Transporting heavy crude oil by pipeline requires special facilities because the viscosity is so high at normal field temperatures. In some cases the oil is heated with special heaters along the way, while in others the oil may be diluted by as much as 30 percent with kerosene. Commercial drag reducers have not been found to be effective because the single-phase flow is usually laminar to only slightly turbulent. In this work we show the effective viscosity of heavy oils in pipeline flow can be reduced by a factor of 3–4. It is hypothesized that a liquid crystal microstructure can be formed so that thick oil layers slip on thin water layers in the stress field generated by pipeline flow. Experiments in a 1 1/4-in. flow loop with Kern River crude oil and a Venezuela crude oil BCF13 are consistent with this hypothesis. The effect has also been demonstrated under field conditions in a 6-in. flow loop using a mixture of North Sea and Mississippi heavy crude oils containing 10 percent brine.
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September 1999
Technical Papers
Drag Reduction in Heavy Oil
D. A. Storm,
D. A. Storm
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
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R. J. McKeon,
R. J. McKeon
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
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H. L. McKinzie,
H. L. McKinzie
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
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C. L. Redus
C. L. Redus
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
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D. A. Storm
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
R. J. McKeon
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
H. L. McKinzie
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
C. L. Redus
Texaco Inc., Exploration & Production Department, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, TX 77042-5301
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Sep 1999, 121(3): 145-148 (4 pages)
Published Online: September 1, 1999
Article history
Received:
October 13, 1998
Revised:
May 10, 1999
Online:
November 6, 2007
Citation
Storm, D. A., McKeon, R. J., McKinzie, H. L., and Redus, C. L. (September 1, 1999). "Drag Reduction in Heavy Oil." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. September 1999; 121(3): 145–148. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2795973
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