Meet the Researcher Raven Goswick, Research Engineer, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

By Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

Raven Goswick is a Research Engineer at the Petroleum Recovery Research Center (PRRC) located at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) in Socorro, NM. She is presently working with the Reservoir Evaluation and Advanced Computational Technologies group and is involved in several key projects including the NM Universities Produced Water Synthesis Group, Southwest Regional Partnership Farnsworth Unit, and New Mexico Oil Conservation Division spill reports. Goswick believes the most important aspect of her role is creating more partnerships with industry and the PRRC. She is an experienced user of hydraulic fracture modeling software (FRACPRO, GOHFER, MSHALE, and WELLCAT), and has expertise in well operations and geomechanics/rock mechanics with her current research focusing on the subcritical fracturing in rocks.

Raven received BS and MS degrees from NMT in petroleum engineering in 2004 and engineering mechanics with an emphasis in solid mechanics in 2006, respectively. She is currently pursuing a PhD in petroleum engineering at NMT with an anticipated graduation date of 2021. She first began her research career as a teaching assistant for NMT in 2005, allowing her the opportunity to apply her skills firsthand in a solid and fluid mechanics undergraduate lab. From there, she became a Reservoir and Completions Engineer for Encana Oil and Gas, Inc., where she assisted her team in understanding the importance of shale resources in geomechanics by creating Frac Models in MSHALE software to simulate fracture designs and mechanical properties. These experiences enabled Raven to take on the role of Senior Completions Engineer for several businesses over the years including the Apache Corporation, Devon Energy, and Sable Permian Resources. This line of work required her to supervise field operations, maintain a strict budget for each project and determine completion efficiency. She also designed and implemented numerous hydraulic fracture stimulation programs in order to better understand the effects of fracture heights and containment. Goswick became the Principal Engineer for Cricondenbar Consulting, LLC in Oklahoma City, OK, offering engineering consulting services on completion design, reservoir characterization, and wellbore construction before ultimately reaching her current position at NMT in 2019.

Raven currently has two publications that feature her research. One is a technical report entitled, Conformance Improvement Using Gels (2002), and the other has been published by the Society of Petroleum Engineers entitled, Utilizing Oil Soluble Tracers to Understand Stimulation Efficiency Along the Lateral (2014). In addition to her research responsibilities, she is also an active member of the American Rock Mechanics Association, the American Physical Society, the American Geophysical Union and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. From 2017 to 2018, Goswick was the conference co-chair for the SPE Liquids-rich Basins Conference as well as a committee member for the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference.

When asked about her future plans, Raven states that she does anticipate future research with the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute and other universities. She aspires to become a respected contributing engineer in her field of study and will continue to work on rock mechanics research after completing her PhD.