University Project – II Seminar on

HEAVY OIL RESERVOIR

This presentation is presented to the Presidency University,

Bengaluru in part of continuous evaluation of the requirements
for the course FUNDAMENTALS OF RESERVOIR ENGINEERING in
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
By
Ms. Vandana A 20171PET0071
Mr. Sai Sandeep 20171PET0072
Mr. Rahul Benny 20171PET0073
Mr. Rahul Chandran 20171PET0074
Mr. Prudhvinadh Chowdary 20171PET0075

Instructor In-Charge

Mr. Bhairab Jyoti Gogoi

Assistant Professor
Department of Petroleum Engineering
April , 2019

1
Overview of presentation
• Background information
• Issues regarding Heavy Oil
• Methods of Extraction
• Comparative growth of heavy oil
• Importance of improving technologies
• summary
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
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
Methods of extraction
• Conventional methods (inefficient)
• Cold heavy oil production with sands(chops)
Sand enters wellbore with oil
Increases production by 100%
Used to produce 22% of Canada’s heavy oil.
• Vapor extraction (VAPEX)
Inject vaporized solvents into formation
Oil flows due to gravity drainage
Methods of extraction
• Experimental methods
Fire flooding –increases temperature and allows oil to flow easier.
Solvents,electric currents and ultrasound
• Thermal in-situ recovery
Injecting steam
Recovers upto 20% of conventional heavy oil.
 Growth in Heavy Oil Production

Increase in Decrease in
Heavy Oil conventional oil
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
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
•Thank you