Mohamed Ammar, a Ph.D. student in petroleum engineering, grew up in Libya鈥攁 country with the largest oil reserves in Africa. Surrounded by an economy heavily reliant on oil, he was naturally drawn to pursue a career in the industry.
After receiving his bachelor鈥檚 degree in petroleum engineering at the University of Tripoli, Ammar came to Texas Tech to obtain his master鈥檚 in petroleum engineering. On his way to his master鈥檚 in Lubbock, Houston became the first city he visited when he came to the U.S.
鈥淚 was impressed by its vibrant energy industry, as it is the global hub for oil and gas,鈥� Ammar expressed. 鈥淭he Petroleum Engineering graduate program at the University of Houston has achieved national recognition, so this reputation coupled with my familiarity with the city, made Houston the ideal choice for my Ph.D.鈥�
So after nine years back home in Libya where he worked with Total Energies, Houston beckoned Mohamed to come back to the U.S. in 2022 where he joined the U.H. graduate program.
Ammar has joined a team of engineers under research advisor Professor Birol Dindoruk,
where he is working to develop new techniques that optimize the minimum miscibility
pressure and sequestration.
鈥淲hat we do is inject CO鈧� into the oil in order to improve the properties for the
oil,鈥� Mohamed explained. 鈥淪o, it will improve the viscosity and the density of oil
and make it more movable.鈥濃��
By injecting CO鈧�, the greenhouse effect is reduced, and carbon dioxide is sequestered in the reservoir. Optimizing the minimum miscibility pressure would allow engineers to take more CO鈧� from our atmosphere and use it to help extract more oil then store it underground in the depleted oil reservoir.
鈥淚 believe my research will progress the carbon dioxide utilization and improve the
use of it for better recovery and pave the way for potentially better ideas of using
the CO鈧� as storage and as enhanced oil recovery,鈥� Ammar said.
Being recognized as one of the most renowned oil and gas companies in the world, Ammar
was drawn to the Chevron fellowship as they actively support student research that
aims to improve energy efficiency while reducing environmental impact.
After being inducted as a 2024-2025 UH-Chevron Energy Graduate Fellow, Ammar has been able to work alongside field leaders to develop solutions that improve energy efficiency while reducing environmental impact.
鈥淢y primary goal as a Chevron fellow is to contribute to the enhancement of sustainable
energy practices through innovative research and impactful solutions,鈥� Mohamed said.
鈥淲ith a focus on the scaling of the application of CO鈧� injection in both conventional
and unconventional reservoirs and residual oil zones.鈥�
Besides the fellowship, Mohamed is a member of the UH chapter of the Society of Petroleum
Engineering. The UH chapter is among the most renown of the over 400 chapters as it
was awarded the 2024 Presidential Award for Outstanding Student Chapter.
Mohamed credited his family for their constant support throughout his academic journey along with his research advisor Professor Birol Dindoruk whose dedication to pushing the boundaries of engineering has encouraged him to achieve that same level of commitment.
"Working together across academia, industry, and government, we can create sustainable
solutions that not only address today鈥檚 energy challenges but also pave the way for
a cleaner and more efficient future,鈥� Ammar emphasized.