March 2022, Vol. 249, No. 3
Features
New Midstream Heavy Crude Oil Processing Technique for Transportation
By James Wood, Project Manager, SwRI Transporting heavy crude oils through pipeline or by other transportation means is challenging, often requiring the petroleum industry to distribute via truck or rail and adding significant expense and hazards to transportation. Heavy and extra-heavy crude oils are difficult to transport via pipelines for a range of reasons. These challenges are associated with their high viscosities, asphaltene and paraffin deposition, increased content of formation water, salt content and corrosion issues.1 This article presents a possible solution to these problems. Producing and transporting heavy crude oil and bitumen is at least twice as capital- and energy
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