Heavy Oil Issues

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Heavy Oil Issues Solutions

• Aubrey Arms
• October 11, 2005
• Energy Technology

2
Overview of presentation

• Background information
• Issues regarding Heavy Oil
• Methods of Extraction
• Comparative growth of heavy oil
• Importance of improving technologies
• Heavy Oil Gasification

3
Background

• Heavy Oil has an API between 22.3 and 10
• High specific gravity, low hydrogen to carbon
  ratios, high carbon residues
• High contents of asphaltenes, heavy metal,
  sulphur and nitrogen
• Majority of Heavy Oil lies in Canada, Venezuela,
  and the former Soviet Union

4
Issues

• Not recoverable in its natural state through a
  well by ordinary production methods
• Comprises of 15 of worlds remaining oil reserves
  
• Normally sells at 50 discount to WTI
• Used to produce lower-value products
• Fuel oil verses gasoline
• However, fuel oil demand has decreased
• Upgrading Heavy Oil leaves behind even heavier
  residue
• Environmental Issues
• Oil Spills difficult to clean up
• High content of Toxins

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Methods of extraction

• Conventional methods (inefficient)
• Cold heavy oil production with sands (CHOPS)
• Sand enters wellborn with oil
• Increases production by 100
• Used to produce 22 of Canadas Heavy Oils
• Vapor extraction (VAPEX)
• Inject vaporized solvents into formation
• Oil flows due to gravity drainage
• Experimental methods
• Fireflooding increases temperature and allows
  oil to flow easier
• Solvents, electric currents, and ultrasound
• Thermal in-situ recovery
• Injecting steam
• Recovers up to 20 of conventional heavy oil

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Growth in Heavy Oil Production
Decrease in conventional oil
Increase in Heavy Oil
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Importance of developing new Technologies

• The end of easy oil is over
• Energy industry is expanding recourses to
  recover difficult to remove heavy oil
• Heavy Oil Gasification
• Increased value of heavy crude
• Combined Deasphalting and Gasifer

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Heavy Oil Gasification
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Heavy Oil Gasification
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Summary

• Heavy Oil is more expensive to extract and cost
  less than medium/light oil
• Production of heaving oil is increasing while
  production of medium/light oil is decreasing
• New methods are necessary to extract heavy oil at
  lower cost and add value to the product
• Gasification

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References

• Lloydminster Oilfield Technical Society. OTS
  Heavy Oil Science Centre. http//www.lloydminster
  heavyoil.com
• Centre for Energy. What are oilsands and heavy
  oil? www.centreforenergy.com
• Wallace, Paul. Et al. Heavy Oil Upgrading by the
  Separation and Gasification of Asphaltenes.
  Texaco Inc. October 1998.