137. Chapter 136 Commercial Test
Chapter 136 Commercial Test
The Songnen Plain in December has long been covered with thick quilts.
In the cold wind of more than ten degrees below zero, a huge oil field is still working in full swing.
A few kilometers away from this oil field, two new oil wells drilled in the past few months are standing in the middle.
Unlike traditional oil wells, its nodding machine is much smaller, and it has not really run once since it was built.
The oil workers working here are very curious about the two oil wells that suddenly appeared. They originally wanted to get close to see what new models they are.
As a result, they were surprised to find that at least a battalion of soldiers were deployed around the two oil wells! These soldiers wrapped in green military coats blocked the area tightly and immediately persuaded them to retreat.
They are all from mixed systems, and they know what to ask and what not to say.
However, their curiosity is still strong. When they work, they will look over there from time to time.
One day, when an oil worker went out to check the hydraulic gauge, he suddenly stopped and looked at the new oil well carefully.
”Hey, the little nodding machine seems to move…”
”Ah? Let me see.”
”It really moved!”
In addition to the oil workers, the soldiers patrolling the cordon also turned their eyes to the two special oil wells.
As early as two days ago, an extra-long heavy truck came here with a round object. After removing the curtain, everyone knew that the mission this time was to protect this giant insect-like equipment to complete the test.
On the afternoon of the day when the equipment arrived, a heavy crane lifted the giant insect’s tail, let it face the ground, and began to drill down along the oil well.
During the drilling process, the soldiers were surprised to find that this mechanical giant worm was like a real worm and could poop…
Regardless of what this giant worm does, just this picture made them feel very shocked. They felt like they were living in a future science fiction movie.
Since the oil extractor has to go deep into the rock layer 3,000 meters underground, and the oil extractor has a range of only 600 meters, the first thing to be tested and solved is its ability to dock with the pipeline.
In the process of drilling down, China National Petroleum Corporation has set up a docking port every 400 meters in addition to the front end of the pipeline according to Kang Chi’s requirements to solve the energy supply problem of the oil extractor when drilling down and up.
The principle of this docking port is a bit like the docking port of the space station.
The only difference is that when the space station docks, it is pressurized and inflated, while the docking port of the oil extractor has to discharge rocks and soil. The docking accuracy and sealing are not as high as those of the space station.
In addition, it does not need to be arranged very cleanly, as long as there is a space that can meet the requirements of the actual docking interface pipeline docking.
The first docking interface is set in the shallow layer 30 meters underground, so that it can be dug out more conveniently in case the underground docking fails…
Fortunately, the test went very smoothly.
The first docking, the second docking…
After seven dockings, it finally reached the designated rock layer smoothly and completed the horizontal posture adjustment.
After the last docking interface was fully charged, the formal production test finally began.
As a technical consultant sent by Datang Heavy Industry, Yan Hui, who was originally a little nervous, calmed down at this stage. After all, the oil production test had been completed before, and now it was just a change of environment. The challenge was not as tense as the docking test.
The oil extractor followed the pre-set route, starting from Well A, and took almost an hour to reach Well B 50 meters away.
The main reason is that the oil shale here contains as much as 15% oil. If the distance between the two wells is too long, the same route needs to be repeatedly collected, which makes the efficiency even lower.
At the same time, this is only a preliminary test, and the 500-meter extreme oil production test is scheduled for the next two days.
”Start docking at point B.”
”The docking is completed, and the soil discharge operation begins.” ”The soil discharge is completed, and the pipeline docking begins…”
Under the instructions of Yan Hui, the engineers of the three barrels of oil carefully completed each operation step according to the operation manual, and the probe camera installed in the docking pipeline also clearly captured the entire docking process and broadcast it to the screen in the control room in real time.
As the most critical moment arrived, the leaders who had been sitting in their chairs and waiting patiently for more than an hour could not help but stand up and stare at the big screen.
”The pipeline docking is complete, and the supply has begun…”
When the operator said this, he could not help but turn his head and look at Yan Hui.
Yan Hui nodded directly and said, “Start the pumping unit.”
The operator then used his finger to gently press the pumping button on the console.
”The pumping unit is started, and the oil is pumping.”
After the report was completed, he could not help but look up and look at the pumping machine outside through the glass of the control room.
Since it was the first time to pump oil, there was still air in the oil pipeline, causing the whole process to last for a full half an hour. Finally, an excited voice came from the intercom: “Oil is coming out, it’s really coming out!”
Oil is coming out! Hearing this news, everyone in the control room breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile began to appear at the corners of their mouths.
However, they were still waiting patiently. After about ten minutes, the voice of the intercom sounded again:
”The oil extraction is complete. A total of 4.1 tons of oil was extracted in this test, which is 0.35 tons higher than the expected target of 3.75! The first round of tests was successfully completed, and we succeeded!”
Hearing this news, a deafening cheer broke out in the control room.
As engineers and researchers of China Petroleum, they are very clear about the significance of the successful commercial test of this technology.
It is no exaggeration to say that at this moment, the initiative to end the oil hegemony of the United States has completely fallen into the hands of China!
The leaders of the Energy Bureau and the National Security Bureau looked at each other and saw the suppressed joy and solemnity in each other’s eyes.
The power of this technology, in certain specific situations and fields, is not even inferior to nuclear weapons! After all, nuclear deterrence is the last resort, and no one will try to use it unless it is absolutely necessary.
However, if this shale oil extraction technology is used properly in the current relatively peaceful times, the power it can exert may be far beyond imagination.
China imported a total of 500 million tons of crude oil this year. Although it is 4 million tons less than last year, due to the rise in oil prices, it has spent more than 700 billion more, with a total expenditure of 2.4 trillion.
So even if this technology can reduce China’s crude oil purchase price by 10%, it can save hundreds of billions every year! It is about the same as an aircraft carrier.
If you are bolder, you can directly reduce the price of crude oil from 80 US dollars to 30, and you can have the military expenditure for that year! But relatively speaking, this is also more risky and may develop in another extreme direction.
For example, a certain country is so angry that it directly overturns the table.
This is not alarmist. Those on the other side of the ocean attach no less importance to oil hegemony than to technological hegemony.
And China is obviously not ready to turn the table over yet, so this matter can only be done step by step.
While mining abroad, it can also slowly collect oil at home.
At the same time, through “openness”, it can slowly regulate international oil prices.
Anyway, they don’t know how much it costs for oilworms to mine one ton of oil. This is like boiling a frog in warm water. China can just say it’s a little higher at the beginning, and then claim that the cost has gradually dropped after the technology has been improved, giving them a psychological buffer time…
(End of this chapter)