Patent ID: 7381320

Claim:
A process for upgrading crude oil from a subterranean reservoir of heavy oil or bitumen, comprising: converting asphaltenes to steam, power, fuel gas, or a combination thereof for use in producing heavy oil or bitumen from a reservoir; solvent deasphalting at least a portion of the heavy oil or bitumen to form an asphaltene fraction and a deasphalted oil (DAO) fraction essentially free of asphaltenes having a reduced metals content; supplying the asphaltenes fraction from the solvent deasphalting to the asphaltenes conversion; supplying a feed comprising the DAO fraction to a reaction zone of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit with FCC catalyst to deposit a portion of the metals from the DAO fraction onto the FCC catalyst, wherein lower boiling hydrocarbon fractions are introduced to the FCC unit with the DAO fraction; recovering a hydrocarbon effluent having a reduced metal content from the FCC unit; and removing metallized FCC catalyst from the FCC unit.