ABOUT COURSE

With the conventional hydrocarbon resources growing thinner, heavy oil and bitumen are being looked at as the next resource that could be exploited in the near future. As both heavy oil and bitumen are a global resource, they are fast becoming an asset base for many energy companies. Economical development of heavy oil reservoir requires accurate characterization of the rocks as well as the fluids contained therein. As heavy oil properties are different from conventional oil, its exploration and production requires special seismic strategies and rock physics models. Geophysical characterization of heavy oil reservoirs is therefore at the heart of production of this resource. The high viscosity of heavy oils hinders their displacement in the reservoirs and also present challenges in production. The different methods of production that overcome these challenges and their applicability play an important role in the overall production scenario. The transportation of heavy oil and the impact of heavy oil production will also be discussed.

This course has been designed to provide a practical knowledge and understanding of the abovementioned techniques and concepts that are used in heavy oil exploration.

BENEFITS OF THE COURSE

After attending this course the participants will be able to: 

• Understand the differences between the different kinds of oils based on their API.
• Learn about the geological origin of heavy crude oils.
• Learn about the structural composition of the different kinds of heavy oils.
• Learn about the different ways to characterize heavy oil formations.
• Carry out rock physics analysis that has a bearing on the choice of the method for reservoir characterization.
• Know the details of the different methods used for heavy oil production.
• Learn about the different ways of transportation of heavy oil.
• Lean about the impact of heavy oil exploration and production on the environment.
• Learn about the challenges that are still ahead in terms of heavy oil formation characterization.

 WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Seismic interpreters who wish to extract meaningful information from their data.
• Seismic processors who want to find out different ways to characterize heavy oil formations.
• Stratigraphers and structure geologists who use 3D seismic volumes to prepare detailed reservoir
• models.
• Reservoir engineers who want to understand about the seismic input to add detail to 3D reservoir
• models.

Course Book: 'Heavy Oils – Reservoir Characterization and Production Monitoring', published by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) in 2010.

COURSE CONTENT 

• MECHANISMS FOR THE FORMATION OF HEAVY OIL

• GENERAL PHASE BEHAVIOR OF HYDROCARBONS AND HEAVY OIL

• PROPERTIES OF HEAVY OIL AND ROCK PHYSICS ANALYSIS

• GEOPHYSICAL APPROACHES TO CHARACTERIZATION OF HEAVY OIL RESERVOIRS

• MEASURING AND MONITORING HEAVY OIL PROPERTIES

• METHODS OF EXTRACTION OF HEAVY OIL (MINING, CHOPS, SAGD, ETC.)

• CHALLENGES FOR HEAVY OIL PRODUCTION

• ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.

• JEOPARDY EXERCISES ON EACH OF THESE UNITS.