Yang Shi Xin Wen·2025-09-12 11:34Core Viewpoint - The world's first heavy oil thermal extraction solar thermal replacement demonstration project has been launched in Xinjiang, marking a significant technological breakthrough in China's green and low-carbon transformation of oil and gas development [1][3]. Group 1: Project Overview - The solar thermal development project is located in the Fengcheng oilfield operation area of Karamay City, Xinjiang, covering an area of 150,000 square meters with a solar collection area of 51,500 square meters [3]. - The project utilizes 23,712 lightweight modular heliostats to reflect sunlight to a 113-meter high heat collector, producing high-temperature steam at 305°C, which is injected underground to meet the thermal extraction needs of heavy oil [3][5]. - The project innovatively uses underground steam chambers for thermal energy storage, allowing for continuous heat release during nighttime, achieving the economic and environmental goal of "maximizing solar use and zero-carbon oil extraction" [3]. Group 2: Technological Advancements - The small heliostat technology used in the project has a tracking precision of 1.2 milliradians, significantly higher than the common 2.0 milliradians in commercial power plants, with a solar reflection efficiency exceeding 95%, placing these metrics at an international leading level [5]. Group 3: Environmental Impact - Heavy oil, characterized by high viscosity and poor fluidity, accounts for over 70% of global reserves. Traditional thermal extraction methods using gas or coal boilers are energy-intensive and have high carbon emissions [8]. - The Fengcheng oilfield, as China's largest shallow heavy oil production base, previously consumed nearly 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas and about 300,000 tons of coal annually for thermal extraction [8]. - With the completion and operation of the high-temperature solar thermal project, it is expected to produce 52,000 tons of zero-carbon superheated steam annually, replacing approximately 3.92 million cubic meters of natural gas, equivalent to the annual gas demand of 20,000 households [8].