Transportation of Heavy and Extra-Heavy Crude Oil by Pipeline: A Patent Review for Technological Options

Abstract

The transportation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils from the head-well to the refinery is of significant economical, technical and scientific concern since the production of such crude oils is rising over the world in the last years. In this paper, the current technological solutions to move the crude oils from the production site to the processing facilities are discussed through the analysis of recent and first innovative patents on the field. The patent survey on crude oil transportation covers the viscosity reduction of crude oil, friction diminution during transport and partial upgrading of crude oils. Keywords: Crude oil transportation, crude oil pipelining, heavy crude oil, extra-heavy crude oil, bitumen, viscosity reduction, diluted crude oil, crude oil-in-water emulsions, heated pipelines, drag reduction