Major oilfield achieves zero fossil fuel status

Hadson Oilfield, located in the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, became the country's first million-ton oilfield with zero fossil fuel energy consumption, said its operator China National Petroleum Corp on Thursday.

Zero fossil energy consumption refers to the elimination of fossil fuel use by replacing it with clean energy sources such as wind and solar power — or solar thermal systems — thereby achieving zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The establishment of a zero fossil energy consumption oilfield is significant for promoting energy transition while driving economic development, it said.

CNPC said the oilfield, once a major energy consumer, consumed 20,400 metric tons of standard coal and emitted 68,300 tons of CO2 in 2020 alone. To address the issue, the oilfield has shut down a 1-million-ton central station and a 100,000 cubic meter natural gas facility, reducing 90 electricity and gas-consuming devices, and stopping four gas-fired heaters and 59 electromagnetic heaters.

It has also installed three 1,100-kilowatt heat pump units, utilizing the waste heat from extracted water to replace the gas heaters, providing heating for the living areas and on-site facilities, which reduces natural gas consumption by 1.04 million cubic meters per year.

The oilfield has implemented extensive green energy replacement measures, including the installation of solar thermal storage heaters and the construction of a distributed photovoltaic power station with an annual generation capacity of 20.4 million kilowatt-hours.

This enabled full electrification of production operations, achieving zero gas and oil consumption on site, it said.

An analyst said the achievement of zero fossil energy consumption at the oilfield represents a significant milestone in the energy sector, reflecting both advances in technological innovation and strategic foresight.

This achievement demonstrates that even energy-intensive sectors like oil extraction can effectively integrate renewable energy solutions to minimize their carbon footprint, said Wang Lining, director of the oil market department of the Economics and Technology Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corp.

"The use of heat pumps, solar thermal systems and PV power indicates a comprehensive approach to energy management that can serve as a model for other oilfields both in China and globally," Wang said.

By reducing reliance on fossil fuels, the oilfield enhances energy security, a critical concern for China and other nations. The shift toward clean energy sources not only aligns with China's "dual carbon" goals, but also mitigates the risks associated with fossil fuel price volatility and supply disruptions, he added.

The company said the oilfield will continue intensifying efforts to replace traditional energy sources with PV and solar thermal power, while planning to build centralized PV power stations connected to the grid and achieving 100 percent green electricity substitution within the central station.

It aims to establish CNPC's first million-ton "zero-carbon central station" and "zero-carbon oilfield", setting a leading example for the accelerated green and low-carbon transformation of China's petroleum extraction industry.