The exploration of combustible ice (natural gas hydrate) is entering a critical stage. PetroChina Group announced on August 28 that it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government in Beijing, aiming to set up a pilot site exploring gas hydrate in the Shenhu area. A senior official of the PetroChina said that the company hopes to commercialize combustible ice in 2030.
This move is of great significance as it marks that China ushers a new stage in gas hydrate exploration. It will further accelerate China's industrialization of gas hydrate.
As a major alternative to petroleum and natural gas, combustible ice has been always attracting much attention of the world. For China which urgently seeks for transformation in energy structure, it is concerned with the country’s energy security, energy cleanliness and sustainable development.
Minister of Land and Resources Jiang Daming said at the signing ceremony that the government should be fully aware of the significance of promoting the industrialization of gas hydrate in guaranteeing the country's energy security and reshaping its energy structure. China should accelerate the study and preparation of resource management policies and industrial policy to promote the process of industrialization.
PetroChina Group Chairman Wang Yilin said that the agreement is of great significance in promoting China's energy production and consumption revolution and building the country a marine power.
At its latest semi-annual report performance conference, China Petroleum President Wang Dongjin said that “China Petroleum will attach great importance to and participate in the development of combustible ice, and accelerate the exploration of combustible ice in the Bohai Rim, hoping to achieve commercial exploitation in 2030."
China succeeded in the trial mining of combustible ice at sea on May 18 this year. It has made innovations in theory, technology to engineering, equipment, taking a leading role in energy exploration and development across the world.
The signing of the strategic cooperation agreement marks another big step forward in the process of natural gas hydrate industrialization.
“It is very meaningful to construct a natural gas hydrate mining test area.” Li Xiangfang, dean of the School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, China University of Petroleum, said yesterday in an interview with the Shanghai Securities News that the test mining was carried out in single well. It will take some time to try. But the test area is totally a different thing. “It is like a special zone, which can be regarded as an early stage of commercialized mining.”
Li said that shale gas was not available for mining, but now can be exploited for commercial use on large scale. It is the result of technological progress. Hydrate has a long history, larger volume and better outlook than shale gas. As long as technological breakthroughs are made, it will have a great development prospect.
"There is a huge amount of hydrate, equivalent to twice the total amount of fossil resources, including coal, oil and natural gas. But it is difficult to exploit. These risks are risks in the process. In the past, China had to learn from the West in oil and gas mining technology. It hopes that we will take the lead in hydrate mining,” said Li.
In his view, it is hard to tell when it will be mined for commercial use and how much is the amount available for commercial use. But China has still taken a step forward. With the advancement of science and technology, the status of hydrates will become increasingly important.
A research from the Economic and Technological Research Institute of PetroChina told the Shanghai Securities News that the tripartite agreement marks a key step forward to the early stage of the field development of natural gas hydrate.
"Of course, we will develop step by step. We will mine in a controllable manner to possible environmental disasters,” the research warned.
Translated by Coral Zhong
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