Heavy Oil Viscosity Reducers Essential Expertise for Water, Energy and Air Maximizing production through water external dispersion SM Heavy oil flows faster. Total Cost of Operation Unique water external dispersions are easy to make, easy to break. New approach eliminates old problems Until now, your choices were limited for getting heavy, viscous oil out of your well. Doing nothing was not an option, since the severe pressure drop between production tubing base and wellhead strains pumps and limits production. Use of heat/ steam has some effect in viscosity reduction, but is energy-intensive, costly and requires clean water as well as significant upfront investment in equipment and infrastructure. Diluents, such as naphtha, are costly as well as dangerous to transport and handle due to their combustibility. Drag reducers are ineffective for wet, heavy oils which experience laminar flow. Nalco has put aside traditional thinking, and employed polymer technology to reduce heavy oil’s apparent viscosity by creating a unique water external dispersion. The science is complex, but the principle is simple: untreated heavy oils are oil external emulsions…mostly oil with droplets of water dispersed within. The apparent viscosity is primarily exhibited by the heavy oil itself. However, if you reverse this condition, and cause droplets of oil to be suspended in water, you create a water external dispersion where the apparent viscosity is exhibited primarily by the water, not the oil. The result of this transformation is a dramatic decrease in apparent viscosity, and a significant positive impact on operational efficiency and production costs. Significantly, this water need not be clean, and can even be produced water from the well itself or from the separation facility. The resulting dispersion has a greatly reduced apparent viscosity and is easily pumped up the production tubing. Safe chemistry, Simple to use Easy to make. Easy to break. Nalco Heavy Oil Viscosity Reducers are based on safe, non-volatile polymer technology. These non-combustible chemistries are easy to transport, safe to handle and simple to use. Small quantities of Nalco Viscosity Reducer, pre-mixed with water above ground, are injected down the well annulus where shearing action from the pump and the heat from the fluids create the water external dispersion. Making the easy-flowing dispersion is only half the story. With Nalco Viscosity Reducers, the dispersion is easily broken using standard separation technology and the separated water can even be reused down hole, starting the cycle over again. This unique Nalco technology has indeed combined two dispersion characteristics that were formerly mutually exclusive…stability and breakability. Nalco water external dispersions are stable for pumping and transport, but separate efficiently into reusable water and saleable oil. drops faster. With Nalco Viscosity Reducers. A perfect mixture of increased production and decreased Total Cost of Operation. Nalco Viscosity Reducers let you pump more profit Nalco will help you significantly reduce your operational costs…without capital investments and without significant operational changes. This easy, safe viscosity reduction for heavy oil will deliver multiple benefits to your oilfield. Heavy crude emulsions trap small droplets of water in oil, and exhibit the apparent viscosity of the oil itself. Using Nalco Viscosity Reducers, large droplets of oil are dispersed in water, delivering the apparent viscosity of water. n Elimination of expensive, volatile downhole diluents n Improved pump efficiency n Thermal energy efficiency leading to greenhouse gas reduction n Produced water reuse n Increased production rate n Enhanced reservoir life n Ensured asset integrity n Enhanced safety n Lower chemical transportation, storage and handling costs n Low chemical cost per barrel of produced oil n Low chemical dosage (400-600 ppm) n Reduced Total Cost of Operation Viscosity Reducer Heavy crude emulsion Clearly visible in this sample, a Nalco water external dispersion features large droplets of oil in water. This dispersion is created down hole at the pump, and exhibits the low viscosity of water. It is easily pumped up the production tubing, and readily separates using standard equipment and processes. Water external dispersion Don’t use yesterday’s technologies to solve today’s heavy petroleum challenges. Step into a more profitable future with Nalco Viscosity Reducers for high viscosity oil. Safe. Simple. Superior. Nalco Commitment to Sustainability Nalco demonstrates and delivers world-class leadership on environmental sustainability for our customers, with strong efforts toward Nalco operations related to the environmental, social and economic objectives of sustainable development. Helping Customers Operate Sustainably Nalco Company is the world’s leading environmental solutions provider. We create value for customers and Nalco through services and technologies that save water and energy, enhance production and improve air quality, all while reducing total cost of operation. Nalco programs create significant economic value for customers. The environmental return on investment (eROI) we provide includes savings from reducing water and energy use, conserving assets, reducing solid waste disposal, and improving utilization of natural resources and raw materials. Our performance as disclosed in our annual Sustainability Report includes: Waste Reduction: Since 2005, the total amount of waste generated by Nalco’s manufacturing operations worldwide has been cut by 23%. While a portion of that decline is a result of decreased production due to the global recession, we have a number of focused waste reduction projects at our global manufacturing sites. Energy Reductions and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions: Nalco is committed to a 10% reduction in energy use from 2007 levels by 2012. Because of the direct relationship between energy use and GHG, this will mean a percentage reduction in GHG emissions in the high single-digits over the same period. As part of our commitment to continuously improving our environmental performance, our manufacturing plants around the world are undergoing a comprehensive program of accreditation to either ISO14001 or Responsible Care®14001, the global standards for environmental performance. We can always improve, which is why we continuously strive to do better – for our employees, our communities and our customers. NALCO COMPANY OPERATIONS North America:Headquarters –1601 West Diehl Road • Naperville, Illinois 60563-1198 • USA Energy Services Division – 7705 Highway 90-A • Sugar Land, Texas 77478 • USA Europe: Ir.G.Tjalmaweg 1 • 2342 BV Oegstgeest • The Netherlands Asia Pacific: 2 International Business Park • #02-20 The Strategy Tower 2 • Singapore 609930 Latin America: Av. das Nações Unidas 17.891 • 6° Andar 04795-100 • São Paulo • SP • Brazil Essential Expertise for Water, Energy and Air www.nalco.com SM NALCO, the logo and the tagline are trademarks of Nalco Comapny. ©2011 Nalco Company All Rights Reserved Printed in U.S.A. 3/11 B-1161