heavy oil

One should recall that statistics predict oil will continue to be the main source of energy for the next 2 decades, with heavy oil constituting a great portion of that. That means that, while the oil industry is going through unprecedented and even unpredictable economic downturns, the status of heavy oil is still unquestionable.

Will the oil fields of today become the hydrogen fields of tomorrow? Calgary-based Proton Technologies says this is possible and hopes to prove it soon after inking multiple licensing deals with other oil and gas companies.

The two Calgary-based heavy-oil companies have closed on their all-stock deal that was valued at around $2.9 billion when it was announced in October.

One of North America’s biggest midstream companies is getting a new chief in the new year. He will oversee the construction of a 1,200-mile-long pipeline that has been a decade in the making.

ExxonMobil is reluctant to join other big oil companies writing down the value of their reserves. It could chop its reserves by 20%, but it has not made a final decision.

The country’s once-thriving railway system has skidded to a stall, falling victim to low crude-oil prices, reduced demand, and government-imposed oil production cuts.

For years Canadian heavy-oil production exceeded the volumes pipelines could handle.

The $8-billion pipeline project has been held up for years, but amid a historic price crash, the Canadian government is stepping in with funding to support exports.

Reviewing a myriad of papers presented at different conferences during the past year, I can group the current trends in heavy-oil operations and research into two major categories: Process optimization and use of chemicals as additives to steam and water.

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) performance in bitumen-recovery projects in Alberta is affected by geological deposits, reservoir quality, and operational experience.