Mileva Radonjic

Corresponding Author of "Review of Geochemical and Geo-Mechanical Impact of Clay-Fluid Interactions Relevant to Hydraulic Fracturing"

January 10, 2022

Mileva Radonjic is a geologist who teaches petroleum engineering with a research focus in environmental aspects of the energy industry, such as the prevention of wellbore leakage and CO2 storage. Dr. Radonjic is originally from Serbia, SE Europe, and spent 13 years in England where she first learned English and later got her Ph.D., followed by postdoctoral research at the Interface Analysis Center, Bristol University. In 2003 Dr. Radonjic crossed the Atlantic, starting with a Postdoctoral Fellow in Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton. From 2005-2006 Dr. Radonjic was fortunate to have the opportunity to work at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington DC, a think-tank organization where she lead housing technology and had the opportunity to work with FEMA and the DOE towards mitigating post-Katrina rebuilding in Lousiana. As an immigrant, Dr. Radonjic had to look for opportunities where her immigration status would be less of a burden, and later accepted an offer to move to Houston and join BP America, where she spent 2 years as a specialist primarily focusing on leaky wellbores and CO² storage. After a few years outside of academia, Dr. Radonjic decided to head back to academia, this time to LSU, where she spent 10 years. Dr. Radonjic joined OSU in 2018, where she has lead two multi-PI projects and teaches Petroleum Engineering classes. The two writing contributions for which she is recognized today are the result of collaborative work with graduate student Gabriel Awjori, and a larger collaborative effort with the NETL and partners from the Caney Shale project, which is 20M project cosponsored by the DOE and Continental Resources. Dr. Radonjic is grateful to all students and all Caney team members for their contribution and commitment to their research.

Shale rocks are an integral part of petroleum systems. Though originally viewed primarily as source and seal rocks, introduction of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies have essentially redefined the role of shale rocks in unconventional reservoirs. In the geological setting, the deposition, formation and transformation of sedimentary rocks are characterised by interactions between their clay components and formation fluids at subsurface elevated temperatures and pressures. The main driving forces in evolution of any sedimentary rock formation are geochemistry (chemistry of solids and fluids) and geomechanics (earth stresses). During oil and gas production, clay minerals are exposed to engineered fluids, which initiate further reactions with significant implications. Application of hydraulic fracturing in shale formations also means exposure and reaction between shale clay minerals and hydraulic fracturing fluids. This chapter presents an overview of currently available published literature on interactions between formation clay minerals and fluids in the subsurface. The overview is particularly focused on the geochemical and geomechanical impacts of interactions between formation clays and hydraulic fracturing fluids, with the goal to identify knowledge gaps and new research questions on the subject.

URL: https://library-dep.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2022-honorees/mileva-radonjic

Last Updated: 7 February 2022