Cevat O Karacan
Dr. C. Özgen Karacan is a Research Petroleum Engineer with the USGS Eastern Energy Resources Science Center in Reston, VA.
Biography
Dr. Karacan conducts research related to CO2-EOR, CO2 sequestration, reservoir engineering of petroleum system, and coal mine and abandoned mine methane resources. Before joining the USGS, Dr. Karacan worked for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Mining Research Division for 13 years, where he managed research projects related to ventilation, and sources of gob gas and its control in coal mines.
Dr. Karacan is one of the Editors of International Journal of Coal Geology, and a Bureau member and vice chair of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane. He holds associate professor of petroleum engineering accreditation in Turkey and an adjunct professor position at China University of Geosciences in Beijing (CUGB). Dr. Karacan won NIOSH Alice Hamilton Award in 2013 and 2016.
Dr. Karacan received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Middle East Technical University, in Ankara, Turkey and worked for the Pennsylvania State University between 1998 and 2003 as a research associate.
Education
- Ph.D. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 1998
- M.S. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 1993
- B.S. Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 1991
Work Experience
- 2017-present: USGS, Eastern Energy Resources Science Center, Reston VA
- 2003-2017: CDC/NIOSH, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, Pittsburgh PA
- 1998-2003: The Pennsylvania State University, University Park PA
- 1991-1998: Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Science and Products
Assessment of Unconventional Energy Potential of Methane Released from Active and Abandoned Mines
Large underground coal mines, especially longwall mines, disturb an extensive layer of strata overlying and underlying the mined coal seam due to induced stresses and due to collapse of the coal-bearing strata into the void left from mined coal. This volume of strata disturbed by mining is termed as the gas emission zone, which often contains other gassy coal seams of non-economic value, thin...
Application of Methodology and Regional Assessment of CMM and AMM Potential
This project developed assessment methodologies based on available data from Northern Appalachian basin. The assessment was conducted on two adjacent panels of a longwall mine that operated in Pennsylvania. The methodology was verified with the existing data and by cross checking the results of the software and probabilistic calculations.
Assessing Emissions from Active and Abandoned Coal Mines
Gas emission zone liberates and accumulates significant amounts of coal mine methane as a by-product of active mining. In most active mines, coal mine methane is controlled by wellbores, called gob gas ventholes. Despite the presence of these wellbores, it is not possible to capture all of the methane generated within the gas emission zone. As a consequence, a large amount of gas migrates into...
A fuzzy logic approach for estimating recovery factors of miscible CO2-EOR projects in the United States
"Recovery factor (RF) is one of the most fundamental parameters that define engineering and economical success of any operational phase in oil and gas production. The effectiveness of the operation, e.g. CO2-EOR (enhanced oil recovery with carbon dioxide injection), is usually defined by multiplying the resultant recovery factor by the original...
Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen) Petrology and geochemistry of migrated hydrocarbons associated with the Albert Formation oil shale in New Brunswick, Canada
Samples of the Carboniferous oil shale of the Albert Formation in New Brunswick, Canada, were examined using reflected white and fluorescence light microscopy, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and ICP-MS (for elements). The presence of fractured filled solid bitumen in contact with, and within the Albert Formation oil shale, particularly in fractures at the...
F. Goodarzi; T. Gentzis; Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen); H. Sanei; P.K. Pederson An ANCOVA model for porosity and its uncertainty for oil reservoirs based on TORIS dataset
Porosity is one of the most important parameters to assess in-place oil or gas in reservoirs, and to evaluate recovery from enhanced production operations. Since it is relatively well-established to determine porosity using different laboratory and field methods, its value is usually determined at many locations across a reservoir as part of the...
Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen) Assessment of coal mine methane (CMM) and abandoned mine methane (AMM) resource potential of longwall mine panels: example from Northern Appalachian Basin, USA
"Coal mine methane (CMM) and abandoned mine methane (AMM), are by-products of underground coal mining. The quantity and the emission rate of CMM and AMM may vary depending on the type of mine, gas content of the mined coal seam, and gas sourced from strata and coal beds in overlying and underlying formations affected by mining. Therefore, if a...
Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen); Warwick, Peter D. Insights from Rock-Eval analysis on the influence of sample weight on hydrocarbon generation from Lower Permian organic-matter rich rocks, West Bokaro basin, India
Among the different Rock-Eval parameters, the hydrocarbons released under S2 peak of Rock-Eval is of significance as it indicates the residual hydrocarbon content of the rock. Further, through its relationship with TOC content, it helps in calculating hydrogen indices (HI) which helps in understanding the type of organic-matter present in a rock [...
Hazra, B; Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen); Devleena, Mani T; Singh, Pradeep K.; Singh, Ashok K. Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and residual oil zone studies at the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is preparing a national resource assessment of the potential hydrocarbons recoverable after injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into conventional oil reservoirs in the United States. The implementation of CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) techniques can increase hydrocarbon production, and lead to incidental...
Warwick, Peter D.; Attanasi, Emil D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Brennan, Sean T.; Buursink, Marc; Doolan, Colin A.; Freeman, Philip A.; Jahediesfanjani, Hossein; Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen); Lohr, Celeste D.; Merrill, M.D.; Olea, Ricardo; Roueché, Jacqueline N.; Shelton, Jenna L.; Slucher, Ernie; Varela, Brian; Verma, Mahendra K. Zone identification and oil saturation prediction in a waterflooded field: Residual oil zone, East Seminole Field, Texas, Permian Basin
Recently, the miscible CO2-EOR tertiary process used in the main pay zone (MP) of suitable reservoirs has broadened to include exploitation of the underlying residual oil zone (ROZ) where a significant amount of oil may remain. The objective of this study is to identify the ROZ and to assess the remaining oil in a brownfield ROZ by using core data...
Roueche, Jacqueline; Karacan, Cevat (Ozgen) Stochastic reservoir simulation for the modeling of uncertainty in coal seam degasification
Coal seam degasification improves coal mine safety by reducing the gas content of coal seams and also by generating added value as an energy source. Coal seam reservoir simulation is one of the most effective ways to help with these two main objectives. As in all modeling and simulation studies, how the reservoir is defined and whether observed...
Karacan, C. Özgen; Olea, Ricardo A. Time-lapse analysis of methane quantity in Mary Lee group of coal seams using filter-based multiple-point geostatistical simulation
Coal seam degasification and its success are important for controlling methane, and thus for the health and safety of coal miners. During the course of degasification, properties of coal seams change. Thus, the changes in coal reservoir conditions and in-place gas content as well as methane emission potential into mines should be evaluated by...
Karacan, C. Özgen; Olea, Ricardo A. Sequential Gaussian co-simulation of rate decline parameters of longwall gob gas ventholes
Gob gas ventholes (GGVs) are used to control methane inflows into a longwall mining operation by capturing the gas within the overlying fractured strata before it enters the work environment. Using geostatistical co-simulation techniques, this paper maps the parameters of their rate decline behaviors across the study area, a longwall mine in the...
Karacan, C. Özgen; Olea, Ricardo A. Geostatistical modeling of the gas emission zone and its in-place gas content for Pittsburgh-seam mines using sequential Gaussian simulation
Determination of the size of the gas emission zone, the locations of gas sources within, and especially the amount of gas retained in those zones is one of the most important steps for designing a successful methane control strategy and an efficient ventilation system in longwall coal mining. The formation of the gas emission...
Karacan, C.O.; Olea, Ricardo A.; Goodman, G.