The supercritical CCUS high-pressure oil-free lubrication compressor, independently developed and manufactured by Jichai in Chengdu, has been successfully applied in China’s first CCUS-EGR project

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The supercritical CCUS high-pressure oil-free lubrication compressors, developed and manufactured independently by Jichai in Chengdu, have been successfully applied in China’s first CCUS-EGR project. On November 10th, news came from Well Wocarbon 1 in the Maokou Formation of the Wolonghe field in the Southwest Oil and Gas Field: the supercritical CCUS high-pressure oil-free lubrication compressor units developed by Chengdu Compressor Branch have been operating steadily there for two weeks, with nearly 110,000 cubic meters of carbon dioxide re-injected in total. This marks the successful application of the company’s compressor equipment in China’s first CCUS-EGR project. CCUS-EGR stands for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery technology, which uses high-purity carbon dioxide to improve the recovery rate of natural gas reservoirs; pilot tests have already been carried out in the Southwest Oil and Gas Field and the Jilin Oil Field. The application of this technology holds significant innovative value for simultaneously achieving carbon dioxide sequestration and stable production in existing oil fields, as well as for exploring low-cost carbon capture methods to promote the low-carbon and sustainable development of the oil and gas industry. “This unit is a product specifically designed for the Maokou Formation gas reservoir in the Wolong River, based on our practical application needs. Compared to conventional units, its design and operation and maintenance are more complex, with a higher level of technical complexity. ”According to Yang Han, a project designer at Chengdu Compressor Branch, the company’s units put into operation this time feature an oil-free lubrication system, a cooling system tailored to the properties of carbon dioxide at its critical point, as well as full-process phase control technology for supercritical carbon dioxide. These elements completely eliminate problems such as degradation and reduced performance caused by the mixing of lubricating oil with carbon dioxide, ensuring the safe and stable operation of the units. To enhance product reliability and ensure the smooth progress of projects, the branch company carries out customized development strictly in accordance with the intake and exhaust pressures, exhaust volume, medium conditions, and carbon dioxide critical parameters provided by the client. It has overcome the challenge of balancing oil-free lubrication with high-pressure wear resistance, and by employing a pre-cooling return flow design along with separate control of cooling fans at various stages, it effectively prevents the medium from dropping below its critical point. At the work site, the service staff work closely with the users to accurately set the control parameters, based on the continuously changing inlet and exhaust pressures upstream and downstream, providing \"nanny-style\" support to ensure the stable operation of the unit. Zhong Wei, a staff member at the project site, said that the successful commissioning of this unit not only provides a technical model for the efficient development of old gas reservoirs in China, but also advances the technology for large-scale utilization of carbon dioxide from theory to practice. Going forward, the branch company will continue to optimize the performance of the units and expand the scope of applications for these technologies, using domestic core technical equipment to help advance the green development of oil and gas fields to a new level.