Re: Has the BTU rate per barrel changed?
Posted: Tue 12 Jul 2016, 11:25:16API = viscosity = energy (roughly, other factors affect actual energy as well)
no that isn't correct. API is a measure of specific gravity or density of the fluid if you will. Higher API oils are less dense than lower API oils.
Viscosity although sometimes seemingly related really isn't. It has more to do with the rheology of the oil. As an example there is 20 API in the oil sands of Alberta that has viscosity up around 4000 cp whereas in some of the fields in the southern Llanos basin of Colombia you will find 12 - 14 API with 65 cp viscosity. Hence the higher API oil in the oil sands will not flow on its own, requiring some sort of energy to aid it (heat etc) whereas the oil in the southern Llanos which is heavier will flow unaided, the opposite of what you would expect if gravity and viscosity were directly correlated.