Xianmin Joe Zhou

Engineer I, CIPR

Mr. Zhou is a highly experienced enhanced oil recovery researcher who has been for long designing and supervising lab experiments and infrastructure and handling a wide spectrum of routine and sophisticated projects, advanced core analysis, core flooding lab, and PVT Lab Setups. Xianmin has conducted research in different areas such as CO2 IOR, chemical EOR and two-phase and three-phase relative permeability in porous media. He is currently working on multiple projects such as the displacement efficiency of oil recovery by Supercritical CO2 and chemical solutions injection. Before joining KFUMP in 2016, he served as a Petroleum Engineer at Reservoir Engineer Technology Team, EXPEC Advanced Research Center at Saudi Aramco (2010-16), as a Quality Control Supervisor/ Senior Special Core Analyst at Intertek Caleb Brett, Houston, TX, USA (2007-10), and as a Senior Special Core Analyst at Core Labs Inc., Houston, TX (2005-07) among other high-profile incumbencies.

Mr. Zhou is a registered patentee of a number of breakthroughs like “Core Holder for Three Piece Core Flooding Experiments”, China, 1988, “A Method of Measuring Oil-Water-Gas Relative Permeability for Oil Reservoir Samples”, China, 1989, “Plugging thief zone and fractures by in-situ and in-depth crystallization for improving water sweep efficiency of sandstone and carbonate reservoirs”, USA, 2014. “Multiple Function Core Flooding Apparatus and Experimental Methodology for Study of Secondary and Tertiary Oil recovery,” In processing, U.S. Application No. 15/452,949 filed on March 8, 2017.

Educational Qualification

MS, Natural Gas & Petroleum Engineering, University of Wyoming, USA, 1996.
BS, Petroleum Engineering, Daqing Petroleum Institute, China, 1976

Research Interests

Oil Recovery by Water, Chemical Solutions, and Supercritical CO2 Injection.
Two-Phase and Three-Phase Relative Permeability and flow in porous media.
Wettability of reservoir rocks.

Selected Publications

Deng, X.; Zhou, X.; Kamal, M.S.; Hussain, S.M.S.; Mahmoud, M.; Patil, S. A Modified Contact Angle Measurement Process to Suppress Oil Drop Spreading and Improve Precision. Molecules 2022, 27, 1195. https://doi.org/10.3390/ (IF= 4.412, Q1)
Hussain, S.; Adewunmi, A.; Mahboob, A.; Murtaza, M.; Zhou, X.; Muhammad Shahzad Kamal, M. S. Fluorinated surfactants: A review on recent progress on synthesis and oilfield applications. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 303 (2022)102634. (IF= 12.984, Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2022.102634.
Mobeen Murtaza, M.; Ahmad, H. M.; Zhou, X. Dhafer Al-Shehri, D.; Mahmoud, M. Muhammad Shahzad Kamal, M. S. Okra mucilage as environment-friendly and non-toxic shale swelling inhibitor in water-based drilling fluids. Fuel 320 (2022) 123868 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.123868 (IF=6.609, Q1)
Yu, W.; Zhou, X.; and Mazen Yousef Kanj, M. Y. Microfluidic Investigation of Foam Coarsening Dynamics in Porous Media at High-Pressure and High-Temperature Conditions. Langmuir 2022, 38, 9, 2895-2905. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03301 (IF=3.883, Q1)
Khan, S.; Gbadamosi; A.; Norrman, K.; Zhou, X; Hussain, S. M. S.; Patil, S.; Kamal, M. S. Adsorption Study of Novel Gemini Cationic Surfactant in Carbonate Reservoir Cores—Influence of Critical Parameters. Materials 2022, 15(7), 2527; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15072527 (IF=3.623, Q1)

Extended Publications (+)

Elsayed,; Al-Abdrabalnabi, R.; Zhou, X.; Wu, Y. Influence of long-term stored oil on wettability and its recovery in depleted petroleum reservoirs, Energy reports 8,(2022) 2085-2099 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.01.099 (IF=6.870, Q1)
Sakthivel, S.; Zhou, X.; Giannelis, E. P.; Kanj, M. Carbon nanodots for enhanced oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs, Energy reports 7, (2021) 8943-8959, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.11.194 (IF=6.870, Q1)
Deng, X.; Kamal, M. S.; Patil, S.; Hussain, S.; Zhou, X.; Mahmoud, M. Wettability alteration of locally synthesized cationic gemini surfactants on carbonate rock, Journal of Molecular Liquids 344 (2021) 117817, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2021.117817 (IF=6.165, Q1)
Tariq, T., Kamal, M. S.; Mahmoud, M.; Murtaza, M.; Abdulraheem, A.; Zhou, X. Dicationic Surfactants as an Additive in Fracturing Fluids to Mitigate Clay Swelling: A Petrophysical and Rock Mechanical Assessment, ACS Omega 2021, 6, 18567-15877, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c01388 (IF=2.870, Q2)
Wang, S.; Di, Y.; Li, J.; Zhou, X.; Wu, Y.; and Yao, B., Understanding the Multiphysiscal Processes in Carbonate Dioxide Enhanced-oil-Recovery Operations: A Numerical Study Using A General Simulation Framework, 27 October SPE Journal, 2020. (IF=4.310, Q1)
Zhou, X.; AlOtaibi, F.; Kamal, M. S.; Sunil L. Kokal, S. L., Effect of Conformance Control Patterns and Size of the Slug of In Situ Supercritical CO2 Emulsion on Tertiary Oil Recovery for Carbonate Reservoirs, ACS OMEGA 2020, 5, 51, 33395-33405, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c05356. (IF=2.870, Q2)
Majeed, T.; Kamal, M. S.; Zhou, X.; Solling, T.;A Review on Foam Stabilizers for Enhanced Oil Recovery, Energy & Fuels, March 15, 2021, DOI.org/10.1021/acsenergyfuels.1c00035. (IF=3.421, Q1)
Murtaza, M.; Tariq, Z.; Zhou, X.; Al-Shehri, D.; Mahmoud, M.; Kamal, M. S., Okra as an Environment-Friendly Fluid Loss Control Additive for Drilling Fluids: Experimental & Modeling Studies, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 4 April 2021, Doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2021.108743 (IF=3.706, Q1)
Zhao, X.; Al-Abdrabalnabi, R.; Wu, Y.; Zhou, X., Evaluation of the Feasibility of Oil Storage in Depleted Petroleum Reservoirs through Experimental modeling Studies, Fuel, Vol. 294, 15 June 2021, 120316. (IF=5.578, Q1)
Aleidan, A.; H. T. Kwak, H. T.; H. Muller, H.; Zhou, X., Paleo Oil Characterization and Fundamental Analysis. SPE REE, Vol. 20 (02) 2017, 260-268, DOI:10.2118/179545-PA, (IF=3.14, Q1)
Zhou, X.; AlOtaibi, F.; Kokal, S., Relative Permeability Characteristics and Wetting Behavior of Supercritical CO2 Displacing Water and Remaining Oil for Carbonate Rocks at Reservoir Conditions. Energy Fuels 2019, 33, 5464-5475. DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b01053 (IF=3.421, First Author and Corresponding author, Q1)
AlOtaibi, F. M.; Zhou, X.; Koka, S. L., Laboratory Evaluation of Different Modes of Supercritical CO2 Miscible Flooding for Carbonate Rocks. SPE REE 22(01) 2019, 137-149. DOI:10.2118/177986-PA (IF=3.140, Corresponding author)
Deng, X.; Kamal, M. S.; Patil, S.; Hussain, S.; Zhou, X., A Review on Wettability Alteration in Carbonate Rocks: Wettability Energy Fuels 2019, 34, 31-54. DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b03409 (IF=3.421, Q1)
Zhou, X.; Kamal, M. S.; Experimental Study on the Relationship between Carbonate Reservoir Quality Index and Dynamic Parameter of Chemical Solution for Oil Recovery Practice. Energy Fuels 2019, 33 10, 9747-9758, DOI: DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b02491 (IF=3.421, First Author and Corresponding author, Q1)
Tariq, Z.; Kamal, S. M.; Mahmound, M.; Hussain, S.; Abdulraheem, A.; Zhou, X., Polyoxyethylene Quaternary Ammonium Gemini Surfactant as a Completion Fluid Additive to Mitigate Formation Damage, SPE Drilling & Completion, Feb. 2020. DOI:10.2118/201207-PA (IF=2.240, Q2)
Zhou, X.; Kamal, M. S.; and Fuseni, F. B., Comprehensive Investigation of Dynamic Characteristics of Surfactant-Polymer Solution on Carbonate Rocks at Reservoir Conditions. ACS Omega 5 (29), 2020, 18123-18133. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c01690. (IF=2.870, First Author and Corresponding author, Q2)

Awards & Honors

Tau Beta Phi Honorary Society Award, University of Wyoming, 1995.
Scientific and Technical Advance Award, China National Petroleum Corporation Award 1990.
Scientific and Technical Advance Award, Daqing Petroleum Administrative Bureau, 1986, 1989 and 1990.
Best Paper Awards, 1989, 1990.
Achievement Award, Saudi Aramco, KSA, 2015.