Advanced Environmentally Friendly Technologies for Heavy Crude Oil Production

César Ovalles (Author)

ISBN: 9781041064503

Published: July 23, 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: CRC Press

Description

Heavy and extra-heavy crude oils and bitumen make up more than half of the hydrocarbons available worldwide, but their high viscosity and contaminant levels make production, transport, and refining costly under conventional methods. Advanced Environmentally Friendly Technologies for Heavy Crude Oil Production presents a comprehensive account and critical review of the enhanced oil recovery technologies with the strongest potential for successful deployment during the energy transition, tracking progress across both academia and industry.

Key Features

Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of each EOR route considered, from thermal and catalytic methods to nanotechnology-assisted recovery.

Discusses the economic and environmental trade-offs of each technology, with perspectives from practitioners working directly with the highlighted methods.

Frames recovery technology choices within the broader energy transition, useful for planning lower-footprint operations in existing heavy oil fields.

Coverage

Composition and fundamentals of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil; thermal and non-thermal enhanced oil recovery routes; nanotechnology and catalytic upgrading; environmental footprint and emissions considerations; economic viability of emerging technologies.

About the Author

César Ovalles holds a Licentiate degree in Chemistry from Simón Bolívar University (Caracas) and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He spent 16 years at PDVSA-INTEVEP, the R&D branch of the Venezuelan oil industry, before joining Chevron in 2006, where he worked on petroleum chemistry, enhanced oil recovery, heavy crude upgrading, and asphaltene characterization. In 2020 he founded and led Chevron's Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Program until his retirement in 2024. He has published 73 peer-reviewed papers and four technical books, holds 25 patents, and has presented 136 conference papers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil and bitumen; thermal recovery technologies; non-thermal and chemical EOR routes; nanotechnology-assisted upgrading and recovery; catalytic in-situ upgrading; environmental and emissions considerations; economic evaluation of EOR routes; industry and academic case perspectives.

Why buy this book?

For engineers and researchers evaluating which enhanced oil recovery route fits a given heavy crude asset, this book weighs the technical, economic, and environmental trade-offs of each option side by side, drawing on the author's direct industry R&D experience in heavy oil upgrading and carbon capture.

Keywords

heavy crude oil, extra-heavy oil, enhanced oil recovery, EOR technologies, bitumen upgrading, energy transition, environmental footprint of oil production

Target Audience

Petroleum and reservoir engineers, oil and gas researchers, environmental engineers, EOR technology practitioners, academic libraries

Genre

Petroleum, Enhanced Oil Recovery

Q&A

What does this book cover? A critical review of the enhanced oil recovery technologies with the highest potential for heavy and extra-heavy crude oil production during the energy transition.

Who should read this book? Petroleum and reservoir engineers, EOR researchers, and environmental engineers working on heavy crude oil projects.

Does the book compare different EOR technologies? Yes, it reviews the advantages, disadvantages, and economic and environmental trade-offs of each technology covered.

Is the book relevant to the energy transition? Yes, it frames EOR technology choices within the shift from fossil fuels toward lower-footprint operations.

Where can I buy Advanced Environmentally Friendly Technologies for Heavy Crude Oil Production? Directly from CLNZ Books, with worldwide shipping included.

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