China Unveils World's First Mobile Thermal-Injection Platform
China has introduced the world's first mobile thermal-injection platform, offering an innovative approach to improve heavy-oil recovery. Known as Recai No.1, this platform marks a considerable technological breakthrough in oil extraction, specifically tailored for the effective access of heavy-oil reserves.
TroibNews 
China has announced the delivery of the world's first mobile thermal-injection platform, marking a crucial advancement in the nation's heavy oil extraction endeavors. The platform, referred to as "Recai No.1" or "Thermal Recovery No.1," was introduced by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation in the waters near Weihai City, located in Shandong Province in eastern China.
This innovative platform opens up new prospects for China to apply cutting-edge heavy oil recovery technologies and make the most of its substantial reserves. Heavy oil is particularly viscous and presents more challenges in extraction compared to conventional crude oil, accounting for over two-thirds of the globe's known oil reserves, with China's reserves estimated at 19.87 billion tonnes.
The design of the Recai No.1 platform aims to improve the efficiency and scale of heavy oil extraction via a thermal injection method. Extending 82 meters in length and 42 meters in width, the platform incorporates advanced thermal-recovery technologies that utilize high-temperature steam to diminish the viscosity of heavy oil, thus simplifying the extraction process. This is achieved through a mobile thermal-injection system and compensation technology specifically for high-temperature, high-pressure steam pipelines.
Built to endure harsh marine environments, the platform boasts four legs that rise over 70 meters high, allowing it to operate in waters as deep as 35 meters and withstand typhoons as strong as Category 16. Its two-deck layout spans more than 3,000 square meters and weighs in at over 10,000 tonnes, which is roughly equivalent in height to a 20-story building.
One of the platform's standout features is its capability to inject high-temperature, high-pressure steam into multiple oil wells simultaneously. It employs three steam boiler systems capable of producing steam temperatures exceeding 350 degrees Celsius, facilitating the injection of steam into as many as six oil wells at once. This innovation boosts the efficiency of thermal injection operations to more than three times that of standard cold-recovery methods.
Unlike fixed oil extraction platforms, Recai No.1's mobility allows it to be towed to various oil recovery locations, enabling swift thermal injection across multiple sites. This flexibility is anticipated to lower heavy oil development costs and support larger-scale extraction initiatives.
The platform will operate in China’s Bohai Sea region, which is home to nearly half of the nation's verified heavy oil reserves. The introduction of this advanced thermal-injection system is expected to provide a more effective and economically feasible approach to harnessing the country's vast heavy oil potential, thereby enhancing energy security.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
This innovative platform opens up new prospects for China to apply cutting-edge heavy oil recovery technologies and make the most of its substantial reserves. Heavy oil is particularly viscous and presents more challenges in extraction compared to conventional crude oil, accounting for over two-thirds of the globe's known oil reserves, with China's reserves estimated at 19.87 billion tonnes.
The design of the Recai No.1 platform aims to improve the efficiency and scale of heavy oil extraction via a thermal injection method. Extending 82 meters in length and 42 meters in width, the platform incorporates advanced thermal-recovery technologies that utilize high-temperature steam to diminish the viscosity of heavy oil, thus simplifying the extraction process. This is achieved through a mobile thermal-injection system and compensation technology specifically for high-temperature, high-pressure steam pipelines.
Built to endure harsh marine environments, the platform boasts four legs that rise over 70 meters high, allowing it to operate in waters as deep as 35 meters and withstand typhoons as strong as Category 16. Its two-deck layout spans more than 3,000 square meters and weighs in at over 10,000 tonnes, which is roughly equivalent in height to a 20-story building.
One of the platform's standout features is its capability to inject high-temperature, high-pressure steam into multiple oil wells simultaneously. It employs three steam boiler systems capable of producing steam temperatures exceeding 350 degrees Celsius, facilitating the injection of steam into as many as six oil wells at once. This innovation boosts the efficiency of thermal injection operations to more than three times that of standard cold-recovery methods.
Unlike fixed oil extraction platforms, Recai No.1's mobility allows it to be towed to various oil recovery locations, enabling swift thermal injection across multiple sites. This flexibility is anticipated to lower heavy oil development costs and support larger-scale extraction initiatives.
The platform will operate in China’s Bohai Sea region, which is home to nearly half of the nation's verified heavy oil reserves. The introduction of this advanced thermal-injection system is expected to provide a more effective and economically feasible approach to harnessing the country's vast heavy oil potential, thereby enhancing energy security.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
