Recovering Heavy Oil - Future Challenges and Opportunities

by Dr. Franklin Foster, 2006
[note: this article made possible by support and funding from the Petroleum Society of CIM, Lloydminster Section]

     The innovative processes and technologies developed in the Lloydminster region have done much to help Heavy Oil contribute to the world's energy needs.  The graph below shows how, as conventional oil reserves have declined, Heavy Oil has acted as a significant substitute.

                                         - graph courtesy of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC)

      However, much of the past production of Heavy Oil has been from "sweet spots" where the deposit is most like conventional crude.  Although there are huge reserves of oil, in some cases as little as 5 % of the reserve has been recovered.  In short, future production of Heavy Oil will require even more innovation to overcome increasingly difficult recovery conditions.  Compounding these downhole difficulties is the need for economic sustainability and compliance with increasingly stringent environmental parameters.                    ...continued