Physico-chemical properties of hard-to-recover oil in the Arctic

Abstract

In the article, the author summarizes information about the extraction of hard-to-recover oil in various Arctic zones — Russian, Scandinavian and North American. Various estimates of the Arctic hydrocarbon reserves are presented, but the Russian Arctic occupies a leading position in terms of its reserves. The number of deposits in the Russian sector exceeds the number of deposits in the North American and Scandinavian sectors of the Arctic by 4 and 8 times, respectively. For Russia, the Arctic has become one of the main driving forces of the growth of the Russian oil and gas industry in the coming decades. The problems of stabilization and growth of the level of development of hard-to-recover oil in modern conditions of oil production are indicated. Based on the analysis of information from the database of the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, consolidated information on the development of hard-to-recover oil production in the Arctic zone of Russia, in particular, in the European and Siberian parts of the macroregion, on the physico-chemical properties of hard-to-recover oil, conditions of occurrence and spatial distribution. It has been established that heavy and viscous oils of the Siberian part of the Arctic are characterized by lower viscosity values, low concentrations of asphaltenes, sulfur and metals compared to similar European Arctic oils. The solidification temperature is in the negative temperature range. The established differences determine the features of the development, production and transportation of heavy and viscous oils at critically low temperatures. The article may be of interest to companies in the oil and gas sector net monitor Arctic projects and prospects for their implementation.