【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】1571–2024: Construction begins on China’s first integrated fully electric fracturing ship

Thread Content

This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2024-4-17 at 15:11. 2024: A time of blooming flowers and joy on the forum **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Processing Equipment】 – An ongoing compilation thread; feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum) ***************** On April 11, 2024, it was reported by CNOOC Tianjin Branch that China’s first fully electric fracturing ship is currently under construction. This is a project initiated and designed for construction by CNOOC, in the absence of any prior experience in building ships of this type within China’s shipbuilding industry. 　　In conventional reservoirs, the matrix has high permeability, allowing oil and gas to flow toward the wellbore through natural seepage and thus form an industrial oil and gas stream; however, this is not the case in tight reservoirs, where fracturing techniques are required to create pathways between the underground oil and gas resources and the wells. 　　Fracturing refers to the process of injecting high-pressure fluid into a well using high-pressure pumps on the surface in order to force the formation apart and create fractures. Support materials such as ceramsite are then filled into these fractures to prevent them from closing. In this way, one or several “highways” are created between the wellbore and the tight reservoir, providing an effective pathway for oil and gas to flow into the wellbore and form an industrial oil and gas stream. 　　Over the next five years, reserves in offshore low-permeability oil and gas fields will represent an important source of potential growth for China’s offshore oil production. In light of the fact that low-permeability oil and gas reserves at sea are large in scale and widely distributed, but have a low degree of utilization and contribute little to production, CNOOC is focusing on key research and development efforts in areas such as fully electric intelligent power systems for fracturing ships, and integrated control technologies for fracturing equipment. 　　To meet the specific requirements of offshore fracturing operations, the ship is equipped with systems for liquid supply, mixing, sand mixing, sand storage, and sand transportation; all equipment related to oilfield production enhancement is arranged in an integrated manner within the ship. By adopting a comprehensive power station design, in the event of a maximum single-point failure, the ship’s power station enables automatic power distribution, thereby ensuring the safe conduct of fracturing operations, breaking the deadlock in low-permeability oil field development at sea, and enabling a new fracturing approach that makes use of large amounts of fluid and sand. 　　This large-scale fracturing vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2025 and will be used for the development of offshore low-permeability oil and gas fields in the Bohai Sea, such as the Bozhong 25-1 and Bozhong 19-6 fields. 　　Yu Guimin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer (Drilling and Completion) of CNOOC Tianjin Branch, said: In 2024, we will make every effort to advance initiatives aimed at strengthening technological innovation. We will consider, plan for, and promote technological innovation within the context of national priorities, striving to achieve a high level of self-reliance and strength in science and technology, thereby fully unlocking the potential and driving forces for the high-quality development of the Bohai Sea oil fields. Accelerate the construction of large-scale fracturing ships and the research on related technologies, in order to fill the gaps in fracturing technology and engineering for offshore oil fields in China as soon as possible.