The Kela 2-5 well in Tarim Oilfield's Kela 2 gas field in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Photo: screenshot of CMG's report

Cumulative ethane production at the Tarim Oilfield in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has exceeded 4 million tons, reaching 4.08 million tons as of Saturday. This marks a new milestone in the deep processing of natural gas in the Tarim Basin, China Central Television (CCTV) reported, citing China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the oilfield's operator.

Ethane is an important component of natural gas and a core feedstock for ethylene production. Further processing of ethylene yields plastics, chemical fibers, and various types of other industrial materials, making ethane a fundamental raw material for modern petrochemical industry. 

The Tarim Energy Company, located in Xinjiang's Luntai County, has an annual natural gas processing capacity of 25 billion cubic meters. The company's Lunnan natural gas deep-processing project is one of the largest single-unit natural gas deep-processing facilities at an oil and gas field in China, according to the CCTV report. The Tarim Energy Company operates under CNPC's Tarim Oilfield.

Since its commissioning, it has processed a total of 56 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and produced 4.08 million tons of ethane and 2.8 million tons of light hydrocarbons and liquefied petroleum gas. 

The project has also achieved independent and controllable production, with core equipment such as propane refrigeration machines, compressors, and high-speed regeneration gas compressors having all replaced by domestically produced alternatives, an engineer at the Tarim Energy Company, was quoted as saying in the CCTV report. 

In recent years, Tarim Oilfield has advanced the "West-to-West" gas utilization strategy, promoting large-scale processing of natural gas resources and extending the downstream chemical industry chain. To date, the oilfield has built a pipeline network of more than 5,400 kilometers around the Tarim Basin, supplying over 7 billion cubic meters of gas annually to southern Xinjiang.

Natural gas in the Tarim Basin is rich in ethane. The deep extraction of the heavier components from pipeline gas not only significantly increases the value of the natural gas resources but also provides China's ethylene industry with an independent, controllable and low-cost source of feedstock, the report said.

Global Times