projects. Since then, he gained expertise in digital oilfield technologies, production operations and optimization, artificial lift surveillance, pump health and prognostics, sand management, and digitalization of field equipment systems. He has judged several student paper contests and case studies and is currently serving as the vice-treasurer of the SPE-GCS Completions & Production Study Group. Sinha has authored 5 SPE publications on his topics of interests.
Saket Kumar is a reservoir engineer at SLB. He previously worked at CMG Ltd., Telesto Energy, and DrillinkTech International. His interests include dynamic reservoir modeling, classical reservoir engineering, and field development planning. He is particularly active in enhancing the accuracy in measurement and interpretation of special core analysis laboratory and pressure/volume/temperature experiments.
Saransh Surana is a reservoir engineer at ExxonMobil based in Bangalore, India. His skill set includes reservoir engineering and management with an emphasis on reservoir surveillance and production optimization. He also has work experience in the field of GIS and applications of machine learning in oil and gas. He is the author of an international research publication on this subject. He was the SPE Regional South Asia Student Paper Contest winner in 2021 and has been associated with various SPE student chapter and section activities. Outside of professional life, he enjoys traveling, sports, and writing blogs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.
Syed Razavi is an application chemist at Clariant Oil Services. He provides flow assurance technical support to the Gulf of Mexico deepwater assets in the areas of wax, asphaltene, and hydrate mitigation and control. He is also involved in the process of umbilical qualification of production chemicals that require rigorous testing and evaluation before being deployed offshore via long umbilical lines. Razavi is experienced in flowback and produced water production modeling and reuse with friction reducers in the US shale basins in West Texas, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. He has been involved with SPE since 2012 and has participated in young professional volunteer opportunities in the past several years. He holds a BS in chemical engineering and a BA in chemistry with focus on petroleum engineering and mathematics from University of Houston.
Timilehin Adegbamigbe is an energy industry professional with primary experience in well intervention operations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and gas engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has been a student member of the SPE since 2017. Adegbamigbe represented his alma mater at the 2018 national PetroBowl and student symposium. He also previously served as a co-chair on the editorial board of the SPE UNILAG student chapter publication. His research interests include geomechanical modeling and drilling automation. Outside of work, Adegbamigbe enjoys reading, volunteering, football, and listening to classical music.
Vu Nguyen is a doctoral candidate in the petroleum engineering department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His research focuses on cement and zonal isolation, reservoir simulation, enhanced oil recovery, corrosion in the oil and gas industry, carbon capture storage, machine learning, and computational fluid dynamics. He has published several papers in the Journal of the American Chemistry Society, Sustainability, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, and Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology. Besides research, he likes teach students. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and a master’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Florida.
Xiliang Liu is a senior academic researcher at the China University of Petroleum-Beijing with 7 years of research experience, and associate editor of the Petroleum and Petrochemical Engineering Journal. He is a visiting scholar at the University of Alberta, conducting research in the surface laboratory. His research focuses on CO2–EOR and CO2 sequestration. Liu has published more than 20 papers in Chemical Engineering Journal, Applied Energy, Energy, Fuel, and Petroleum Science. He holds more than 10 Chinese and US patents and has participated in about 20 international academic conferences with invited speakers and oral presentations. He is the recipient of six international, China national-level, and provincial-level academic awards.
Xupeng He is a petroleum engineer with EXPEC Advanced Research Center of Saudi Aramco. His research focuses on modeling fluid flow in fractured rocks and developing machine learning workflows for geoenergy applications. He has authored and coauthored 15 peer-reviewed journal papers, over 30 conference papers, and 12 granted and filed patents. He has received several awards from different organizations, including the 2023 EXPEC ARC Newcomer Award, 2022 Dean’s Award from KAUST, and was a finalist for the Oil and Gas Middle East Young Professional of the Year Award. He holds MS and PhD degrees in earth science and engineering and energy resources and petroleum engineering, respectively, from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
Zhenzhen Wang is a lead simulation engineer and research scientist at Chevron Technical Center with 7 years of work experience. He has expertise in the areas of surrogate reservoir modeling, field development optimization, history matching, subsurface uncertainty assessment, pressure/rate transient analysis, and miscible flooding. Wang has published more than twenty papers and reviewed more than seventy manuscripts for various journals. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Technical Reviewer Award from SPE Journal and Reviewing Award from both Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering and Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering. He holds a PhD from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) from China University of Petroleum–Beijing, all in petroleum engineering.
Joining our Team of Editors
If you enjoy reading our publication and would like to try your hand at writing original content, we invite you to apply to be an editor as part of our volunteer staff. The articles you read on The Way Ahead are written by TWA editors or sourced by them from industry experts around the globe.
If you are an SPE member younger than 35 years of age who likes to write and discuss industry trends and technology, consider becoming a part of The Way Ahead. You’ll take your writing to a wider audience beyond LinkedIn posts or blogs while working with a talented team of young professionals in the industry. The experience will improve your leadership, time management, and communication skills.
TWA currently accepts applications on a rolling basis. To learn more, please write to spethewayahead@gmail.com.