Upgrading of Heavy Oils and Bitumen: The VEBA-COMBI-Cracking-Process

摘要

The worldwide biggest reserves of heavy oil and bitumen are located in Venezuela (Orinoco belt) and Canada (Athabasca bitumen). As this huge volumes can significantly contribute towards the extension of the "oil age", VEBA OEL has dedicated significant efforts towards the exploitation of this reservoirs since more than 15 years. This work was done in close cooperation with Venezuela and Canada and to a certain extend supported by the German government and the European Community.rnThe heavy crudes of those countries are characterised by their extreme high viscosity, high metal and sulphur contents which does it make impossible to market those materials directly. Numerous approaches have been evaluated to upgrade those feedstocks into high quality products as requested by the world markets. A brief comparison of the principle upgrading routes will be given.rnVEBA OEL has tested it's VEBA-COMBI-Cracking-Technology for most of the heavy crudes coming out of Venezuela and Canada. The key results for upgrading those feedstocks by applying this specific technology will be reported. Finally, the potential areas for cost reduction in grass-roots-upgrading complexes will be discussed.