Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Education

• B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Leeds, 1959
• Ph.D. Mineral Engineering, University of Leeds, 1962

Specialization:

Hydrocarbon recovery. Wettability and oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition and waterflooding. Crude oil/brine/rock interactions. Surface chemistry of adsorption and wetting. Capillarity. Low permability gas sands. Mutliphase flow in porous media.

Current and Proposed Research

Petrophysics & Surface Chemistry Research Group

Characterization of pore structure, correlations between physical properties, theory of wetting of sphere packs and tubes, adsorption of asphaltenes and crude oil solvency, wettability of crude oil/brine/solid ensembles by dynamic Wilhelmy plate, comparison of static and dynamic contact angles, characterization of wettability, scaling of spontaneous imbibition data, wettability and oil recovery by waterrflooding -- effect of brine and crude oil composition, rock minerology, temperature and pressure.

Selected Publications

• Ma, S., Morrow, N.R. and Zhang, X.: "Generalized Scaling of Spontaneous Imbibition Data for Strongly Water-Wet Systems," J. Pet. Sci. Eng, September 1997, 18, (3/4) 165-178.
• Yildiz, H.O., Valat, M., and Morrow, N.R.: "Effect of Brine Composition on Wettability and Oil Recovery of a Prudhoe Bay Crude Oil," J. Can. Pet. Tech, Jan. 1999, 38 (1) 26-31.
• Tang, G.Q. and Morrow, N.R.: "Salinity Temperature, Oil Composition and Oil Recovery by Waterflooding," SPE Reservoir Engineering, November 1997, 12, (4) 269-276.
• Morrow, N.R. and Xie, X.,: "Surface Energy and Imbibition into Triangular Pores" Characterization and Measurement of the Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Porous Media, Genuchten, Leij & Wu (Ed), 1999, Published by the Univ. of CA, Riverside CA, 109-120.
• Yan, J., Plancher, H. and Morrow, N.R.: "Wettability Changes Induced By Adsorption of Asphaltenes," SPE Production Facilities, November 1997, 259-261.
• Xie, X. and Morrow, N.R.: "Wetting of Quartz by Oleic/Aqueous Liquids and Adsorption from Crude Oil," Colloids and Surfaces, 138, 1998, 97-108.
• Morrow N.R., Editor "Evaluation of Reservoir Wettability and Its Effect on Oil Recovery," J. Pet. Sci. Eng. (Special Issue), June 1998, 1-301.
• Tang, G. and Morrow, N.R.: "Influence of Brine Composition and Fines Migration on Crude Oil/Brine/Rock Interactions and Oil Recovery" J. Pet. Sci. Eng, 24, Dec. 1999, 99-111.
• Morrow, N.R., Tang, G., Valat, M. and Xie, X.: "Prospects of improved oil recovery related to Wettability and Brine Composition" J. Pet. Sci. Eng., 20, June 1998, 267-276.
• Xie, X. and Morrow, N.R.: "Contact Angles on Quartz Induced by Adsorption of Heteropolar Hydrocarbons", J. Adhesion Sci. Technol.,13, No. 10, 1999, 1119-1135
• Viksund, B.G., Morrow, N.R., Ma, S., Wang, W., Graue, A.,: "Initial Water Saturation and Oil Recovery From Chalk and Sandstone by Spontaneous Imbibition" Proceedings, 1998 International Symposium of Society of Core Analysts, The Hague, September 1998.
• Tang, G., and Morrow, N.R., "Oil Recovery by Waterflooding and Imbibition - Invading Brine Cation Valency and Salinity", Proceedings of the International Symposium of the Society of Core Analysts, Golden, CO, August 1999.
• Tang, G. and Morrow, N.R., "Injection of Dilute Brine and Crude Oil/Brine/Rock Interactions", AGU, (in press), 2002.
• Buckley, J.S., Sorbie, K.S., Morrow, N.R., "Diagnosis of Wettability by the Rate of Spontaneous Imbibition"
• Mason, G., Morrow, N.R., Walsh, T.J., "Interaction Between Menisci in Adjacent Pores", Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., 128, 2000, 495-504.
• Zhou, X., Morrow, N.R. and Ma, S.: "Interrelationship of Wettability, Initial Water Saturation, Aging Time and Oil Recovery by Spontaneous Imbibition and Waterflooding," SPEJ, 5, (2), June 2000, 199-207.
• Xie, X., Morrow, N.R., Buckley, J.S., "Contact Angles Hysterisis and Stability of Wetting Changes Induced by Absorption from Crude Oil" J. Pet Sci. Eng. 33, 1-3, 2002, 147-159.
• Xie, X., and Morrow, N.R., "Oil Recovery by Spontaneous Imbibition from Weakly Water-Wet Rocks", Petrophysics, 42, 4, 2001, 313-322.
• Ruth, D., Morrow, N.R., Li, Y., and Buckley, J.S. "A Simulation Study of Spontaneous Imbibition", Proceedings of the International Society of Core Analysts Annual Meeting, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Oct. 2000.
• Wo, S., Xie, X, and Morrow, N.R., "A Statistical Model of Apparent Pore Size Distribution and Drainage Capillary Pressure", Colloids and Surfaces A: Phys. & Chem Engr Aspects, 187-188, 2001, 449-457.
• Morrow, N.R and Mason, G., "Recovery of oil by spontaneous imbibition", Current Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science, 6, 2001, 321-337.
• Tong, Z.X., Xie, X. and Morrow, N.R., "Scaling Of Viscosity Ratio For Oil Recovery By Imbibition From Mixed-Wet Rocks", Petrophysics, 43, 4, 2002, 332-340.
• Maas, J., Wit, K. and Morrow, N.R., "Enhanced Oil Recovery by Dilution of Injection Brine: Further Interpretation of Experimental Results, Presented at the International Society of Core Analysts Annual Meeting, Edinburgh, Sept. 2001.
• Li, Y., Morrow, N.R. and Ruth, D., "Similarity Solution For Linear Counter-Current Spontaneous Imbibition" Presented at the 7th International Symposium on Reservoir Wettability, Tasmania, Australia, March 2002.
• Tong, Z.X., Xie, X. and Morrow, N.R., "Spontaneous Imbibition For Mixed-Wettability States In Sandstones Induced By Adsorption From Crude Oil", Presented at the 7th International Symposium on Reservoir Wettability, Tasmania, Australia, March 2002.
• Tong, Z.X., Xie, X. and Morrow, N.R., "Crude oil composition and the stability of mixed wettability in sandstones" presented at the International Society of Core Analysts Annual Meeting, Monterey, CA, Sept. 2002.