With the right amount of heat, chemicals and diluent, they can turn the thick, heavy, low viscosity, "tar" (7 degree API gravity) into a fairly free flowing liquid (like oil) to put in tankers for delivery to LA refineries. At another "tar" field called San Ardo, in West Central California(Monterrey County), which is a huge billion barrel field, the steamed/produced heavy oil (not as thick/tarry as PV as it has higher 10-13 degree API gravity) is treated and then put in rail cars for transport to LA refineries. I doubt PV tar, with its exceptionally low gravity (7 degrees), can ever be cost effectively treated enough (50% diluent?) to be put in a pipeline for transport to LA refineries. Since most oil produced in California is relatively lower gravity with higher sulpher content than oil fields in other states, the refineries here are well designed/equipped to process it into the various refined components.
Geo
