ISUT
November 5, 2024
Cleaner Fossil Fuels
ISUT™ In Situ Upgrading Technology
A turn-key, on-site oil extraction and upgrading process that improves operating margins and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Market Challenge
More. Faster. Cleaner
Bitumen recovery rates are modest, water use and emissions are high, and transportation and refining costs are additional - it’s time to upgrade oil recovery technologies. With ISUT, you can extract the oil the world still needs - faster, more economically, and with reduced emissions.
Fewer emissions, more oil
Next-gen oil recovery
ISUT brings a technology to market that petroleum producers have been seeking for decades - an on-site oil extraction and upgrading process that saves time and money and improves environmental outcomes. ISUT entirely eliminates the energy- and emissions-heavy step of surface upgrading.
ISUT™ benefits
- Reduced emissions. ISUT cuts GHG emissions-- up to 35%.
- Improved oil recovery. In-reservoir solvent vapours increase total oil recovery--up to 90%.
- Enhanced oil quality. In-reservoir catalysis increases heavy crude’s API gravity.
- Reduced diluent. Higher quality crude requires less diluent to meet pipeline specs.
- Better economics. ISUT increases volume & quality of sales oil, reduces steam & diluent input costs.
- Bolt-on benefits. When used as EOR at brownfield operations, ISUT improves recovery (up to 90%) & NPV.
How ISUT™ works
Step 2
Catalysis In-situ
Once in the reservoir, the catalyst particles permanently attach to the sand grains surrounding the injection well, creating a fixed bed reactor. With the catalyst in place, the injection of hydrogen with steam enables an upgrading reaction in the reservoir, resulting in increased oil quality, production rate and total oil recovery, while reducing steam usage by up to 43%*.
*Based on Northern Alberta SAGD operation LCA.
Step 1
Catalyst Injection
ISUT utilizes a compact catalyst preparation module, called a CatSKID,™ to combine residual oil, or vacuum residue (VR) with hydrogen and nano-catalyst particles before injecting the mixture into the reservoir.
Step 3
In-Situ Upgrading
As VR is continually re-injected into the reservoir as a heat and catalyst carrier, it’s gradually upgraded into lighter, higher-value oil. This in-situ process reduces emissions and improves energy efficiency versus surface upgrading. Eliminating diluent saves significant transportation costs and increases pipeline capacity.
Step 1
Catalyst Injection
ISUT utilizes a compact catalyst preparation module, called a CatSKID,™ to combine vacuum residue (VR) with hydrogen and nano-catalyst particles before injecting the mixture into the reservoir.
Step 2
Catalysis In-situ
Once in the reservoir, the catalyst particles permanently attach to the sand grains surrounding the injection well, creating a fixed bed reactor. With the catalyst in place, the injection of hydrogen with steam enables an upgrading reaction in the reservoir, resulting in increased oil quality, production rate and total oil recovery, while reducing steam usage by up to 43%*.
*Based on Northern Alberta SAGD operation LCA.
Step 3
In-Situ Upgrading
As VR is continually reinjected into the reservoir as a heat and catalyst carrier, it’s gradually upgraded into lighter, higher-value oil. This in-situ process reduces emissions and improves energy efficiency versus surface upgrading. Eliminating diluent saves significant transportation costs and increases pipeline capacity.
Getting started with Isut
