Transporte Crudos P y Xp

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 75 (2011) 274–282

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Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / p e t r o l

Transportation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil by pipeline: A review
Rafael Martínez-Palou a, María de Lourdes Mosqueira a, Beatriz Zapata-Rendónb, Elizabeth Mar-Juárez c,
César Bernal-Huicochea d, Juan de la Cruz Clavel-López e, Jorge Aburto b,⁎
a

Coordinación de Ingeniería Molecular, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas 152, Col. San Bartolo Atepehuacan, CP 07730, Mexico City, Mexico
Coordinación de Procesos de Transformación, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas 152, Col. San BartoloAtepehuacan, CP 07730, Mexico City, Mexico
Ingeniería Económica, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas 152, Col. San Bartolo Atepehuacan, CP 07730, Mexico City, Mexico
d
Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Marina Nacional #329, Col. Huasteca, C.P. 11311, México City, Mexico
e
Gerencia de Exploración y Producción, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas 152, Col. SanBartolo Atepehuacan, CP 07730, Mexico City, Mexico
b
c

article

info

Article history:
Received 23 April 2010
Accepted 16 November 2010
Available online 26 November 2010
Keywords:
crude oil transportation
crude oil pipelining
viscosity reduction
crude oil-in-water emulsion
drag reduction
annular flow

abstract
The transportation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils from thehead-well to the refinery is becoming
important since their production is currently rising all over the world. Such oils are characterized by a low API
gravity (b 20) and high viscosity (N 103 cP at 298.15 K) that render difficult oil flow through pipelines.
Conventional technology pipelining is designed for light and medium oil crudes, but the pipelining of heavy
and extra-heavy crude oils may bechallenging because of their high viscosities, asphaltene and paraffin
deposition, increasing content of formation water, salt content and corrosion issues. In this paper, the current
and innovative technological solutions covering viscosity and friction reduction to move such crude oils from
the production site to the processing facilities are thoroughly discussed.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rightsreserved.

Contents
1.
2.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viscosity reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.
Dilution of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.
Formation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil emulsions in water (O/W)
2.2.1.
Heavy oil emulsions for transport in coldenvironments . . . .
2.3.
Heating heavy and extra-heavy crude oil and heated pipelines . . . . .
2.3.1.
Electrically heated subsea pipelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.
Pour point depressants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.
Reducing friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.
Drag reducing additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
3.2.
Annular and core flow for heavy oil pipelining. . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Introduction
In the last quarter of the 20th century, global demandfor crude oil
had a very stable yearly growth rate averaging 1%. This has changed

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +52 5591758204; fax: +52 5591758429.
E-mail address: jaburto@imp.mx (J. Aburto).
0920-4105/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2010.11.020

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