Giant Oilfield Discovered in Bohai

PetroChina announced a discovery of a giant oilfield in the beginning of May, which has a reserve of one billion tons, or about 7.35 billion barrels, the largest discovery in China over four decades. Of the reserves, the basically proven oil in place is 405 million tons with the average thickness of oil formations ranging between 80 meters and 100 meters. The oilfield lies in the Nanpu block of PetroChina Jidong Oilfield Company in Caofeidian industrial zone, north China＇s Hebei province. The area is expected to enjoy a better chance of becoming a national oil strategic reserve base following the discovery of the Nanpu Oilfield.     

New Trend in Cooperation between China and Africa’s Petroleum Industry and Strategy for Developing African Oil Market

There is abundant of proven oil reserves in Africa. Up to 2010, the proven oil reserves in Africa is 132.1 billion barrels which makes it more than North America (73.3 billion barrdels) and Asia-Pacific(42.2 billion barrels),which stands for 9.6% of global total and estimated to be explored for 36 years. The major African countries     

Current Status and Challenges of Heavy Oil Recovery Technology in Liaohe Oilfield

In China, the heavy oil resources concentrates in 12 basins with about 70 oil reservoirs. The most important four heavy oil felds are Liaohe, Xinjiang, Shengli and Henan Oilfields, of which, Liaohe Oilfield and Xinjiang Oilfield belong to PetroChina. Liaohe Oil field is the largest heavy oil production base of PetroChina. By the end of 2006, measured OOIP of heavy oil in Liaohe Oilfield was 1.05 billion tons, of which developed place in volume was 840 million tons and undeveloped place in volume was 210 million tons. In 2006, the heavy oil output was 7.645 million tons in Liaohe Oilfield, of which the annual production volume from cyclic steam stimulation （CSS） was 6.65 million tons （87.0%） and the production volume from steam flooding and SAGD was 175,000 tons, volume from cold production was 820,000 tons（Fig. 1）.     

Study on Producing Heavy Paving Asphalt

The highly viscous crude oil from Shuguang No.1 zone of Liaohe oifield features high density,high viscosity and low wax content.It contains no gasoline fraction and its diesel oil fraction yiled is only 7.19%,which belongs to the low sulfur naphthenic stocks crude oil.Its heavy fraction is not suited for producing lubricating oil.Its heavy oil,whick contains more resins nd asphaltens and less wax,is not an ideal feedstock for catalytic cracking ,but is the ideal raw material for producing high-grade paving asphalt.Now this highy viscous crude oil is used as fuel oil after being emulsified in Liaohe oilfield,but its viscosity is so hight tha it cannot be atomized uniformly and burned completely,resuting not only in waste of oil resource but also in reduction of economical benefit.To make full use of this oil resource and alleviate the shortfall of high grade paving asphalt in China,various brands of asphal meeting Q/SHR003-1998 and ESSO specifications were developed by blending vaceuum residue of the said oil and a blending compo-net which are rich in aromatics and deficient in wax.The impct of blending component on proerties of blended ashalt has been investigated and road perfomances of these blended asphalts were studied.The labroatory test results show that the blended asphalts have good road performance and antiaging property.     

Heating of heavy oil by circulating hot water in closed double casing in ultra-deep wells

In heavy oil production,the loss of energy to ambient surroundings decreases the temperature of the heavy oil flowing upwards in a vertical wellbore,which increases the oil viscosity and the oil may not flow normally in the wellbore.Therefore,it is necessary to lower the heavy oil viscosity by heating methods to allow it to be lifted easily.Heating of heavy oil in an oil well is achieved by circulating hot water in annuli in the well(tubing-casing annulus,casing-casing annulus).In this paper,based on heat transfer principles and fluid flow theory,a model is developed for produced fluids and hot water flowing in a vertical wellbore.The temperature and pressure of produced fluids and hot water in the wellbore are calculated and the effect of hot water on heavy oil temperature is analyzed.Calculated results show that the hot water circulating in the annuli may effectively heat the heavy oil in the tubing,so as to significantly reduce both oil viscosity and resistance to oil flow.     

In situ catalytic upgrading of heavy crude oil through low-temperature oxidation

The low-temperature catalytic oxidation of heavy crude oil (Xinjiang Oilfield, China) was studied using three types of catalysts including oil-soluble, watersoluble, and dispersed catalysts. According to primary screening, oil-soluble catalysts, copper naphthenate and manganese naphthenate, are more attractive, and were selected to further investigate their catalytic performance in in situ upgrading of heavy oil. The heavy oil compositions and molecular structures were characterized by column chromatography, elemental analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry before and after reaction. An Arrhenius kinetics model was introduced to calculate the rheological activation energy of heavy oil from the viscosity– temperature characteristics. Results show that the two oil-soluble catalysts can crack part of heavy components into light components, decrease the heteroatom content, and achieve the transition of reaction mode from oxygen addition to bond scission. The calculated rheological activation energy of heavy oil from the fitted Arrhenius model is consistent with physical properties of heavy oil (oil viscosity and contents of heavy fractions). It is found that the temperature, oil composition, and internal molecular structures are the main factors affecting its flow ability. Oil-soluble catalyst-assisted air injection or air huff-n-puff injection is a promising in situ catalytic upgrading method for improving heavy oil recovery.     

SINOPEC＇s Countermeasure to Withstand the Impact on Petrochemical Industry after China＇s Accession to WTO

1 Profile of SINOPEC.SINOPEC is the first Chinese company, which was listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai. The business portfolio of SINOPEC covers oil exploration and development,petroleum refining, petrochemical and oil products marketing,with a total sales revenue of 324.2 billion RMB and a net profit of 22 billion RMB. SINOPEC is the second largest oil and gas producer in China and is also the biggest oil refiner of China with its crude processing capacity ranked number five in the world. With 24,000 wholly controlled gas stations and 4,127 authorized gas stations, SINOPEC owns an extensive oil products marketing network. It is the largest in China oil products distributor and sales company, and is ranked the sixth largest company in the world.     

Technology for Coking of Heavy Crude Oil with High Acid Number

Sudan Khartoum Refinery Co. has selected a unique route featuring delayed coking of crude in connection with the highly sour and high-calcium heavy crude extracted from Sudanese oil block No. 6.The crude oil after pretreatment for calcium removal is subjected to coking for removal of acids and metals with the coker products being further processed. The crude oil extracted from Sudanese oil block No. 6 contains as high as 13 mg KOI-Jdg of crude in addition to a calcium content of 1600 ppm. This article makes an analysis on problems related with the operation of commercial delayed coking unit for processing of highly sour crude and bring forth measures to solve these problems. The liquid yield resulted from coking of crude oil can reach 82 m%, and the petroleum coke can meet the quality requirement for class 3B petroleum coke.     

SINOPEC''''s Countermeasure to Withstand the Impact on Petrochemical Industry after China''''s Accession to WTO

1 Profile of SINOPEC SINOPEC is the first Chinese company, which was listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai. The business portfolio of SINOPEC covers oil exploration and development, petroleum refining, petrochemical and oil products marketing, with a total sales revenue of 324.2 billion RMB and a net profit of 22 billion RMB. SINOPEC is the second largest oil and gas producer in China and is also the biggest oil refiner of China with its crude processing capacity ranked number     

Engineering Application of Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking

1 Introduction The supply of conventional petroleum is decreasing while heavy oil resources in the world exceed 600 million tons, so heavy oil will become an important energy source in the 21~(st) century. Most of the crude oil in China is fairly heavy and vacuum residue with boiling point higher than 500℃ accounts for 40%—60% of crude oil, even higher than 60% in heavy crude.     

Current Conditions and Outlook of Global Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

The world is rich in offshore oil and gas resources. The offshore oil reserves account for about 34 percent of the world＇s total. With a 30 percent proven rate, offshore oil exploration is still in its preliminary stage. Based on the statistics by ＂Oil ＆ Gas Journal,＂ as of the January 1, 2006, the proven oil reserves worldwide are 175.7 billion tons and the proven natural gas reserves 173 trillion cubic meters. The global offshore oil reserves approach 135 billion tons, of which 38 billion tons are proven, while the offshore natural gas reserves amount to about 140 trillion cubic meters, of which 40 trillion cubic meters are proven.     

Calculating single layer production contribution of heavy oil commingled wells by analysis of aromatic parameters in whole-oil GC-MS

Traditional fluid production profile logging is not usually suitable for heavy-viscous crude oil wells.Biodegradation of heavy oil can lead to the loss of n-alkanes,and the use of chromatogram fingerprint techniques in studying the production contributions of single layers in heavy oil commingled wells has limitations.However,aromatic compounds are relatively well preserved.We took the heavy oil commingled wells of small layers NG55 and NG61 in the ninth area of the Gudong oil field as examples.Based on the principle of chromatography,the whole-oil GC-MS was used,and the aromatic parameters which have a strongly linear relationship with the ratio of mixed two end member oils were verified and selected in laboratory.Studies showed that the ratio of （1,4,6-＋ 2,3,6-trimethylnaphthalene） to 1,2,5-trimethylnaphthalene has a strongly linear relationship with the ratio of the mixed two end member oils （R2=0.992）.The oil contributions from single layers NG55 and NG61 in six commingled heavy oil wells were calculated using established charts and this relationship.The calculated results are consistent with the results of long period dynamic monitoring and logging interpretation in the study area and can provide a scientific basis for monitoring production performance and hierarchical management of reservoirs.The study provides a new geochemical method for calculation of the contributions of single layers in heavy oil commingled wells when conventional fluid production profile logging is not suitable.     

Brief Introduction of CNPC Sichuan Petroleum

CNPC Sichuan Petroleum（CSP）, a subsidiary company of China National Petroleum Corporation （CNPC） with annual production value surpassing RMB 10 billion, is specialized in oil and gas field engineering and technical services, equipment manufacturing and supply, and cooperation in oil and gas field development. CSP has also enjoyed the right in doing international business including technologic ＆ economic cooperation and trading.     

Chinese Petroleum Policy Facing High Oil Price

China had overpaid foreign exchange US$7.24 billion (RMB60 billion yuan) for importing crude oil last year due to the rise in crude oil prices in the international market. The total operation cost for national economy in China has been increased. Some wealth created has been transferred into the hands of the crude oil suppliers.Meanwhile,     

Processing of Liaohe Highly Sour Crude

In order to solve the problems related with processing low-quality Liaohe highly sour crude, the Liaohe Petrochemical Company has explored the possibility in optimizing the processing of highly sour crude by adopting different process schemes depending upon the properties of the highly sour crude. The Liaohe naphthenic-base crude oil with low freezing point is earmarked for manufacture of naphthenic lube oils and heavy traffic paving asphalt, while the extra-heavy Liaohe crude with high acid number is routed directly to delayed coking unit coupled with corresponding corrosion preventing measures, resulting in tackling the problem of equipment corrosion arising from refining of Liaohe highly sour crude to obtain light distillates from Liaohe heavy crude through a short process scheme.     

Petroleum Discoveries and Exploration Prospect in China＇s Major Petroliferous Basins

Up to now, there are 29 oil- and gas-bearing basins with recoverable oil and gas reserves in China. However, most of the reserves were mainly discovered in parts of the 29 basins, which played an important role in China＇s petroleum exploration and development. Based on the data statistics and analyses of reserves and resources, the current situation of oil and gas discoveries and the resources potential in these major basins are discussed in the paper. The so-called major oil- and gas-bearing basins here are the basins with cumulative recoverable oil （excluding condensate oil） reserves of more than 50 million tons or cumulative recoverable gas （excluding dissolved gas） reserves of more than 50 billion cubic meters.     

Emulsification of Indian heavy crude oil using a novel surfactant for pipeline transportation

The most economical way to overcome flow assurance problems associated with transportation of heavy crude oil through offshore pipelines is by emulsifying it with water in the presence of a suitable surfactant.In this research,a novel surfactant,tri-triethanolamine monosunflower ester,was synthesized in the laboratory by extracting fatty acids present in sunflower(Helianthus annuus)oil.Synthesized surfactant was used to prepare oil-in-water emulsions of a heavy crude oil from the western oil field of India.After emulsification,a dramatic decrease in pour point as well as viscosity was observed.All the prepared emulsions were found to be flowing even at 1°C.The emulsion developed with 60%oil content and 2wt%surfactant showed a decrease in viscosity of 96%.The stability of the emulsion was investigated at different temperatures,and it was found to be highly stable.The effectiveness of surfactant in emulsifying the heavy oil in water was investigated by measuring the equilibrium interfacial tension(IFT)between the crude oil(diluted)and the aqueous phase along with zeta potential of emulsions.2wt%surfactant decreased IFT by almost nine times that of no surfactant.These results suggested that the synthesized surfactant may be used to prepare a stable oil-in-water emulsion for its transportation through offshore pipelines efficiently.     

Sinopec Raises 2006 Oil and Gas Production

Sinopec Corp., the nation＇s second-biggest oil company, is expected to produce 1.9 percent more crude oil and 11 percent more gas in 2006 as the nation＇s energy demand continually rises. The company may pump 40 million tons of crude oil and 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas from domestic fields this year, said Sinopec Corp in a statement released in late December. The company produced 39.27 million tons of crude oil and 6.3 billion cubic meters of gas last year. Chinese oil companies are increasing investments in oil and gas exploration to meet demands by the world＇s fastest-growing major economy, which expanded 10.7 percent in the first three quarters of this year.     

Panorama of China＇s Oil Refining Industry in 2005

China＇s oil refining industry registered a loss of about 30 billion yuan （US$3,7 billion） in 2005, a sharp contrast to the 20.8 billion yuan in profits in 2004, according to the statistical figures made available from China＇s National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）, which is in charge of industrial policy. The development of China＇s oil refining industry has witnessed tension between oil demand and straining supply as well as a steady increase of output in 2005, impacted by domestic and international factors.     

Progress in Coal Liquefaction Technologies

1. China’s energy status The proven recoverable reserve of coal in China ranks the third, while those of oil and gas rank the 11th and 19th, respectively in the world. Coal makes up a large percentage in China’s primary energy consumption. The percentage of coal consumption reduced from 76.2% in 1996 to 66.3% in 2002 as a result of the adjustment of energy structure, but the total coal consumption increased to 1.39 billion tons in 2002. Based on China’s energy status and economic developm…