THOR: Turning Heavy Oil into a Light Oil
Things are heating up at Cavitas!
Did you know THOR, our downhole heating can slash carbon footprint of thermal operations by up to 65% compared to steam methods? – but why is heating so important in the first place?
Heavy oil and extra heavy oil make up 40% of the world’s remaining reserves. Unlike light oil, heavy oil contains dense components like paraffin wax and asphaltenes, making it highly viscous – think chocolate sauce instead of water. This thick consistency makes extraction difficult, reducing flow rates and increasing water production, which is both costly and environmentally challenging.
But viscosity is temperature-sensitive.
With THOR heating, we can transform a 10,000 cP heavy oil (chocolate sauce) into a 100 cP fluid (sugar syrup) by heating it just 60°C, dramatically improving flow.
The result? Up to 600% more production with significantly less water.
By making heavy oil behave like light oil, THOR helps operators unlock untapped reserves while lowering emissions, an environmentally responsible way to enhance production.
