Heavy Oil Viscosity Reducers
Essential Expertise
for Water, Energy and Air
Maximizing production through water external dispersion
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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.
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Elimination of expensive, volatile downhole diluents
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Improved pump efficiency
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Thermal energy efficiency leading to
greenhouse gas reduction
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Produced water reuse
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Increased production rate
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Enhanced reservoir life
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Ensured asset integrity
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Enhanced safety
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Lower chemical transportation, storage
and handling costs
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Low chemical cost per barrel of
produced oil
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Low chemical dosage (400-600 ppm)
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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
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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