Material World - 14/08/2008

With the price of oil increasing and reserves of cheaply accessed light oil drying up, Quentin Cooper investigates new methods of extracting heavy oil. Unlike conventional light oil, heavy oil is very viscous or even solid in its natural state underground, making it very difficult to extract. But heavy oil reserves that could keep the planet's economy going for a hundred years lie beneath the surface in many countries, especially in Canada. Quentin talks to Prof Malcolm Greaves of the Improved Oil Recovery Research Group at the University of Bath about his system in which air is injected into the oil deposit down a vertical well and is ignited. The heat generated in the reservoir reduces the viscosity of the heavy oil, allowing it to drain into a second horizontal well from which it rises to the surface. Dr Joe Wood of the University of Birmingham joins the discussion to talk about going one step further, looking at improving efficiency by using a catalyst intended to turn heavy oil into light while still underground.