Heavy oil is nothing new, and it has been known since the early days of the oil industry. There has never been a practical method by which these low-gravity crudes could be recovered in commercial amounts.

However, the advent of steam flooding and fire flooding has provided a means by which these oils can now be driven to the bore hole and produced on a practical basis.

There are vast amounts of these deposits through the Mid-Continent area with especially attractive accumulations centering in eastern Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, and western Missouri. They range from barely producible heavy oil to solids. Some of the sandstones in which these hydrocarbons occur contain 700-800 barrels per acre-foot in-place reserves. As a rule, the sandstones are lenticular and almost defy generalization.

Their advent on the United States industrial scene has been termed "The Quiet Revolution." At least 7 steam and fire-recovery projects are known to be active now; 10 have been terminated; and at least 4 are in the planning stage. Success or failure of these projects will determine the future of heavy oil in the Mid-Continent.

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