Professor Kenneth Stuart Sorbie (also known as Ken Sorbie) is a prominent figure in petroleum engineering, known for his extensive contributions to reservoir engineering and enhanced oil recovery (EOR). With a career spanning several decades, Professor Sorbie has made ground breaking advancements in understanding multiphase flow, wettability effects, and the chemical and physical processes involved in oil recovery from subsurface reservoirs.
Ken is currently based at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where he serves as a Professor in the Institute of Petroleum Engineering. Over the years, he has been instrumental in developing models and experimental techniques that are now foundational in the study of flow through porous media. His research focuses on the complexities of multiphase flow, including water, oil, and gas interactions, and the impact of rock-fluid interactions on recovery processes. His work in chemical EOR (such as polymer flooding, surfactant flooding, and wettability alteration) has helped improve the understanding and effectiveness of these techniques, making them more feasible for practical application in the oil and gas industry.
He has published over 500 technical papers and co-authored key textbooks, including the influential “Polymer-Improved Oil Recovery”. His research publications are widely cited and have had a lasting impact on both academic and industrial practices. Additionally, his expertise has been sought in various collaborative projects with oil and gas companies, where he has worked on practical applications of his research to address real-world challenges in reservoir management and oil recovery.

Research Interest
Petroleum Engineering – Chemical Thermodynamics – Environmental Chemistry – Physical Chemistry – Polymer Flooding – WAG – Chemical Flooding – EOR