Introduction to Iranian bitumen

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Introduction Iranian Bitumen

Introduction to Iranian bitumen

Crude oil is found in sedimentary rocks throughout the world .except thus far, in Antarctica .in many places the oil has been degraded.so that it is represented by viscous black oil that is difficult to recover. transport, and refine. depending upon the degree of degradation the result is extra-heavy oil or, in the extreme case, natural bitumen. Except in Canada, precise quantitative reserves and oil-in-place data on a reservoir basis are seldom available because most countries and companies consider such information to be proprietary.
Natural bitumen is the oil contained in clastic and carbonate reservoir rocks, most frequently in small deposits at, or near the earth surface. these rocks are commonly referred to as tar sands or oil sands and have been mined since antiquity for use as paving, occasionally such deposits are extremely large in a real extent and in contained resources, most notably those in northern Alberta, Canada.in 2003 only the Alberta bitumen deposits were being exposited as a source of crude oil.
Similarly, reservoirs containing extra-heavy oil are geographically widespread but only one such deposit is sufficiently large to have a major supply and economic impact. that deposit is the Orinoco Oil Belt in Eastern Venezuela. Nowhere else in the world is such a concentration of extra-heavy oil known or likely to exist.
Definition of terms used in this commentary may be found immediately prior to table. the resource definitions are those of the World Petroleum Congress-Society of petroleum ENGINEERS-AMERICAN association of petroleum Geologists, with minor additions.one such addition, e.g. is the term Original Reserves Production, which tends to place new and mature reservoir on a more nearly comparable basis than either term alone.


2004 Survey of Energy Resources

Conventional Oil

Medium Oil

Heavy Oil

Extra-Heavy Oil

Natural Bitumen

Reservoirs (number)

8 102

816

1 375

57

324

Depth to top of reservoir (ft)

5 104

3 284

3 200

3 628

484

Coke in crude oil (wt%)

10.4

17.6

21.8

28.1

 

Asphalt in crude oil (wt%)

8.8

25.0

38.4

61.9

69.9

Gasoline yield (vol%)

9.2

2.8

2.0

1.3

1.4

Gas Oil yield (vol%)

17.4

21.9

15.9

16.9

7.2

Residuum yield (vol%)

21.9

39.5

52.6

62.6

18.1

Pour point of crude oil (°F)

16

9

20

65

89

Crude oil density (glm3)

0 836

0.920

0.958

1.018

1.041

Crude oil gravity (°API)

38.1

22.3

16.3

7.5

5.0

Crude oil dynamic viscosity (cP, 100°F)

9

63

593

7 936

292 991

Resins (wt%)

6.1

19.3

24.2

21.2

25.2

Asphaltenes (wt%)

2.1

6.6

12.4

13.2

30.6

Total BTEX volatiles (ppm)

10 157.4

4 909.0

2 487.1

N/A

N/A

Total VOC volatilos (ppm)

16 736.1

8 018.3

4 518.2

N/A

N/A

Nickle (ppm)

8.0

33.4

54.0

129.9

78.2

Vanadium (ppm)

18.2

88.2

170.9

777.7

183.0

Nitrogen (wt%)

0.1

0.2

0.5

0.6

0.7

Sulphur (wt%)

0.4

1.5

2.9

4.9

3.3