The new catalyst will increase the production of high-viscosity heavy oil

Scientists from Kazan Federal University (KFU), in collaboration with RITEK-Samara-Nafta and Lukoil Engineering, have created catalysts based on iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium and copper, which will increase the production of high-viscosity oil.

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As a result, the scientists chose the most suitable catalyst composition — a mixture of iron and nickel in a ratio of 85:15. The researchers tested it in the field for oil production from the well of the Aksyonov field, which is located in the Samara region. During the four months of production using a catalyst, the water content of the oil (its water content) decreased from 99% to 30%. The scientists noted that high water content is a serious problem that complicates the process of cleaning raw materials, as well as leads to equipment wear.

"We plan to continue our research to improve the composition of the catalyst and expand its field of application. In the future, this method can be used in other high—viscosity oil fields, which will make their development more economically profitable," Irek Mukhamatdinov, project manager, Candidate of Technical Sciences, senior researcher at the research laboratory of methods for increasing oil recovery at KFU, told Izvestia.

As a result of using the new catalyst, oil production has increased, which shows the high efficiency of the method. In addition, the use of catalytic aquathermolysis can also reduce energy costs. Thus, the development of a new catalyst based on metallic tallate opens up new opportunities for the extraction of highly viscous raw materials.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Thick rock: scientists have found a way to increase the production of high-viscosity oil