Page 14 - CEGE Magazine - Fall 2021

MS 1968
ALUMNIPROFILE ALI DANESHY
Ali Daneshy and the Mysterious Underground
Ali Daneshy (MS 1968) has devoted his career to finding creative ways to unearth hidden resources and pro- mote a “better understanding of what happens in the mysterious underground when we fracture wells in oil-and-gas- bearing formations” (Daneshy, 2021).
It was while pursuing a master’s degree in Mineral Engineering from the Univer- sity of Minnesota (UMN) that Daneshy was introduced to rock mechanics and hydraulic fracturing by Dr. Charles Fair- hurst. As the premier program in rock mechanics, top students from around the world were coming to UMN. Dane- shy studied with a global contingent
of like-minded scholars. That cultural diversity was an unexpected bonus and made a big impact. “I had classmates from Russia, China, India, Israel, United Kingdom, Belgium, and France, among others. The mixture created an envi- ronment more creative and productive than if we had all come from the same environment or all thought alike. One lesson I carry with me from Minnesota is the value of having collaborators from many different backgrounds.”
As a young student, he had been admitted to the competitive mineral en- gineering program at the University of Tehran—one of only 200 or so selected from a very large pool of applicants. Although his academic path was largely determined for him in the beginning, Daneshy excelled and came to love the field.
Daneshy went on to earn his Ph.D. in Mining Engineering at the University of
Missouri-Rolla. He focused his interests on petroleum engineering, a career
that has taken him around the world
to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asian Pacific regions. These travels and sojourns in other countries made him familiar with global aspects of the oil and gas industry.
He started his professional career at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil field service companies. His career pro- gression included Manager of Reservoir Research and Engineering, Director of European Research Center in Leider- dorp, The Netherlands; Operations Technical Manager for the Europe/Africa Region in London, England; Vice Presi- dent of Integrated Technology Products for Energy Services in Houston, Texas.
Later, he held the post as Director of Pe- troleum Engineering at the University of Houston. And currently, he is President of Daneshy Consultants International, and publisher and co-editor-in-chief of Hydraulic Fracturing Journal (now pub- lishing only special editions).
His contributions to hydraulic fracturing have earned him multiple awards. In 2016, he received Honorary Member- ship in The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). In 2018, he received the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Legion of Hon- or Award. Daneshy also received the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ highest honor, being named Honorary Member.
Daneshy’s many contributions in tech- nologies and applications related to hydraulic fracturing have allowed the oil
Ali Daneshy (MS 1968): Active participant in the development of hydraulic fracturing technology and its application for enhancing productivity of oil and gas wells. He has been recognized as an SPE Honorary member.
and gas industries to become more pro- ductive and efficient. The expansive use of petroleum products in transportation, manufacturing, power, and many other areas has led to high visibility for the industry. Among petroleum engineers, hydraulic fracturing is one of the more prominent topics in the field of oil and gas production technology. For exam- ple, the Society of Petroleum Engineers devotes an entire annual conference to hydraulic fracturing.
The issues of power production and protecting the environment have become polarized. “One of the unfor- tunate aspects of this,” notes Daneshy, “is that people in oil and gas industries are not viewed favorably by some in
the general community, and that makes collaborations more difficult. Petroleum engineers, also, are concerned about protecting our environment and about the changes taking place due to climate change. Those issues require everyone’s respect, attention and support.”
Drawing on the lessons he learned in Minnesota, Daneshy believes that the more complicated a problem, the more that people from various backgrounds are needed to address it. Such is the case when talking about issues of en- ergy use and environmental protection.
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