UWs Grana Receives International Award for Hydrocarbon Innovation

A University of Wyoming faculty member has received a prestigious international award for developing an innovative method to obtain information about oil and gas reservoirs using seismic techniques.

Dario Grana, a UW School of Energy Resources assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics and the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, received the 2014 Eni Award for “New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons” this week in Rome from the president of Italy. Also receiving the award were Stanford University researchers Tapan Mukerji, Gary Mavko and Jack Dvorkin.

Seismic surveying techniques have played a fundamental role in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as they enable scientists to visualize and map the subsurface. The UW-Stanford team identified correlations between the physical properties of rocks and fluids, and experimental data, to develop an innovative interpretative model for quantifying oil and gas reservoirs.

The Eni Award is an international prize that recognize outstanding research and development in the fields of energy and the environment. The award, named after Eni, an integrated energy company based in Italy, was established in 2007 to recognize innovative ideas for better use of energy resources, to promote environmental research and to encourage new generations of researchers.

This year, a 23-person scientific award committee, including a Nobel Prize winner, selected honorees in four categories: “New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons”; “Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy”; “Protection of the Environment”; and “Debut in Research.” Three additional Eni prizes were awarded for innovative and applied research.

Grana, who came to UW after earning his Ph.D. at Stanford, is one of the authors of a rock physics textbook that was released internationally by Cambridge Press earlier this year. His work at UW includes the development of a new graduate-level course called “Rock Physics and Reservoir Modeling,” focusing on applications for oil and gas reservoirs.