Public announcement on the environmental impact assessment for CNOOC Datong’s 4 billion cubic meter coal-to-natural gas project

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Public announcement on the environmental impact assessment for CNOOC’s 4 billion cubic meter coal-to-natural gas project. On the 29th, the **Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a statement stating that, in accordance with the relevant regulations regarding the approval process for environmental impact assessments of construction projects, it plans to review the environmental impact assessment documents for two such projects: China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s demonstration project for the clean utilization of low-grade bituminous coal in Datong, Shanxi (CNOOC’s 4 billion cubic meter coal-to-gas project), and Shanxi Lu’an Mining (Group) Co., Ltd.’s demonstration project for the integrated utilization of high-sulfur coal for oil, chemicals, and heat production (Lu’an’s 1.8 million tons per year coal-to-oil project). To ensure the seriousness and fairness of the review process, the basic information regarding the environmental impact assessment document to be reviewed is being made public. The public display period is from February 29, 2016, to March 4, 2016 (5 working days). Industry insiders have revealed that the environmental impact assessment procedures for these two projects are nearly complete, and an approval for the environmental impact assessments is almost certain. CNOOC’s Demonstration Project for the Clean Utilization of Low-Grade Bituminous Coal in Datong, Shanxi (CNOOC Datong 4 billion cubic meters of coal-to-gas production) CNOOC plans to establish a demonstration project for the clean utilization of low-grade bituminous coal in Datong, Shanxi, within the Zuo Yun Coal Chemical Industry Base. The designed capacity of this project is to produce 4 billion standard cubic meters of coal-to-natural gas per year. The project is located within the planned Zuyun Coal Chemical Industry Base in Datong City, and makes use of the local coal resources in Zuyun County to produce crude syngas through coal pressurized gasification technology. The main process units of the project include facilities (processes) for coal gasification, carbon monoxide shift, acid gas removal, methanation, and drying. Additionally, there are supporting facilities such as sulfur recovery, air separation, a refrigeration plant, and tar hydrogenation units. Supporting facilities for the project, including storage and transportation systems, utility systems, auxiliary production systems, and off-site works. The project recommends using a combination of coal crushing pressurized gasification and pulverized coal pressurized gasification technologies to produce crude syngas. The combined gasification scheme for crushed coal and pulverized coal provides raw syngas to downstream units at an effective gas (CO+H₂) production ratio of approximately 2:2. The overall processing flow for coal-to-natural gas involves gasification, carbon monoxide conversion, acid gas removal, methanation, and drying; it is also accompanied by facilities for sulfur recovery, air separation, cryogenic units, and tar hydrogenation. Product solution: Main environmental impacts and mitigation measures: (1) Atmosphere: The exhaust gases from low-temperature methanol washing and the waste gases from the slag discharge system of the gasifier are sent to a regenerative thermal oxidizer (oxygen-based oxidation) ； The sulfur recovery unit adopts an oxygen-enriched two-stage Claus + LOCAT (one in use and one as backup) process ； The furnace employs low-NOx combustion technology ； For unorganized areas, sealed transfer hoses for loading, oil and gas recovery, as well as equipment leakage detection and repair technologies are employed ； The exhaust gas from the wastewater treatment plant is collected in a sealed manner and then treated using biological deodorization. (2) Surface water: Under normal operating conditions, all wastewater from the project is reused and not discharged outside ； The process wastewater is treated using an improved A/O process and advanced treatment methods, and then reused after being processed via a dual-membrane technique ； The saline wastewater is treated using a dual-membrane process and then used as make-up water for circulating water ； The reverse osmosis concentrate stream is sent to a wastewater membrane concentration unit for treatment before being reused, while the brine is fed into an evaporation and crystallization system where sodium sulfate and sodium chloride are crystallized in successive steps ； Undertake the environmental protection demonstration tasks related to the purification of miscellaneous salts and the separation of crystalline salts. (3) Groundwater: In accordance with the requirements of the \"Technical Specifications for Anti-seepage Engineering in Petrochemical Industries\", zone-based anti-seepage measures shall be implemented. (4) Solid waste: General solid waste, coal gasification ash and filter cakes are either comprehensively utilized or sent to an external ash landfill for disposal ； The spent adsorbent is recycled by the manufacturer ； Crumbed coal gasification ash, spent ceramic balls, used molecular sieves, waste aluminum adhesives, chemical sludge from reclaimed water treatment plants, and dry sludge from water purification plants are sent to the ash landfill for disposal. Hazardous waste raffinate oil and chemical sludge from wastewater treatment are sent to a gasification furnace for incineration ； The evaporated mother liquor is sent to the sludge thickening tank ； The spent desulfurization agent is recycled by the manufacturer ； Oil sludge at the bottom of tanks, soluble crystalline salts, and “three types of sludge” are sent to the base’s hazardous waste treatment center. Until this center becomes operational, the project’s hazardous wastes (including crystalline salts) are temporarily sent to the Taiyuan Hazardous Waste Disposal Center in Shanxi Province for treatment. (5) Environmental risks: A three-level prevention and control system for environmental risk incidents has been established. Fire dikes are installed in the tank storage area, cofferdams are set up in the production unit area, and an accident pond with a capacity of 60,000 cubic meters has been built throughout the plant. The project’s production facilities are equipped with accident response systems such as automatic monitoring, alarm, and emergency shutoff. Develop emergency response plans and establish emergency coordination with the base and local authorities. Comments from relevant departments: (1) The General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, in Document No. NDRC Energy [2013] 501, approved the initiation of preliminary work for this project. (2) The Ministry of Water Resources issued a document approving the soil and water conservation plan for the project, via Document No. [2015] 25 on soil and water conservation. (3) The General Office of the People’s Government of Shanxi Province, via Document Jin Zheng Ban Han [2015] No. 62, approved the adjustment of Santun Township, where the project is located, to a town under provincial priority development, while keeping the functional status of Zouyun County as a key ecological function area subject to provincial-level restrictions on development unchanged. (4) The People’s Government of Zuoyun County proposed regional reduction measures to support the project in documents No. 2015-30, No. 2015-40, and No. 2015-48, respectively. (5) The People’s Government of Zuo Yun County issued a commitment regarding the use of groundwater for residential purposes as an alternative to the water from the project, as stated in Document Zuo Zheng Han [2015] No. 31. China National Offshore Oil Corporation is planning the development and construction of the coal-based clean energy “North Route Plan” project. The coal-based clean energy \"North Route Plan\" project consists of the Demonstration Project for the Clean Utilization of Low-grade Bituminous Coal in Datong, Shanxi, China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s coal-to-natural gas project with an annual production capacity of 4 billion standard cubic meters in Ordos, and CNOOC’s coal-to-natural gas pipeline project for transporting gas from Mengxi. On May 22, 2015, the environmental impact assessment documents for the Demonstration Project on the Clean Utilization of Low-Grade Bituminous Coal in Datong, Shanxi (CNOOC’s 4 billion cubic meter coal-to-gas project in Datong, Shanxi) were submitted for approval. On August 7, the **Ministry of Environmental Protection officially accepted the environmental impact assessment documents for China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s Ordos coal-to-natural gas project, with a capacity of 4 billion cubic meters per year.