Locus will decrease the viscosity of heavy crude, including oil sands, reducing the energy requirement for extraction and transportation – without need for valuable lighter crude blending agents, solvents or corrosion-causing alternatives!
STEP-CHANGE DIFFERENCE IN PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO ALTERNATIVES
Phenomenal viscosity reduction across many types of oil
Underlying data using average of three separate measurements taken at 75°F
| California Heavy Crude Bottom | Original | Treated |
|---|---|---|
| API | -3.7 | 7.2 |
| Viscosity | 2400 cPa•s | 120 cPa•s |
| Canadian Syncrude | Original | Treated |
|---|---|---|
| API | 16.2 | 32.08 |
| Viscosity | 455 cPa•s | 43 cPa•s |
| Distressed Mexican Fuel Oil | Original | Treated |
|---|---|---|
| API | 7.57 | 16.7 |
| Viscosity | 2728 cPa•s | 887 cPa•s |
Financial And Environmental Cost Of High Viscosity
Extraction And Upgrading
- More energy and water required to reduce viscosity
- Bigger pumps needed to extract from the ground
- More maintenance costs from increased wear & tear due to higher viscosity
Trans-Shipment (Pipeline, Rail, Ship)
- More mass to transport – much more energy required to move the same barrel equivalent of oil
- More maintenance costs from increased wear & tear due to higher viscosity
Greenhouse Gas (Ghg) Emissions By Segment
- Heavy crude extraction and transshipment produces 60-90% more GHG and 10x more water than light crude, in addition to other serious environmental pollutants
- Current viscosity reduction technologies have a lot of disadvantages: thermal means (higher energy costs), water or polymer agents (more water needed, and de-watering needed), solvents (toxic), or lighter crude or diesel/gasoline-based diluents (expensive).