【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】Self-developed natural gas ethane recovery plant with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters put into operation from 1183 to 2021

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Looking at the development of chemical technology over the past decade, we celebrate the prosperity and strength of modern China. By sharing our insights, we encourage more people to participate and make the discussion more lively. With you here, HaiChuan becomes even better. [A Decade of Progress in Chemical Equipment] – Continuous updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html. It is important to enhance quality awareness and promote high-quality development. -----------------------------------------On August 16, 2021, the ethane recovery project at the Tarim Oil Field, China’s largest natural gas processing facility designed by the Southwest Branch of China National Petroleum Engineering Corporation, came online. The plant operates stably, and the ethane products meet quality standards, marking the successful transformation of the country’s first 10 billion cubic meters per year natural gas ethane recovery process technology, developed independently by the Southwest Branch, into a tangible achievement in terms of scientific and technological progress. The natural gas ethane recovery project is a key initiative for the Tarim Oil Field to implement the strategy of converting Xinjiang’s abundant resources into useful products, increase the output of petroleum liquids, and improve efficiency. It serves as a model project for integrated upstream and downstream operations by CNPC, and is also crucial for maintaining and increasing production levels at the Tarim Oil Field as well as for advancing the development of a world-class modern oil field. This project holds great practical significance for enriching the product portfolio of China’s petroleum industry, promoting the development of related downstream industries, and fostering economic growth in southern Xinjiang. The design capacity for the ethane recovery project at the Tarim Oil Field is 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year; the capacity of each individual unit is 5 billion cubic meters per year. It is one of the largest ethane recovery units of its kind in China, producing 762,000 tons of ethane, 366,000 tons of liquefied gas, and 75,000 tons of stabilized light hydrocarbons per year. This project utilizes the \"propane pre-cooling + expansion mechanism cooling + dual-reflux 10 billion cubic meters/year natural gas ethane recovery process package\" independently developed by the Southwest Branch; the yield of the products and the energy consumption achieved international advanced levels. During the development of the process package, the Southwest Branch utilized pinch analysis technology for the first time to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption in the natural gas ethane recovery process; it carried out research on energy optimization, plant safety, operational reliability analysis, as well as dynamic simulation studies. The developed process package has not only passed the evaluation and certification by the China Petroleum Engineering Construction Association, but has also been successfully applied in natural gas ethane recovery projects after undergoing multiple rounds of review and validation in feasibility study reports by the Tarim Oil Field, Exploration and Production Company, and other entities. The successful commissioning of the ethane recovery project at the Tarim Oil Field marks the practical application of the ethane recovery process package developed independently by the company. It fills a gap in China’s technology for large-scale natural gas ethane recovery, and holds great significance for China National Petroleum Corporation in exploring overseas markets for ethane recovery.