Methods for enhancing heavy oil recovery

A method for upgrading heavy oil in a steam-assisted heavy oil well, comprising:

• contacting the heavy oil that is contained in a rock formation associated with a steam-assisted well for producing the heavy oil, said well comprising a producer leg and an injector leg;
• wherein said contacting of the heavy oil includes contacting with a nanocatalyst for a time and under conditions sufficient to increase the H/C ratio (hydrogen/carbon ratio) of the heavy oil recovered from the well, wherein said nanocatalyst is steam-injected into the well injector leg or into the producer leg and injector leg;
• said nanocatalyst comprising:
• nickel oxide nanoparticles supported on alumina nanoparticles;
• wherein the alumina nanoparticle to nickel oxide nanoparticle weight to weight ratio in the catalyst is in a range of from about 99 to about 400;
• wherein the particle size of the alumina nanoparticle is in a range of from about 30 to about 100 nanometers;
• wherein the catalyst does not further comprise silver nanoparticles supported on the alumina nanoparticles;
• and
• wherein the alumina nanoparticles are present in an amount of at least 99% by weight of the catalyst or the catalyst SBET surface area is from about 17 to about 70 m2/g.