P. Rivoal

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About

P. Rivoal is a leading researcher in chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR), with a primary focus on surfactant flooding and its application in mature reservoirs. Their work bridges the gap between laboratory-scale chemistry and field-scale implementation, addressing one of the oil industry's most pressing challenges: recovering the more than 50% of oil left behind after conventional production. Rivoal’s most influential contribution is a combinatorial approach for identifying high-performance EOR surfactants, published in 2008 (40 citations). This method revolutionized surfactant selection by automating the search for formulations that produce Winsor III microemulsions, which are known to achieve the ultra-low interfacial tension necessary to mobilize trapped oil. By replacing laborious, systematic IFT measurements with a high-throughput screening process, Rivoal’s work dramatically accelerated the development of effective chemical EOR formulations. Building on this, their 2010 paper (30 citations) introduced an integrated workflow for chemical EOR pilot design, providing a practical framework for translating laboratory successes into field trials. This holistic methodology—combining reservoir characterization, surfactant selection, and process optimization—has become a standard reference for engineers designing pilot projects. Rivoal’s research remains highly cited for its direct impact on improving oil recovery efficiency in challenging reservoirs.