Book excerpt: Catalytic In-Situ Upgrading of Heavy and Extra-Heavy Crude Oils A comprehensive guide to a cutting-edge and cost-effective refinement process for heavy oil Oil sufficiently viscous that it cannot flow normally from production wells is called heavy oil and constitutes as much as 70% of global oil reserves. Extracting and refining this oil can pose significant challenges, including very high transportation costs. As a result, processes which produce and partially refine heavy oil in situ, known as catalytic upgrading, are an increasingly important part of the heavy oil extraction process, and the reduced carbon footprint associated with these methods promises to make them even more significant in the coming years. Catalytic In-Situ Upgrading of Heavy and Extra-Heavy Crude Oils provides a comprehensive introduction to these processes. It introduces the properties and characteristics of heavy and extra-heavy oil before discussing different catalysts and catalyzing processes, their mechanisms and underlying physics, and more. It offers the full sweep of description and analysis required for petroleum and chemical engineers to understand this vital aspect of the modern oil industry. Readers will also find: Detailed discussion of subjects including electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and more Analysis of both liquid catalysts and nanoparticle catalysts A numerical simulation of the catalytic in-situ oil upgrading process Catalytic In-Situ Upgrading of Heavy and Extra-Heavy Crude Oils is a valuable reference for petroleum and chemical engineers as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students in related fields.