Recovering heavy oil

A new US Department of Energy funded oil production technology that promises lower costs, reduced environmental and safety risks, and increased production is being commercialised by research partner Completion Concepts, Katy, Texas.

The announcement follows last year’s successful full-scale testing of the new technology, called “Teleperfs.” An upcoming “real-world” test of the unit in an Alaska injection well will be conducted later this year.

Initially developed through a Small Business Innovative Research grant and furthered by an industry consortium, Completion Concepts devised a method for production of heavy oil that eliminates certain expenses and risks and offers a low-cost alternative for inhibiting production of sand in an oil well. The technique could significantly increase production of heavy oil, an enormous resource that constitutes as much as half of the world’s oil-in-place.

Much of America’s heavy oil is produced via a costly steam injection enhanced oil recovery method to produce a crude oil grade that is lower in quality and sells for less.