【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】1901–2024: China’s First Offshore Oil Field with Comprehensive Green Design

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This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2024-7-8 at 11:47. Safety first. Prevention first: Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** On July 2, 2024, it was reported by China National Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. that the Wushi 23-5 oilfield complex – China’s first offshore oilfield to feature a comprehensive green design – was successfully put into operation on July 1, as part of the project developed by this company. CNOOC Engineering Company successfully brought oil and gas to the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong for the first time from a depth of two kilometers beneath the sea, setting a new benchmark for the sustainable development of offshore oil fields in China. It provided an important practical example and experience for the transformation of China’s energy industry toward lower carbon emissions and greener practices. The Wushi 23-5 oil field complex is located in the Beibu Gulf, with an average water depth of about 28 meters. The main production facilities include two newly built wellhead platforms, as well as upgrades and expansions to the Wushi onshore terminal. It is planned to put into operation 43 development wells, of which 28 are production wells and 15 are water injection wells. A peak production level of approximately 18,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day is expected to be reached in 2026, with the oil being of light crude quality. CNOOC Engineering Company is responsible for the construction of the Wushi 23-5 and Wushi 16-1W wellhead platforms, as well as the installation of pipelines and cables. Among them, the Wushi 23-5 platform is a 4-legged unmanned platform with a total weight of approximately 4,500 tons. Wushi 16-1W is an 8-leg platform with a total weight of approximately 8,300 tons. During the construction of the project, in the face of various challenges such as a large number of individual components and tight deadlines, CNOOC Engineering made full use of the advantages of its intelligent manufacturing base in Tianjin to promote standardized and integrated construction methods. It was able to successfully apply standardized components from the Bohai Sea to projects in the South China Sea, thereby improving construction efficiency effectively. The project innovatively adopts a new welding process combining argon arc welding with twin-wire welding, doubling the welding efficiency and achieving a 100% first-pass quality inspection rate. For the submarine pipelines and cables of the Wushi 23-5 project, as well as the connections to the land, the technology of pulling cables back through boreholes was utilized. The project introduced an innovative operation strategy of \"drilling – tunneling – cable pulling\", employing \"land-to-sea\" directional drilling techniques for precise drilling. This approach enabled successful resolution of the challenges associated with pulling long-distance pipelines and cables, thereby minimizing damage to the marine ecosystem and fishery resources, as well as reducing the impact on residents and coastal facilities. It is reported that the Wushi 23-5 oilfield complex adheres to the approach of efficient development combined with green and low-carbon practices. By addressing issues at the source, it integrates the strategic orientation and target requirements of green and low-carbon development throughout the design, construction, and production phases of the oilfields. Within the limited space of 300 mu at the Wushi Terminal in the Wushi 23-5 oil field, a variety of green treatment processes have been integrated. This has enabled the creation of a single facility that combines functions such as those of a crude oil processing station, a liquefied natural gas station, a liquefied petroleum gas station, a production water treatment station, a substation, and a 5G base station. This approach represents a new model for efficient design and green construction of oil fields, helping to minimize the impact on the marine environment.