Dr. Ali AlYousef

Dean, Dean’s Office

Dr. Ali AlYousef is the second Dean of College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences (CPG), KFUPM. He was a Principal Petroleum Engineering Professional and Chief Technologist of Reservoir Engineering Technology Division at Saudi Aramco Upstream Research Centre. He has more than 30 years of experience in upstream research and technology, decarbonization, CCUS, Advanced reservoir evaluation and monitoring, Advanced Petrophysics, and Advanced Materials and IOR/EOR.

He has written over 100 technical papers, and has 61 granted patents. He is an active member of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and received the Saudi Aramco President & CEO Excellence Award in 2015 in recognition of significant contributions towards IOR/EOR research. Dr. Ali AlYousef is also the recipient of IOR Pioneer Award received in 2016 for his significant contributions made to the advancement of recovery technologies. He is recognized by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in 2018 for his pioneering invention on SmartWater flooding technology. More recently, the technology on zero liquid discharge (ZLD) water management solution that he co-invented has received World Oil’s 2020 Best Water Management Technology Award. He is also recipient of International SPE’s Distinguished Membership at 2021 SPE ATCE for his technical commitment for the industry and the society. Dr. Ali AlYousef has also been elected as 2021 Fellow of Energy Institute (FEI).

Educational Qualification

Ph.D., Petroleum Engineering, University of Texas at Austin – 2006
M.S., Petroleum Engineering, University of Texas at Austin – 2001
B.S., Chemical Engineering, KFUPM – 1995

Research Interests

Reservoir Engineering
Formation Evaluation
Water flooding
Improved/Enhanced Oil Recovery
Nanotechnology
Unconventional Resources
Produced Water Management
Mineral Extraction
Carbon capture and sequestration
CO2 mineralization
Energy Transition
Hydrogen
Geothermal Energy

Selected Publications

A. AlOmier, D.K. Cha, S.C. Ayirala, A.A Yousef, and H. Hoteit; Novel Fabrication of Mixed Wettability Micromodels for Pore-Scale Studies of Fluid-Rock Interactions, Lab On a Chip, 2024
X. Rao, S. Guo, X. He, H. Kwak, A.A Yousef, H. Hoteit; Hybrid Mimetic Finite Difference and Streamline Methods for Numerical Simulation of Two-phase Flow in Fractured Reservoirs, Computers and Geotechnics, 2024
X. Rao, X. He, H. Kwak, A.A Yousef, H. Hoteit; A Novel Streamline Simulation Method for Fractured Reservoirs with Full-tensor Permeability, Physics of Fluids, 2024
M. Duits, D. Le-Anh, S.C. Ayirala, M.B. AlOtaibi, H. Gardeniers, A.A Yousef, and F. Mugele; Microfluidics for Carbonate Rock IOR: Some Lessons from Fabrication, Operation and Image Analysis, SPE Journal, Sept. 2023
T. Qin, P. Fenter, M. B. AlOtaibi, S.C. Ayirala, and A.A. Yousef; Is Enhanced Oil Recovery Controlled by Ion Adsorption at the Carbonate-Brine Interface? Scientific Reports, 2023
S. Abdel-Azeim, A. Al-Yaseri, K. Norrman, P. Patil, A. Qasim, A.A. Yousef; Wettability of Caprock–H2–Water: Insights from Molecular Dynamic Simulations and Sessile-Drop Experiment, Energy Fuels, 2023
A. Binabdi, T. Solling, A. El Zohry, S.C. Ayirala, A. Gmira, A.A. Yousef; Fundamentals of Crystallization at Oil-Brine Interfaces for Conformance Control and Oil Spill Remediation Applications, Journal of Geoenergy Science and Engineering, 2023
S.C. Ayirala, M.A. Alsaud, and A.A. Yousef; Multiscale Modeling Workflow of Advanced Waterflooding, US Patent No. 11604910, 2023
A.O. Alghamdi, S.C. Ayirala, and A.A. Yousef; Down-hole Selective Ion Removal Water Ionizer System for Subsurface Applications, US Patent No. 11,788,392, 2023
A. Aljedaani, M.B. Alotaibi, S.C. Ayirala, and A.A. Yousef; Humidification and Dehumidification Processes using Waste Heat Extracted from Abandoned Well, US Patent No. 11548796, 2023

For detailed list of Publications, Patents, Text Books, Regional/International Awards, Journal Publications and Conference Papers click here.

Extended Publications (+)

A. Al-Qasim, S.C. Ayirala, and A.A. Yousef; Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery with Electric Current, US Patent No. 11352867, 2022
M.B. Otaibi, D.K. Cha, and A.A. Yousef; Artificial Rain to Support Water Flooding in Remote Oil Fields, US Patent No. 11274534, 2022
S.C. Ayirala, M.A. Alsaud, and A.A. Yousef; Low pH-based Oil Recovery Method for Carbonate Reservoirs, US Patent No. 11214730, 2022
S. Kumar, P. Cats, M.B. Alotaibi, S.C. Ayirala, A.A. Yousef, R. van Roij, I. Siretanu, F. Mugele; Absence of Anomalous Underscreening in Highly Concentrated Aqueous Electrolytes Confined Between Smooth Silica Surfaces, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2022
D. Le-Anh, A. Rao, S. Schlautmann, A. Stetten, S.C. Ayirala, M.B. Alotaibi, M. Duits, H. Gardeniers, A.A. Yousef, and F. Mugele; Effects of Fluid Aging and Reservoir Temperature on Waterflooding in 2.5D Glass Micromodels, Energy & Fuels, 2022
S.C. Ayirala, A.M. AlSofi, Z. AlYousef, J. Wang, M.A. Alsaud, A.A. Yousef; SmartWater-Based Synergistic Technologies for Enhanced Oil Recovery, Fuel, 2022
S. Kumar, A. Rao, M.B. Alotaibi, S.C. Ayirala, A.A. Yousef, I. Siretanu, and F. Mugele; Response of Crude Oil Deposited Organic Layers to Brines of Different Salinity: An Atomic Force Microscopy Study on Carbonate Surfaces, Fuel, 2021
A. Rao, S. Kumar, C. Annink, D. Le-Anh, S.C. Ayirala, M.B. Alotaibi, I. Siretanu, M.H.G. Duits, A.A. Yousef, and F. Mugele; Nonmonotonic Coupled Dissolution-Precipitation Reactions at the Mineral–Water Interface, Advanced Functional Materials, 2021
A.O. Alghamdi, S.C. Ayirala, M.B. Al-Otaibi, and A.A. Yousef; Electro-kinetically Tailored Interfaces for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonates, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2021
P. Fenter, T. Qin, S. Soo Lee, M.B. AlOtaibi, S.C. Ayirala and A.A. Yousef; Molecular-Scale Origins of Wettability at Petroleum-Brine-Carbonate Interfaces, Nature Scientific Reports, 2020
A. Rao, S. Kumar, C. Annink, D. Le-Anh, S.C. Ayirala, M.B. Alotaibi, I. Siretanu, M. H.G. Duits, A.A. Yousef, and F. Mugele; Mineral Interfaces and Oil Recovery: A Microscopic View on Surface Reconstruction, Organic Modification, and Wettability Alteration of Carbonates, Energy & Fuels, April 2020
S.C. Ayirala, A. Alghamdi, A. Gmira, D.K. Cha, Abu Alsaud, and A.A. Yousef; Linking Pore Scale Mechanisms with Macroscopic to Core Scale Effects in Controlled Ionic Composition Low Salinity Waterflooding Processes, Fuel, March 2020
Z. Li, S.C. Ayirala, R. Mariath, A.M. AlSofi, Z. Xu, and A.A. Yousef; Microscale Effects of Polymer on Wettability Alteration in Carbonates, SPE Journal, August 2020
S.C. Ayirala and A.A. Yousef; Water Treatment Schemes for Injection Water Flooding Recovery Processes in Carbonate Reservoirs, US Patent No. 10,479,928, 2019
S.C. Ayirala, A.M. Sofi, and A.A. Yousef, and J. Wang; Polymer Flooding Processes for Viscous Oil Recovery in Carbonates, US Patent No. 10,457,851, 2019
A.M. AlSofi, J. Wang, A.M. AlBoqmi, M.B. AlOtaibi, S.C. Ayirala, and A.A. Yousef; Smartwater Synergy with Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery: Polymer Effects on Smartwater, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, 2019
P. Mahzari, P. Tsolis, M. Sohrabi, S. Enezi, A.A. Yousef, and A. Eidan; Carbonated Water Injection Under Reservoir Conditions; In-Situ WAG-type EOR, Fuel, 2018
S.C. Ayirala, A.M. Sofi, and A.A. Yousef; Oil Recovery Process Using an Oil Recovery Composition of Aqueous Salt Solution and Dilute Polymer for Carbonate Reservoirs, US Patent 10,106,726, 2018
H.T. Kwak, A.A. Yousef, and S.H. Saleh; Measuring Connectivity Between Different Pore Types in Porous Media, US Patent No. 10,156,531, 2018
A.A. Yousef and S.C. Ayirala; Smart Water Flooding Processes for Increasing Hydrocarbon Recovery, US Patent 10,000,687, 2018
M.B. AlOtaibi and A.A. Yousef; The Role of Individual and Combined Ions in Waterflooding Carbonate Reservoirs: Electokinetic Study, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, 2017
Chen, Y., Kaufman, K., Kristiansen, D., Seo, A.M., Schrader, M.B. Alotaibi, H.A. Dobbs, N.A. Cadirov, J.R. Boles, S.C. Ayirala, J.N. Israelachvili, and A.A. Yousef; Effects of Salinity on Oil Recovery (the ‘Dilution Effect’): Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Crude Oil/Brine/Carbonate Surface Restructuring, Energy & Fuels, 2017
S.C. Ayirala and A.A. Yousef; A State-of-the-Art Review to Develop Injection Water Chemistry Requirement Guidelines for IOR/EOR Projects, SPE Production and Operations, 2015
A.A. Yousef, M. Han, and S.H. Saleh; Oil Recovery Process for Carbonate Reservoirs, US Patent 8,550,164, 2013
A.A. Yousef, A.O. Al-Kaabi, and S.H. Saleh; Oil Recovery Process for Carbonate Reservoirs, US Patent 8,550,163, 2013
A.A. Yousef, S. Saleh, A. Al-Kaabi, and M. Al-Jawfi; Laboratory Investigation of the Impact of Injection-Water Salinity and Ionic Content on Oil Recovery from Carbonate Reservoirs, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, 2011
A.A. Yousef and L.W. Lake; A Capacitance Model to Infer Interwell Connectivity from Production and Injection Rate Fluctuations, SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering Journal, 9 (5): 630-646, 2006
S.C. Ayirala, P. Muradov, A.A. Yousef, and K. Aziz; Advanced Characterization of Wettability Alteration by Surfactants in Carbonate Rocks, Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2003
A.A. Yousef, L.W. Lake, and T.S. Thompson; Effects of Scaling on Surfactant Performance in Carbonates, Journal of Petroleum Technology, 2002
A. Yousef and L.W. Lake; A Streamline-Based Approach for Determining Sweep Efficiency in Carbonates, SPE Journal, 2001

Awards & Honors

2024 Hart Energy Special Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation (MEA) on the World’s First Produced Water Management Project with Unconventional Frac Flow-Back Water
2023 Global Energy Show Suzanne West Environmental Excellence Award for A Sustainable Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Produced Water Management Solution for Recycling of Wastewater Streams
2023 Hart Energy Special Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation (MEA) on the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Produced Water Management Project
2023 Gulf Energy Excellence Award for the Best EOR Technology on SmartWater Flooding- A Sustainable EOR Technology
2023 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Service Award
2022 Saudi Aramco Excellence Award for the Innovation and Field Demonstration of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Produced Water Management Technology
2022 World Oil Award for the Best Water Management Technology on Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Produced Water Management Field Demonstration Project
2021 Fellow of Energy Institute (FEI), the highest level of EI recognition awarded to Energy’s leaders and influencers.
2020 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Membership Award
2020 World Oil Award for the Best Water Management Technology on Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Produced Water Management Innovation
2017 Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Award for Inventors and the Gifted in recognition of the breakthrough invention on SmartWater flooding technology
2016 SPE IOR Pioneer Award for pioneering contributions made to the advancement of recovery technologies in the field of IOR/EOR
2015 Saudi Aramco President & CEO Excellence Award on IOR/EOR research advancements
2011 ADIPEC Best Oil and Gas Innovation and Technology Award for SmartWater Flooding technology