【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】Construction begins on China’s largest commercial underground oil storage project, 1309-2023

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On December 9, 2023, the Daxie Commercial Oil Storage Project, China’s largest commercial underground oil storage facility funded and constructed by CNOOC, officially commenced construction. The Daxie Commercial Storage Project is a **key construction project**; its designed capacity is 3 million cubic meters, with a total investment of nearly 3 billion yuan. Completion is expected by the end of 2026. The Daxie Commercial Storage Project was designed and constructed by CNOOC, and it includes 3 million cubic meters of underground crude oil storage tanks, as well as facilities for the storage, transportation of crude oil on the surface and related supporting systems. This project utilizes key core technologies independently developed by CNOOC Petrochemical Engineering Co., Ltd., such as evaluation methods for the stability of the rock mass surrounding underground vaults, water filling tests under all operating conditions, and inspections of the water curtain system for sealing purposes. Stone cavities are excavated beneath the mountain, and natural stable groundwater together with an artificial water curtain system are used to create a safe and reliable sealed space for storing crude oil; this ensures that the underground crude oil storage tanks can operate without any maintenance over a period of 50 years. At present, the commercial oil reserves in our country are mainly stored in above-ground tanks and underground sealed caverns. Compared to above-ground storage tanks, underground sealed cavern storage facilities are typically built at a certain depth beneath the ground. They offer reliable operation safety; construction costs are reduced by about 20%, while operating costs are cut by around 50%. For storage facilities of the same scale, this approach allows for the savings of approximately 950 mu of land. It also eliminates the problem of oil evaporation losses, offering significant advantages in terms of sustainability and environmental protection.