According to information obtained from PetroChina, the Tarim Oilfield's cumulative ethane production has exceeded 4 million tonnes, reaching 4.08 million tonnes, marking a new milestone in the deep processing of natural gas in the Tarim Basin.
Ethane is a key component of natural gas and serves as the core feedstock for producing ethylene. Through further processing, ethylene can be used to manufacture plastics, chemical fibers, and various other daily-use and industrial materials, making it a fundamental raw material for the modern petrochemical industry.
Located in Luntai County, Xinjiang, Tarim Energy Company has an annual natural gas processing capacity of 25 billion cubic meters. Its Lunnan natural gas deep processing project is one of the largest single-train natural gas deep processing facilities among China's oil and gas fields.
Yan Erlun, Deputy Director of the Equipment Technology Department at PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Xinjiang Bazhou Tarim Energy Company, stated that core equipment including propane refrigeration compressors, compressors, and high-speed regeneration gas compressors have all achieved domestic substitution, enabling independent and controllable project operations.
The Tarim Basin is rich in natural gas ethane content. Deeply extracting these heavy components from pipeline gas for local conversion not only significantly increases the value of the resource but also opens up an independent and controllable low-cost feedstock channel for China's ethylene industry.
Since the project was put into operation, it has cumulatively processed 56 billion cubic meters of natural gas, produced 4.08 million tonnes of ethane, and 2.8 million tonnes of light hydrocarbons and liquefied gas.
In recent years, the Tarim Oilfield has been deepening the use of western gas in western regions, promoting large-scale deep processing of natural gas resources, and extending the downstream chemical industry chain. Meanwhile, the oilfield has built over 5,400 kilometers of pipeline networks around the Tarim Basin, supplying more than 7 billion cubic meters of gas to southern Xinjiang annually.