PART 1 : TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL A N D

NATURAL BITUMEN
D. Escojido, Maraven, S.A., P.O. Box 173, Lagunillas, Estado Zulia, Venezuela;
O. Urribarri, and J. Gonzalez, Maraven, S.A., Venezuela.

Abstract. The increasing world oil demand is leading to the development of the large world resources of heavy
oil and bitumen. More than 70 percent of these reserves are located in Canada and Venezuela. Development of
these resources requires alternative pipeline transportation methods to move the heavy crude oil and bitumens
to their markets.
An overview of the experience and technologies available for heavy crude oil and bitumen transportation by
pipeline is presented in this paper. A comparative analysis with advantages and limitations of these methods is
also presented.
Among the available heavy oil and bitumen transportation methods, heating and dilution have been well
confirmed in the field. Oil and water emulsions have emerged as a new competitive technology, whereas more
research and field testing for annular coreflow are required.
The technologies and experience reviewed here will confirm that heavy oil and bitumen pipelines can be
designed and operated with a high degree of confidence. Economic aspects must be considered in the selection of
alternatives.

Résumé. La demande mondiale croissante en pétrole conduit à exploiter les ressources mondiales importantes en
huiles lourdes et bitumes. Plus de 70% de ces réserves sont situées au Canada et au Venezuela. Pour développer
ces ressources il faudra trouver d’autres méthodes pour transporter les huiles lourdes et les bitumes là où est le
marché.
Cet article donne un aperçu général de l’expérience et des techniques utilisables pour le transport par pipeline
des huiles lourdes et des bitumes. On trouvera également une analyse comparative indiquant les avantages et les
limites de ces méthodes.
Parmi les méthodes possibles de transport d’huiles lourdes et de bitumes, le chauffage et la dilution ont reçu
confirmation. Les émulsions d’huile et d’eau sont apparues comme une nouvelle technologie compétitive, tandis
qu’il apparaît nécessaire de poursuivre la recherche et les essais sur le terrain pour l’écoulement annulaire.
Les techniques et expériences décrites ici permettent de confirmer que les pipelines pour les huiles lourdes et
les bitumes peuvent être conçues et exploitées avec confiance. Les aspects économiques devront être pris en
compte dans le choix des alternatives.

1. INTRODUCTION operated with a high degree of confidence. Economic

The increasing world oil demand is leading to the
development of the large world resources of heavy oil
and bitumen. Present world heavy, extraheavy oil
and natural bitumen proved reserves amount
98.8 x lo9 m 3 (620.5 x lo9 bbi). More than 70
percent of these reserves are located in Canada and
Venezuela. Development of these resources requires
alternative pipeline transportation methods to move
the heavy crude oil a n d bitumens to their markets.
An overview of the experience a n d technologies
available for heavy oil transportation by pipeline is
presented in this paper. A comparative analysis with
advantages a n d limitations of these methods is also
presented.
The technologies a n d experience reviewed here will
confirm that heavy oil pipelines can be designed a n d
aspects must be considered in the selection of alter-
natives.
2. METHODS FOR TRANSPORTATION OF
HEAVY CRUDE OIL A N D NATURAL
BITUMEN
Transportation of heavy crude oil a n d natural
bitumen requires that the viscosity be low enough so
that the size of the pipeline a n d the pumping require-
ments are economically optimum. There are several
methods t o achieve these characteristics, some of
which have been confirmed in the field a n d are cur-
rently being used a n d others which are in the process
of being developed.

15
16 UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN
These methods are:
Heating
Dilution
Oil water emulsions
Core annular flow
Partial field upgrading
A brief description of each method follows.
2.1. Heating
This method is well known and widely proven in
several parts of the world, especially in Venezuela,
where it has been used since 1955. The process con-
sists in heating the crude in order to raise its flowing
temperature and hence reduce its viscosity to accept-
able limits for transportation.
As is well known, viscosity decreases very rapidly
with increasing temperature. Most heavy oil pipe-
lines are designed for viscosity values below 500
centistokes at the pump outlet.
The process of evaluating temperature and pres-
sure profiles of heavy oil flow along pipelines are
complicated and tedious. It generally involves a
simultaneous solution of the total energy (the first
law of thermodynamics) and the mechanical energy
balance equations over finite sections along the
length of the pipeline. Heat losses from flowing fluids
may be calculated by determining an overall heat
transfer coefficient which in turn depends on the
thermal conductivity of the pipe wall, surrounding
soil and atmosphere, and the ambient thermal condi-
tions. Computerized packages for this type of calcu-
lations are now available in the market and easily
run in microcomputers.
Temperature and pressure profiles at several flow
rates for a typical heated oil line are shown in Fig. 1.
The cooling of the oil along the direction of flow, and
its consequent increase in viscosity, results in a
hydraulic profile which is not a straight line. The
curvature of the line is more pronounced for more
viscous materials.
Another characteristic of the heating method is the
fact that at a low flow rate, the pumping pressure has
a high value. This is due to the high viscosity effect
caused by the rapid decrease in temperature associ-
ated to the low fluid velocity (Fig. 2). Another impor-
tant aspect to be taken into account is the maximum
distance between pumping stations. This distance
heavily depends on the flow rate of the crude oil.
The design of hot oil pipelines involves the follow-
ing considerations :
[14]
o Temperature required to achieve the optimum vis-
cosity.
o Heat losses, including consideration of insulation
thickness.
o Minimum flow to prevent ‘plugging’.
o Expansion of the pipeline.
o Coating and insulation type.
o Pipeline material.
o Number of pumping stations.
o Start-up and shutdown operations.
A direct-fired’heater is generally used to raise the
temperature of the oil. Heaters can be natural gas or
fuel oil fired.
Variations of temperature due to flow rate
changes, cause a longitudinal expansion of the pipe-
line. For above ground lines, expansion is absorbed
by expansion loops, and for buried lines a thicker
steel is required in order to absorb longitudinal com-
pression stresses.
Plugging generally occurs when the lines are
cooled down to ambient temperature, therefore a dis-
placement oil must be used during start-up and shut-
down operations. During start-up, the oil is used to
heat the line prior to the injection of the heavy
viscous oil, and before shutdown, the line must be
filled with the displacement oil in order to secure
future start-up without difficulty.
2.2. Dilution
An alternative method of reducing the pressure
gradient in a heavy oil line is to reduce the viscosity
by blending the heavy oil with a less viscous hydro-
carbon such as condensate, natural gasoline or
naphtha. This method has been intensively applied in
Canada, U.S.A. and Venezuela.
Figure 3 shows the reduction in viscosity that can
be obtained by blending condensate with heavy
crude oils. There is an exponential relationship
between the resulting viscosity of the mixture and the
volume fraction of the diluent.
Because of this relationship small percentages of
diluent have a marked effect on the viscosity of the
mixture and therefore, it is evident that there is an
optimum percentage above which there is little
further reduction.
It is far better to actually make test blends in the
laboratory and to determine viscosities experimen-
tally.
Pressure losses may be calculated by using conven-
tional methods, assuming isothermal, one phase flow
of an homogeneous mixture with a viscosity value
[14] UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN 17

TEMPERATURE PROFILE 3.5

3.0
c
'O
2.5

a
o
ui 2.0
E
3
VI
VI
W

g 1.5
0
I

2 1.0
a
3

0.5

O
DISTANCE, Km.
O 20 40 60 80 100
VISCOSITY, PROFILE
FLOW RATE, m 3/d
Fig. 2. Effect of flow rate on pumping pressure for different
pipeline lengths and diameters.

Diluent with similar characteristics to condensate

can be manufactured from any light crude in refin-
eries from fractions normally used to produce gas-
olines, jet fuels, and middle distillates.
Many light crudes can also be used directly as
diluent. Light crudes in the 35" to 45" API range can
600

DISTANCE, Km.
500
PRESSURE, PROFILE

t
0 400
w'
D
æ
a
U

9
I-
2
I
300
O
LL
O
>
E
O
v)
u 200
<"
>

o w 100 i50 zoo 2m s

DISTANCE, Km.
100
Fig. 1. Profiles for a typical heated oil line at different flow
80
rates. 60
40
20
corresponding to the percentage of diluent in the O
mixture. O 1 2 .3 4 .5
If condensate is not readily available in the field, VOLUME FRACTION OF DILUENT
other possible schemes could be used such as manu- Fig. 3. Effect of dilution with condensate on crude vis-
factured diluent, light crude or diluent recycling. cosity for different API gravities.
 Ei
18 UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN [I41

be used, although a greater volume is required to do

the same job as condensate. The cost of the crude is ,--
lower than diluents as there are no manufacturing
costs involved, however, a larger pipeline capacity is 2--

required.
Recycling can be achieved by recovering down-
stream the diluents from the mixture and reinjecting
it upstream. This scheme requires a large investment
to install an additional pipeline to use it as a diluent
return system.

2.3. Oil in water emulsions

Oil in water emulsion technology has been mas-
tered in Venezuela since 1980 and more than one
million cubic metres of primary emulsion have been
transported through a 61 cm (24") pipeline, 72 Km
long. Field tests have also been conducted at Wolf
Lake, Canada3.
With this technology the high viscous hydrocar-
bon is handled in the form of an emulsion. The extra
heavy crude or bitumen is suspended in the water
(the external phase) in the form of micro spheres sta- Z CONTINUOUS PHASE (WATER1
bilized by chemical additives, achieving a reduction
of the apparent viscosity of the heavy oil as occurs Fig. 4. Viscosity versus % continuous phase for emulsions.
with diluent or heat, reducing the amount of horse-
power required to pump the heavy crude through
flowlines. (R&D Institute of Petróleos de Venezuela), the
The design of a programme to apply the emulsion behaviour is newtonian for oil content below 65%.
technology must consider the following aspects : For oil content above this value, the emulsion
behaves as a pseudoplastic fluid.
o Selection of the best chemical to form a stable
As mentioned above, stability is one of the most
emulsion.
important properties of emulsions, since the emulsion
o Dispersion mechanism (mixers and homogenizers).
must withstand severe handling through power
o Rheological and stability characteristics of the
equipment, valves and accessories.
emulsion.
The process of oil drop coalescence is also very
o Pipeline diameter.
important in order to optimize the separation of the
e Emulsion breaking.
emulsion phases. The emulsion breaking process is
The criteria for the selection of a suitable chemical affected by temperature, water pH, water salinity and
must ensure the stability of the emulsion under differ- surfactant concentration. The use of non-ionic sur-
ent conditions. The most relevant are temperature, factants above certain temperature values, promote
hydrocarbon/water ratio, water salinity and pH. The the breaking of the emulsion.
non-ionic surfactants are the most effective in
producing a more stable emulsion due to their
2.4. Core-annular flow
producing a smaller mean droplet size.
A typical effect of the volume of water on the vis- Core-annular flow technology is being studied in
cosity of the emulsion is shown in Fig. 4. The vis- Venezuela by Maraven and Intevep, affiliated com-
cosity decreases exponentially with water content. panies of Petróleos de Venezuela. Research to date
This curve is very important to select the optimum confirms that this flow regime is possible based on
amount of water to be present in the emulsion. laboratory pipeline loop tests and field tests.
The rheological behaviour of the emulsion must be However, more field testing is still necessary to
assessed in order to predict pressure losses. Accord- confirm the technology. In this mode of transporta-
ing to the rheological models developed by Intevep tion a less viscous inmiscible fluid such as water is
[14] UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN 19

*
P
u
2
W
>
J
I
...
U
LL
a
W
a
3
C
A

a
+
W

0.0006 0.0045 0.045 0.45

OIL SUPERFICIAL VELOCITY, misec.

Fig. 5. Typical oil water flow pattern map for a horizontal pipe.

introduced into the flow to act as a lubricating layer
which absorbs the shear stress existing between the
walls of the pipes and the fluid, reducing the resis-
tance to flow.
Besides the annular flow pattern, it is also impor-
tant to note that other flow patterns are developed
when two inmiscible liquids are flowing in a pipe.
Flow patterns for oil and water flowing in a
5.08 cm (2”) horizontal pipe were observed by A. G.
Conne11 and E. J. Valecillos7. The flow pattern map
resulting from these observations is presented in
Fig. 5.
With an increase in superficial oil velocity, a con-
tinuous central core of oil flowing inside a film of
water is formed (core annular flow). The stability of
this flow pattern is weak and tends to break down
into a mixed phase pattern. Moreover, further
increases in the superficial velocity of the oil leads to

245
I
\

-a-ao2-+----Y+
+ U
5
’

++-T
o ~ ~ b+
O
I l l I I l I l I I
 - . _ ____ ___ __- ___ ___ -

20 UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN [14]

a thinning and, finally a destructon of any water film,
forming a direct emulsion of water in oil.
Pressure losses for annular core flow as a functon
of the water fraction, for different superficial oil velo-
cities are presented in Fig. 6. When the water fraction
is increased, the pressure loss decrease down to a
minimum. In general it has been found that the
optimum water fraction which produces the
minimum pressure drop is in the range 0.08-0.12.
Above this value, the pressure drop is 1.5 greater
than the pressure drop for water flowing alone in the
pipe at the same total flow rate.
The maximum pressure gradient reduction is
reported to be obtained with a core-annular flow
pattern. A reduction in pressure gradient is also
obtained if the flow is stratified, with the water
moving as a layer under the oil, but the reduction is
much lower than with annular flow.
2.5. Partial upgrading
This is a new concept which consists in an infield
partial upgrading of the heavy crude and bitumen,
which modifies the crude compositon to make it less
viscous, without significantly altering the refining
characteristics.
Successful results of a field test have been reported
by Resource Technology Associates (RTA), Boulder,
Colorado, using the Geotrater process, which con-
sists of a thermal treatment of the heavy crudes in a
vertical tubular reactor. The aims are to improve the
crude transportability by lowering the viscosity and
pour point and increasing API gravity.
3. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
A comparison of the different heavy oil transporta-
tion methods is presented in Table I, reflecting the
advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Figure 7 shows a comparison of the calculated
pressure drop for the different heavy oil transporta-
tion methods. Annular coreflow produces the lowest
pressure drop for the same flow conditions, which
implies the least horsepower requirement, however,
the flow stability is very weak as the flow pattern
may be easily destroyed if no special care is taken to
keep fluid velocities below a certain level.
The stability of an emulsion plays a significant role
in the flow stability. If the surfactant concentration is
such that the lifetime of the emulsion is short as com-
pared with the travel time along the pipeline, plug-
ging may occur.
The stability of the heating method is high as long
as adequate safeguards are taken to prevent the
interruption of the heat supply.
Regarding shut-down and start-up operations,
dilution and emulsion methods are the most flexible,
as long as the emulsion is kept stable for long
periods of time. For the heating method, special care
must be taken to provide a displacement low vis-
cosity oil.
A major disadvantage of the emulsion and the
dilution methods is the larger pipe diameter required

TABLE I
Comparison of different heavy oil transportation methods

Annular
Heating Dilution core flow Emulsion Upgrading
Pressure drop Medium Maximum Minimum Medium Medium
Flow stability High High Weak Medium High
Start-up/ Problematic Flexible Problematic Depends on stability Flexible
shut-down of emulsion
operation
Required Normal Larger Normal Larger Normal
Pipe (conventional
diameter flow)
Corrosion None None Potential Potential None
problems
Additional Normal High Low Normal-High
investment (heaters) (parallel (water +
(water surfactant (field refinery)
for additional diluent supply supply system)
facilities system) system)
Prediction Conventional Conventional Empirical Laboratory rheological Conventional
models non-isothermal isothermal model required isothermal
[14] UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN
1.000000, I 1
a Environment
œ
O
O VISC. 11200 CST AT 30° C
IO I / I If the producing area is remote or the environment
O 3 6 9
FLOW RATE, Mm3/ D able scheme.
Fig. 7. Comparison of different transportation methods.
to handle the additional volumes of water plus sur-
factant and diluent, respectively, which consequently
implies a larger investment.
The presence of water in the emulsion and
coreflow transportation methods implies a potential
problem of pipe corrosion. A corrosion prevention
programme could be required depending on the
water compositon.
Dilution and upgrading methods require the
highest additional investment for extra facilities. A
parallel diluent recycling system is required in the
case of the dilution method, unless the oil and the
condensate are delivered together to the client.
Partial or full upgrading of the crude at the field level
implies very high investments and high production
costs.
Prediction models for heating, dilution and
upgrading methods are the conventional ones which
are available in the market. For the flow of emul-
sions, a previous investigation in the laboratory must
be carried out in order to characterize the emulsion
properties and the rheological behaviour under dif-
ferent conditions. For annular coreflow only empiri-
cal correlations are available.
The determination of the most appropriate
method for pipeline transportation of heavy crude
oils is dependent upon a large number of factors, but
the most significant is the economic one.
Some major factors are:
o Pipeline length
o Climate
21
Existing facilities
Diluent availability
Water disposal
Electricity supply
Topographical profile
Type of crude oil
Markets
For a very long pipeline in a cool country, dilution
or emulsion might be better choices, as heating might
require larger investments in heaters and insulated
pipes. The emulsions used for long distances can be
made to be very stable over long periods of time.
Some crude oil are suitable to form very stable emul-
sions at low surfactant concentrations influencing
operating costs.
hostile, recycling of the diluent may be a more desir-
Heated pipelines may be feasible in warm parts of
the world like Venezuela and California, as the low
horsepower requirement and the use of non-insulated
pipes may minimize the initial investment and oper-
ating costs.
A combination of heating and dilution methods
might be an attractive alternative for cool countries
where the diluent availability is short.
A combination of any method with a marketing
strategy may also change the overall economic
picture and make some transportation methods more
attractive than others.
In general, producers need to be able to determine
initial investment and operating costs in each partic-
ular case in order to make a decision based on an
economic analysis. In the case of replacing a method
by another in already existing facilities, a determi-
nation of the savings in operating costs over the
current transportation method and whether these
savings pay out the capital costs needed to construct
the new facilities is required.
More research and field testing of the annular
coreflow method is encouraged as this has the lowest
initial investment and operating costs.
4. S U M M A R Y AND CONCLUSIONS
1. Oil in water emulsions have emerged as a new
competitive technology for the transportation of
heavy crude oil and bitumen.
2. The selection of alternatives for transportation
of heavy oil and bitumen must follow an economic
evaluation.
22 UPGRADING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HEAVY CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL BITUMEN
3. More research and field testing of the annular
coreflow method are required.
R EFER E N C ES
1. Urquhart, R. D. ‘Heavy Oil Transportation-Present
and Future’, JCPT, Mar.-Apr. 1968, p. 68.
2. Moreau, B. L. ‘The Pipeline Transportation of Heavy
Oils’, Heavy Oil Seminar, the Petroleum Society of
C.I.M., Calgary, May 5, 1965, p. 252.
3. Hardy, W. A. and Sit, S. P. ‘Field Trials of Transoil
Technology for Emulsion Pipelining of Bitumen’, The
4th Unitar, Aug. 1988,5 (222), 491.
[14]
4. Guevara, E. et al. ‘Core-Annular Flow: The Most Eco-
nomical Method for the Transportation of Viscous
Hydrocarbons’, The 4th Unitar, Aug. 1988,5 (194), 531.
5. Layrisse, I. et al. ‘Imulsion Technology, the Answer for
the Production, Handling and Transportation of Extra
Heavy Crudes and Bitumens’, The 4th Unitar, Aug.
1988,5 (179), 475.
6. Borregales, C. and Salazar, A. ‘The Future for In-Situ
Recovery, Treatment, and Transportation of Heavy
Oil’, Proceedings of the 12th World Petroleum
Congress, 1987, p. 32.
7. Connell, A. G. and Valecillos, E. J. ‘Estudio de Patrones
de Flujo Líquido-Líquido, Aceite-Agua’, Tesis de
Grado, Universidad de Zulia, Julio 1990, p. 101.