NEW OIL PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR HEAVY OIL AND BITUMENS

摘要

The capacity of world heavy oil and oil sands has been estimated to be as much as that of the world's total discovered light and medium crude oils in place. Over 90% of the world's heavy oil and oil sands are deposited in Canada and Venezuela, Up to 90% of Canada's estimated reserves could be recovered by in-situ operations and 10% by surface mining, As the resources available for conventional crude in Canada continue to decline, further development of heavy oil and oil sands recovery technologies is critical to meeting Canada's present and future energy requirements. Most recently, advances made in directional drilling and measuring while drilling (MWD) technologies have facilitated development of new in-situ production technologies such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), combined steam-solvent, solvent vapor extraction (VAPEX), cold production and follow up to cold production processes. These processes have significantly improved well-bore reservoir contact and sweep efficiencies and reduced production costs. This paper provides an overview of recent developments in these technologies.