Resumen del autor, extraído del trabajo. Western Canadian extra heavy oils and bitumens are characterized by low API gravity, ultra-high viscosities, high heteroatoms and metals, and high Conradson carbon residues (CCR). Currently, about 400,000 bbl/day of bitumen is converted into aromatic synthetic crude oils (SCO). A further 300,000 bbl/day is blended with natural gas condensate to reduce the viscosity for pipeline transportation. The oil industry has announced plans that, by the year 2010, could increase the production of raw heavy oil and SCO to 1.5 million bbl/day. The inability of heavy oil producers to consistently predict the market value of their product means they sometimes fail to recover the cost of the condensate. Processes that partially upgrade the heavy oil on site therefore appeal to producers if the result means expansion of the market and an increase in the value of their upgraded oil. This study will compare the technical and economic advantages to the producer and refiner of two levels of deasphalting (about 5wt% and about 15wt% of the heavy oil) using blended Cold Lake heavy oil as a base case. Deasphalting eliminates or reduces the heteroatoms, metals, and CCR and lowers the viscosity which, in turn, reduces the need for condensate.