A major project to address the carbon peak at the million-ton level is here! Seal carbon dioxide underground and bring oil to the surface!

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On July 5, Sinopec launched China’s first million-ton-scale CCUS (carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage) project—the Qilu Petrochemicals-Shengli Oilfield CCUS project. The CCUS project of Qilu Petrochemical and Shengli Oilfield will transport the carbon dioxide captured by Qilu Petrochemical to the strata in Shengli Oilfield for storage and use in oil extraction, thereby turning waste into a resource. This approach can result in a reduction of 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which is equivalent to planting nearly 9 million trees or stopping nearly 600,000 economy cars from running for one year. CCUS is one of the key technologies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. As an important technical approach to addressing global climate change and controlling greenhouse gas emissions, CCUS involves capturing and purifying carbon dioxide emitted during production processes, and then reusing it or sequestering it in new production processes. With the global efforts to address climate change and the pursuit of carbon neutrality goals, CCUS, as a technology for reducing and sequestering carbon, has become an important part of various carbon neutrality action plans. Countries such as the UK, Japan, and Australia have introduced policies to encourage the development of CCUS. Data shows that currently, there are 26 large-scale CCUS demonstration projects in operation worldwide, capable of capturing and storing approximately 40 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The CCUS project of Qilu Petrochemical and Shengli Oilfield is expected to come online by the end of the year. In the carbon capture process, Qilu Petrochemical’s carbon dioxide recovery and purification system consists of a compression unit, a refrigeration unit, and a liquefaction and purification unit, along with supporting utility systems, to recover carbon dioxide from the exhaust gases of coal-based hydrogen production units; the purity of the recovered carbon dioxide reaches over 99% after purification ； In terms of carbon utilization and sequestration, Shengli Oilfield takes advantage of the fact that supercritical carbon dioxide can mix easily with crude oil. It plans to build 10 unattended gas injection stations at the Zhenglijiazhuang Oilfield to inject carbon dioxide into 73 nearby wells. Meanwhile, the oil and gas transportation systems utilize closed pipelines to further increase the rate of carbon dioxide sequestration. It is estimated that over the next 15 years, a total of 10.68 million tons of carbon dioxide can be injected, resulting in an increase in oil production of 2.965 million tons. At present, the preliminary preparation work for the project has been fully launched. Sinopec will intensify its efforts during the 14th Five-Year Plan period to promote the industrial development of CCUS. Research will be conducted on establishing a technology development center for carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Focus will be placed on advancing cutting-edge and prospective technologies such as CCUS in the field of new energy, CCUS for hydrogen production, and CCUS for biomass utilization. Efforts will be intensified to apply technologies such as the conversion of carbon dioxide into high-value chemicals and the mineralization of carbon dioxide. Challenges related to core technologies and key equipment in all stages of carbon capture, transportation, utilization, and storage will be overcome. A technological innovation system for carbon dioxide utilization that encompasses technology development, engineering demonstrations, and industrialization will be established, thereby expanding the clean carbon sequestration industry chain and creating a hub for innovation in carbon reduction technologies. It is reported that in 2020, Sinopec captured 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide, with CCUS showing good performance. “During the 14th and 15th Five-Year Plans, Sinopec will make use of the carbon dioxide generated by refining and chemical enterprises such as Nanhua Company, and strive to establish another series of million-ton-scale CCUS demonstration sites in its oil and gas fields in East China and the Jiangsu oil field, thereby promoting the industrial development of CCUS and opening up broader prospects for China to achieve its goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.