The type of produced crude oil emulsion is primarily determined by the physicochemical properties of the oil itself. Heavy crudes of large viscosities have tendency to form stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. These emulsions can be encountered already at the exit of the well bore as a result of the shear and intense mixing occurring while bringing the oil up to the surface. In this study, we prepared a reference fluid mimicking properties of a North Sea heavy crude oil. The W/O emulsions of both fluids were investigated with respect to stability, droplet sizes during batch and flow experiments, rheology and pipeline flow behavior. Experimental data obtained from the rheometer was successfully applied for developing a reference fluid and predicting the transport characteristics of oils and their W/O emulsions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.