Heavy oils, extra-heavy oils and tar sands are major players for the future of energy.They represent a massive world resource, at least the size of conventional oils. They are found all over the world but Canada and Venezuela together account, by themselves, for more than half of world deposits. They share the same origin as the lighter conventional oils, but their geological fate drove them into thick, viscous tar-like crude oils. Most of them result from alteration processes mediated by microbial degradation. They are characterized by a low content of lighter cuts and a high content of impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen compounds and metals ; so, their production is difficult and deployment of specific processes is required in order to enhance their transportability and to upgrade them into valuable products meeting market needs, and honouring environmental requirements.Although these resources are increasingly becoming commercially producible, less than 1% of total heavy crude oil deposits worldwide are under active development. The voluntarily wide scope of this volume encompasses geology, production, transportation, upgrading, economics and environmental issues of heavy oils. It does not pretend to be exhaustive, but to provide an authoritative view of this very important energy resource.

Unconventional Petroleum Geology, Second Edition presents the latest research results of global conventional and unconventional petroleum exploration and production. The first part covers the basics of unconventional petroleum geology, its introduction, concept of unconventional petroleum geology, unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, and the origin and distribution of unconventional oil and gas. The second part is focused on unconventional petroleum development technologies, including a series of technologies on resource assessment, lab analysis, geophysical interpretation, and drilling and completion. The third and final section features case studies of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, including tight oil and gas, shale oil and gas, coal bed methane, heavy oil, gas hydrates, and oil and gas in volcanic and metamorphic rocks. - Provides an up-to-date, systematic, and comprehensive overview of all unconventional hydrocarbons - Reorganizes and updates more than half of the first edition content, including four new chapters - Includes a glossary on unconventional petroleum types, including tight-sandstone oil and gas, coal-bed gas, shale gas, oil and gas in fissure-cave-type carbonate rocks, in volcanic reservoirs, and in metamorphic rocks, heavy crude oil and natural bitumen, and gas hydrates - Presents new theories, new methods, new technologies, and new management methods, helping to meet the demands of technology development and production requirements in unconventional plays

Diluted bitumen has been transported by pipeline in the United States for more than 40 years, with the amount increasing recently as a result of improved extraction technologies and resulting increases in production and exportation of Canadian diluted bitumen. The increased importation of Canadian diluted bitumen to the United States has strained the existing pipeline capacity and contributed to the expansion of pipeline mileage over the past 5 years. Although rising North American crude oil production has resulted in greater transport of crude oil by rail or tanker, oil pipelines continue to deliver the vast majority of crude oil supplies to U.S. refineries. Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines examines the current state of knowledge and identifies the relevant properties and characteristics of the transport, fate, and effects of diluted bitumen and commonly transported crude oils when spilled in the environment. This report assesses whether the differences between properties of diluted bitumen and those of other commonly transported crude oils warrant modifications to the regulations governing spill response plans and cleanup. Given the nature of pipeline operations, response planning, and the oil industry, the recommendations outlined in this study are broadly applicable to other modes of transportation as well.

With substantial contributions from experienced industrial scientists and engineers, this work will have real application towards improving process efficiency and improvement in the trillion-dollar global petroleum industry. It presents an overview of the emerging field of petroleomics, which endeavors to understand the fundamental components of crude oil. Petroleomics promises to revolutionize petroleum science in much the same way that genomics transformed the study of medicine not long ago. Asphaltenes are a particular focus, with many chapters devoted to the analysis of their structure and properties.

Many oil refineries employ hydroprocessing for removing sulfur and other impurities from petroleum feedstocks. Capable of handling heavier feedstocks than other refining techniques, hydroprocessing enables refineries to produce higher quality products from unconventional- and formerly wasted- sources. Hydroprocessing of Heavy Oils and Residua

Unconventional reservoirs of oil and gas represent a huge additional global source of fossil fuels. However, there is much still to be done to improve techniques for their processing to make recovery and refining of these particular energy sources more cost-effective. Brief but readable, Heavy and Extra-heavy Oil Upgrading Technologies provide readers with a strategy for future production (the up-stream) and upgrading (the down-stream). The book provides the reader with an understandable overview of the chemistry and engineering behind the latest developments and technologies in the industry as well as the various environmental regulations.Clear and rigorous, Heavy and Extra-heavy Oil Upgrading Technologies will prove tool for those scientists and engineers already engaged in fossil fuel science and technology as well as scientists, non-scientists, engineers, and non-engineers who wish to gain a general overview or update of the science and technology of unconventional fossil fuels in general and upgrading technologies in particular. The use of microorganisms and a number of physical methods, such as ultrasound, median microwave, cold plasma, electrokinetic and monocrystalline intermetallics, etc., will be discussed for the first time. - Overview of the chemistry, engineering, and technology of oil sands - Microorganisms and a number of physical methods such as ultrasound, median microwave, cold plasma, electrokinetic and monocrystalline intermetallics - Evolving and new environmental regulations regarding oil sands production processes