Reduced diluent requirements
The upgraded stream can serve as the blending component, reducing or even eliminating externally sourced diluent.
Heavy crude upgrading · For producers
Upgrade heavy crude at the field. Make the barrel move itself.
Upgrade part of your extra-heavy crude at the field, and use it as the blending component. Less imported diluent, simpler logistics and a more marketable barrel, depending on crude properties.
- For
- Producers of extra-heavy crude
- Where
- At or near the field
- How
- KHU modules, scaled to the project
- Aim
- Reduce or eliminate imported diluent
Every heavy barrel travels with a lighter one.
Extra-heavy crude is one of the world’s largest energy resources. But at ambient temperature it barely flows.
To move it by pipeline, producers blend in lighter hydrocarbons, called diluents. Depending on the crude and the route, diluent can approach 40% of the transported blend: volume that has to be bought, delivered, moved and often sent back.
General notes
Viscosity
Hard to produce, hard to move. Extra-heavy crude resists flow at ambient temperatures.
Diluent volume
Up to ~40% of the transported blend can be diluent, and every barrel of it takes pipeline capacity.
Imported supply
Diluent is often imported, and it can be costly, unreliable or hard to secure in sufficient volume.
Centralized capital
Conventional upgrading, such as delayed coking, means large, capital-intensive facilities far from remote fields.
Two ways to get heavy crude to market.
On the left of the sheet, the field. On the right, the market. Switch between today’s diluent blending and the KHU alternative to see what changes in between.
Conventional · today
- Bought inDiluent is sourced externally, often imported, and can be up to ~40% of the blend.
- Moved twiceIt arrives by truck or pipeline, and is often recovered at destination and sent back.
- Still discountedThe blend carries a heavy, discounted barrel to market.
With KHU · at the field
- Made on sitePart of the field crude is upgraded in a KHU module, close to production.
- Blended inThe upgraded stream becomes the blending component, reducing or even eliminating imported diluent.
- Better barrelFewer inbound shipments and a lighter, more marketable blend, depending on crude properties.
Run the diluent arithmetic.
Put in your production rate, your diluent share and, if you like, what diluent costs you delivered. The sheet works out the volumes and spend, then lets you test a scenario.
What field upgrading can change.
Improved transportation economics
A lighter blend and fewer inbound diluent shipments simplify logistics from field to market.
Greater marketability
A lighter, more marketable crude, brought closer to target market specifications.
Marginal production made attractive
Better field economics can make otherwise marginal heavy-oil production worth developing.
Where it fits.
| Application | Situation today | Where KHU fits |
|---|---|---|
| F-1.1Remote fields | Situation todayFar from upgraders and diluent supply, so every inbound barrel travels a long way. | Where KHU fitsUpgrading sits at the field, in transportable modules delivered to site. |
| F-1.2Diluent-constrained regions | Situation todayImported diluent is costly, unreliable or hard to secure in sufficient volume. | Where KHU fitsThe upgraded stream can serve as the blending component, reducing dependence on imports. |
| F-1.3Expansion projects | Situation todayNew production means more diluent, more logistics, or a large centralized upgrader. | Where KHU fitsCapacity can be added train by train, in step with production. |
Share your crude properties.
Tell us about your crude, your diluent supply and your route to market. Our engineering team will outline what KHU could do for your economics. All discussions are under NDA.