Because of the difficulty of moving crude bitumen through pipelines, non-upgraded bitumen is usually diluted with natural-gas condensate in a form called dilbit or with synthetic crude oil, called synbit. However, to meet international competition, much non-upgraded bitumen is now sold as a blend of multiple grades of bitumen, conventional crude oil, synthetic crude oil, and condensate in a standardized benchmark product such as Western Canadian Select. This sour, heavy crude oil blend is designed to have uniform refining characteristics to compete with internationally marketed heavy oils such as Mexican Mayan or Arabian Dubai Crude. COUNT 5
QSN1 What is done to crude bitumen to promote its movement through pipelines? ANS1 diluted QSN2 What is the natural gas condensate used to dilute bitumen? ANS2 dilbit QSN3 What is the synthetic crude additive to bitumen called? ANS3 synbit QSN4 What is the usually sold standard blend of bitumen and oils named? ANS4 Western Canadian Select QSN5 In what uniform use was Western Canadian Select meant to excel? ANS5 refining