Upgrading and Refining of Heavy Oil

In this article, the importance of upgrading and refining processes in the exploitation of heavy oil and natural bitumen reservoirs. Also, some common refining and upgrading processes are introduced. The upgrading process can be applied either physically or it may involve chemical reaction. In addition, the upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen may be regarded as a separate stage after heavy oil recovery. On the other hand, applying some EOR processes result in partial in-situ upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen. Also, the upgrading processes should be applied both in the field and in the ordinary refineries. In the later case, the catalysts used in the conversion processes should be should be modified so that they can deal with such heavy compounds as asphaltene normally found in heavy oil and bitumen composition. The product of chemical heavy oil upgrading is the synthesized crude oil (SCO), which is transported to refinery for further processing. The value of products will be higher if a petrochemical plant is included besides the heavy oil refinery in order to produce such petrochemical products as ethylene, propylene, xylene, and styrene.