The Importance of Heavy Oil

Shortage of oil supplies, high energy prices and the need to restore reserves are encouraging oil companies to invest
in heavy oil fields. Heavy and viscous oils present challenges in the analysis of fluids and obstacles for recovery,
which are being overcome with new technology and modifications of methods developed for conventional oils.

Most of the world's oil resources are viscous and heavy hydrocarbons, which are difficult and expensive to produce
and refine. Generally, the heavier or denser the crude oil, the lower its economic value. The lighter and less dense
crude fractions, derived from the simple distillation process, are the most valuable. Heavy crudes tend to have
higher concentrations of metals and other elements, which requires more effort and expense for the extraction of
usable products and the final disposal of waste.

With high demand and high oil prices, and with production declining in most conventional oil fields, industry
attention in many parts of the world is shifting toward heavy oil exploitation. Heavy oil is defined as oil with 22.3
API or lower density.1 Oils of 10 API or lower density are known as extra-heavy, ultra-heavy or super-heavy
because they are denser than water. Comparatively, conventional oils, such as Brent crude or West Texas
Intermediate, have densities ranging from 38 to 40 API.

While oil density is important in assessing the value of the resource and estimating yield and refining costs, the
property of the fluid that most affects the producibility and recovery is the viscosity of the oil. The more viscous the
oil, the harder it is to produce it. There is no relation between density and viscosity, but the terms "heavy" and
"viscous" tend to be used indistinctly to describe heavy oils, because heavy oils tend to be more viscous than
conventional oils. The viscosity of conventional oils can range from 1 centipoise (cP) [0.001 Pa.s], the viscosity of the
water, and about 10 cP [0.01 Pa.s]. The viscosity of heavy and extra-heavy oils can range from less than 20 cP [0.02
Pa.s] to more than 1,000,000 cP [1,000 Pa.s]. The most viscous hydrocarbon, bitumen, is a solid at room temperature
and easily softens when heated.

Total oil reserves in the world

Conventional Oil Heavy oil

Total oil reserves in the world. Heavy
oil, extra-heavy oil and bitumen make
up about 70% of the world's total oil
Extra-heavy oil resources, ranging from 9 to 13 trillion
Petroleum sands and bitumen barrels.

As heavy oil is less valuable, more difficult to produce, and more difficult to refine than conventional oils, the
question arises as to why oil companies are interested in compromising resources to extract it. The first part of the
answer, which consists of two parts, is that at the current juncture, many heavy oil deposits can now be exploited
profitably. The second part of the answer is that these resources are plentiful. The total oil resources in the world
are approximately 9 to 13 x 1012 (trillion) barrels [1.4 to 2.1 trillion m3]. Conventional oil represents only about 30%
of that total, the rest corresponding to heavy, extra-heavy and bitumen oil

Heavy oil promises to play a very important role in the future of the oil industry and many countries are tending to
increase their production, revise reserve estimates, check new technologies and invest in infrastructure to ensure
they do not leave their resources behind. Heavy oil. This article describes how hydrocarbon deposits are formed and
how they are being exploited. Important steps to be taken along the way are the selection of the recovery method,
the analysis of well and laboratory fluid samples, well completion tests and operations, and the monitoring of the
recovery process Of heavy oil.

Formation of vast resources

Of the 6 to 9 trillion barrels of heavy oil, extra-heavy oil and bitumen that exist in the world, the largest
accumulations are present in similar geological environments. These are super-gigantic shallow deposits, entrapped
in the flanks of the anchors basins. Anchors basins are enormous depressions, formed by the collapse of the earth's
crust during orogenesis. The marine sediments of the basin become the generating rock (mother rock) of the
migrating hydrocarbons deposited above forming sediments eroded from the newly formed mountains (above).
New sediments often lack cover rocks that act as a seal. In these cold and shallow sediments, the hydrocarbon is
biodegraded.

For your cooperation in the preparation of this article, thanks to .....

...... (Array Induction Imager), CMR-200 (Combinable Magnetic Resonance Imaging), DSI (Dipole Sonic Imager),
Hotline, LFA (Live Fluid Analyzer), MDT Dynamics of Training), PhaseTester, Platform Express, Quicksilver Probe,
REDA, VDA (Divergent Viscoelastic Acid) and Vx are trademarks of Schlumberger.

THAI (Toe-to-Heel Air Injection) is a registered trademark of Archon Technologies Ltd.

1. For the calculation of the API density the superficial measurement of the specific gravity of the degassed oil is used.
The formula that relates the specific gravity (S.G.) at 60 F with the API density is API Density = (141.5 / S.G.) - 131.5.
Conaway C: The Petroleum Industry: A Nontechnical Guide. Tulsa: Pennwell Publishing Co., 1999.

Biodegradation is the main cause of the formation of heavy oil. Throughout geological time scales, microorganisms
degrade light and intermediate hydrocarbons, producing methane and enriched heavy hydrocarbons.
Biodegradation produces the oxidation of petroleum, reducing the gas / oil ratio (GOR) and increasing the density,
acidity, viscosity and content of sulfur and other metals. Through the biodegradation, the oils also lose an important
fraction of their original mass. Other mechanisms, such as water washing and phase fractionation, contribute to the
formation of heavy oil by separating the light fractions of heavy oil by physical rather than biological means.
Optimum conditions for the microbial degradation of hydrocarbons occur in petroleum fields, at temperatures
below 80 C [176 F]; The process is therefore limited to shallow deposits located at a depth of approximately 4 km
[2.5 miles].

The largest individual oil accumulation known is the Orinoco heavy oil belt in Venezuela, with 1.2 trillion barrels
[190,000 million cubic meters] of extra-heavy oil from 6 to 12 API. The combined accumulations of extra-heavy oil
from the western Canadian basin in Alberta total 1.7 trillion bbl [270 billion m3]. The sources of these oils are not
fully known but there is agreement, in both cases,

In that they come from severely biodegraded marine oils. The 5.3 trillion barrels (842 billion cubic meters) of all
deposits in western Canada and eastern Venezuela represent the degraded remains of what were once probably 18
trillion barrels (2.9 trillion cubic meters) of lighter oils.

In any depositional environment, the correct combination of water, temperature and microbes can cause
degradation and formation of heavy oil. Pitch accumulations exist in many reservoirs, close to the water-oil contact,
where conditions lead to microbial activity. The depository environment, the composition of the original oil, the
degree to which it has been biodegraded, the influx or load of lighter oils and the final pressure and temperature
conditions make each heavy oil field unique, so all require Different recovery methods.
Methods of recovery

Heavy oil recovery methods are divided into two main types, depending on the temperature. This is because the key
property of the fluid, ie the viscosity, depends significantly on the temperature; When heated, heavy oils become
less viscous (previous page). Cold production methods - those that do not require heat aggregation - can be used
when the viscosity of heavy oil at reservoir conditions is low enough to allow oil to flow into economic regimes.
Thermally assisted methods are used when the oil must be heated to flow

Western Canadian sedimentary basin

Height, m

Oil sands and

deposits of heavy oil
Absence of oil or oil and gas
Sea level gas

oil and gas

Absence of
oil or gas
"Basement"
Precambrian
Below sea level

More modern clastic sediments (sandstones and shales)

Older carbonate sediments (limestones and dolomites)
Ancient crystalline rocks (granite)

Geological environment of one of the largest heavy oil deposits in the world. During the episodes of orogenesis, the
foreland basins are formed in front of the mountain chain by sinking of the earth's crust. The marine sediments of
the basin (purple) become the parent rock of the hydrocarbons (dark brown) that migrate lying high, constituting the
sediments (orange) eroded from the newly formed mountains. The microbes present in these relatively cold
sediments biodegrade the oil, forming heavy oil and bitumen. Where the dust jacket is less than 50 m [164 ft],
bitumen can be exploited outdoors.

Viscosity, cP

Relationship between viscosity and temperature of heavy oils. Each heavy oil,
extra-heavy oil and bitumen has its own temperature-viscosity ratio, but all follow
this trend, reducing viscosity as temperature increases.

Temperature, C
The original method of recovering heavy heavy oil is mining. Much of the exploitation of heavy oil by the mining
method takes place in Canada's open pit mines, but heavy oil has also been recovered from underground mining in
Russia. The open-pit method is useful only in Canada, where surface access and volume of shallow-oil oil sands-
estimated at 28 billion m3 [176 billion barrels]-make it economical.

Canadian oil sands are recovered by operations with trucks and excavators and then transported to processing
plants, where hot water separates bitumen from the sand (left). The bitumen is diluted with the lighter
hydrocarbons and improved to form synthetic crude. After the application of the mining method, the soil is filled and
sanitized. One of the advantages of the method is that it recovers around 80% of the hydrocarbon. However, from
the surface only about 20% of the reserves can be accessed, or those that are at a depth of about 75 m [246 ft]. In
2005, Canada's bitumen output reached 175,000 m3 / d [1.1 million bbl / d] and is expected to increase to 472,000
m3 / d [3 million bbl / d] by 2015.

Some heavy oils can be produced from wells, by primary cold production. Much of the oil from the Orinoco heavy oil
belt in Venezuela is currently being recovered through cold production, such as the deposits in Brazil's marine areas.
Horizontal and multilateral wells are drilled to contact as much of the reservoir as possible. Diluents, such as
naphtha, are injected to reduce the viscosity of the fluid and, by using artificial lift technology, such as ESP and
progressive cavity pumping (PCP) systems, are carried Hydrocarbons to the surface to be transported to a breeding
unit.9 One of the advantages of the method is its lower capital investment with respect to the thermally assisted
techniques, but the recovery factor is also low; Between 6 and 12%. Another advantage is the increase in the
viscosity of the fluid arising with the formation of oil-water emulsions, caused by the mixing and shearing process
that takes place in the pumping and tubular systems.

Production of heavy crude oil with sand (CHOPS) is another primary production method of applicability in numerous
heavy oil fields. In hundreds of Canadian oil fields, sand-up to 10% "sand-cutting" in volume-along with oil (below) is
produced. The gas released from the depressurized oil helps to destabilize and move the grains of sand. The
movement of the sand increases the mobility of the fluid and forms channels, called wormholes, which create an
area of high permeability growing around the well. The weight of the jacket helps extrude the sand and liquids. Sand
and oil are separated by gravity on the surface and the sand is removed in the permeable strata. The method
requires multiphase pumping systems that can handle sand, oil, water and gas and has been applied to reservoirs
with oscillating oil viscosities between 50 and 15,000 cP [.05 and 15 Pa.s] .10 In Canada , The annual production of
heavy oil by the CHOPS method was 700,000 bbl / d [111,230 m3] in 2003

Recovery of bitumen from oil sands. When the jacket is less than 50 m, the bitumen can be exploited from the
surface. The process, shown in top-down photos, begins with the recovery of the oil sands through operations using
trucks and excavators. The sands are transported to the processing plants where hot water separates the bitumen
from the sand. The bitumen is diluted with the lighter hydrocarbons and improved to form synthetic crude. Finally,
the land is filled and sanitized. (Pictures, courtesy of Syncrude Canada Ltd).

2. ......(20 de noviembre de 2003)

3. .....(Se accedi el 1 de junio de 2006).

4. Cmara de Recursos de Alberta:.... (Se accedi el 24 de junio de 2006)......

........(Exploracin de Petrleo Crudo Pesado y Bitumen Natural)......

5. Junta Nacional de Energa de Canad:.....(Se accedi el 3 de junio de 2006).

6. Junta Nacional de Energa de Canad, referencia 5.

7. ....... artculo OTC 15283, presentado en la Conferencia de Tecnologa Marina, Houston, 5 al 8 de mayo de 2003.

8. ...... artculo SPE 69700, presentado en el Simposio Internacional de Operaciones Termales y Petrleo Pesado de la
SPE, Porlamar, Isla Margarita, Venezuela, 12 al 14 de marzo de 2001.

9. .......artculo SPE 69848, presentado en el Simposio Internacional de Operaciones Termales y Petrleo Pesado de la
SPE, Porlamar, Isla Margarita, Venezuela, 12 al 14 de marzo de 2001.

Por mejoramiento se entiende la hidrogenacin de los crudos pesados mediante el agregado de hidrgeno. El
producto del mejoramiento es el petrleo crudo sinttico.

Water injection is an improved cold oil recovery (EOR) method, which has been successful in some heavy oil fields.
For example, marine fields located on the continental shelf of the United Kingdom use the water injection method to
produce oil from 10 to 100 cP, from long, sieve-supported horizontal wells to a floating production, storage and
discharge system ( FPSO). The method is being considered for nearby fields containing more viscous fluids, but the
recovery factor decreases with increasing oil viscosity. High viscosity oils cause viscous fingering on the water
injection fronts, which translates into poor sweeping efficiency.

Steam assisted oil extraction (VAPEX) is a relatively new process being tested in Canada. It consists of injecting a
miscible solvent, which reduces the viscosity of heavy oil. The method can be applied in one well at a time or in pairs
of wells. In the single-well approach, solvent is injected from the end of a horizontal well. In the case involving two
wells, solvent is injected into the upper well of a pair of parallel horizontal wells. Valuable gases are swept after the
process by injection of inert gas. The VAPEX method has been studied extensively in laboratories and in simulation
operations and is undergoing pilot testing but has not yet been deployed in large-scale field operations.

Thermal methods, like their cold counterparts, have advantages and limitations. Recovery factors are higher than in
the case of cold production methods - with the exception of the mining method - but so are the costs associated
with heat generation and water treatment. Cyclic water vapor stimulation (CSS), also known as steam impregnation
or intermittent steam injection, is a single well method that is applied in stages (next page, above). First, steam is
injected. Then, during the impregnation period or waiting, the oil is heated. Finally, the heated oil and water are
produced and separated and the process is repeated. The method allows obtaining recovery factors of up to 30%,
has high initial production rates and works well in stacked or stratified fields. Cold Lake Field, located in Alberta,
Canada, is an example of applying the CSS method.

The displacement by steam of water, another thermal method, is a process of multiple wells. Steam is injected into
the injector wells, in a variety of spacing and location schemes, and the oil is produced from the producing wells. The
displacement by steam of water allows to obtain a recovery factor of up to 40% but requires good mobility between
the wells to inject the steam to effective regimes. The challenges posed by this method are the overcontrol of low
density steam by gravity, the heterogeneities of the reservoirs and the monitoring of the vapor front. The Duri Field
located in Indonesia, the Kern River Field in California, and the Pikes Peak Field in Lloydminster, Canada, are just a
few examples.

The vapor assisted gravitational drainage method (SAGD) works for extra-heavy oils. A pair of parallel horizontal
wells is drilled, placing a well about 5 to 7 m [16 to 23 ft] above the other (next page, below). The steam injected into
the upper well heats the heavy oil, reducing its viscosity. Gravity causes the mobilized oil to flow downward toward
the bottom horizontal producer. The initial communication is established between the injector and the producer by
means of steam injection, cyclic vapor or solvent injection. The estimated recovery factor for this method ranges
from 50 to 70%. 12 However, stratification of training may have a significant impact on SAGD recovery.13 The SAGD
method is used in many fields in Canada, including Christina Lake and MacKay River.
Slurry produced by the method of production of heavy oil in cold with sand (CHOPS). This tank
bottom sample was recovered on a tank beach from an oil cleaning unit near Lloydminster,
Saskatchewan, Canada, and consists of approximately 10 to 20% fine clay and silica, 20 to 30%
viscous oil And 50 to 60% water. (Photo courtesy of Maurice Dusseault).