Natural bitumen and extra-heavy oil occur worldwide, a single amazing deposit in each classification is dominant. These are in some cases called the Fourth Fossil Fuel. The 1.2 trillion barrels of extra-heavy petroleum deposit of the Orinoco Oil Belt, a part of the Eastern Venezuela basin, represent nearly 90% of the known extra-heavy oil in location. Orimulsion ® is a branded product that is made from this bitumen and used as a boiler fuel. It is loosely referred to as a bitumen-water emulsion or, more properly, an extra-heavy oil-water emulsion that consists of 70% bitumen, a naturally occurring heavy petroleum product from the Orinoco area of Venezuela, 30% water and a small amount of surfactant. It was first utilized commercially in 1991 in the UK and in Japan.
Bitumen is considered a non-oil hydrocarbon and is not counted towards Venezuela’s OPEC crude oil production quota. Bitor (Bitumenes del Orinoco), a subsidiary of PdVSA, handles the processing, shipping and marketing of Orimulsion. Bitor runs one Orimulsion plant in Cerro Negro, with a capability of 5.2 Mt per year. According to Bitor, economically recoverable reserves are approximated at about 267 billion barrels. Rumours that PDVSA was closing the Orimulsion manufacturer Bitmenes del Orinoco Bitor have actually been unconditionally dismissed by PdVSA.
Currently over 4,000 MW of plant capability in UK, Canada, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Lithuania has been adapted for usage with Orimulsion. The oil-water emulsion is inexpensive and competitive with globally traded coal. It has actually been proposed as a fuel to replace either coal or heavy fuel oil in energy power plants throughout the world, as it is easy to fire up and has excellent combustion attributes. It is fairly easy to convert diesel, coal or hfo plants for use of Orimulsion.
Bitor (Bitumenes del Orinoco), a subsidiary of PdVSA, manages the processing, shipping and marketing of Orimulsion. Bitor runs one Orimulsion plant in Cerro Negro, with a capability of 5.2 Mt per year. Presently over 4,000 MW of plant capability in UK, Canada, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Lithuania has been adjusted for usage with Orimulsion.
