Methods for Enhancing Recovery of Heavy Crude Oil

Abstract

The methods of enhancing recovery of heavy crude oil explore the importance of enhanced oil recovery and how it has grown in recent years due to the increased needs to locate unconventional resources such as heavy oil, shale, and bitumen. Unfortunately, petroleum engineers and managers are not always well-versed in the enhancement methods available when needed or the most economically viable solution to maximize their reservoir’s productivity. Various recovery methods have been explored to extract heavy oil from deep reservoirs or oil spills. This chapter summarizes the details of methods, namely nanoparticle technology, carbon dioxide injection, thermal recovery and and chemical injection, which include the methodology as well as the findings.