Dear Colleagues,

Heavy oil, which accounts for more than 70% of the crude oil resources discovered in the world, contributes to about 10% of current global crude oil production. As the remaining reserves of conventional oil have been steadily decreasing over the years, the effective development of heavy oil resources plays important roles for future energy supplies and global economy.

Thermal methods have been proven to be the most effective for extracting heavy oil due to its high viscosity and low mobility under original reservoir conditions. Several commercial recovery processes are available and have been used for decades for the successful production of heavy oil, including cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), steam flooding and in situ combustion (ISC), etc. However, thermal recovery methods face challenges in meeting economic and environmental targets due to their high energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. More cost- and energy-efficient methods are urgently required to develop heavy oil reservoirs with lower quality, depths of more than 2000 meters, and with complicated water–oil contacts and fractures, etc.

A great deal of research has been conducted in recent years that aims to improve the thermal efficiency and reduce the water requirements and environmental impacts of heavy oil recovery processes. To develop more energy-effective recovery technologies, solvent- and NCG-aided processes, in situ upgrading and gasification, in situ generation of hydrogen and solvents, downhole steam generation and EM heating, etc., have been explored, to give some examples. This Special Issue is dedicated to studies on innovation and advancements in thermal recovery methods, mainly focused on, but not limited to, the following aspects:

• Mechanisms of thermal enhanced recovery processes;
• Cutting-edge hybrid methods;
• Thermal methods applied in special types of reservoirs;
• Follow-up and alternative recovery technologies;
• Downhole heating and steam generation;
• In situ upgrading and gasification of heavy oil;
• Field cases for enhancement of thermal recovery methods.

Prof. Dr. Qi Jiang
Dr. Xiang Zhou
Dr. Siyuan Huang
Guest Editors

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• heavy oil
• thermal recovery
• in situ upgrading
• in situ gasification
• solvent-aided process
• down-hole heating
• follow-up processes