Underground Refining to Be Implemented at PetroChina's Deposits

Sinopec, another Chinese petroleum giant, has also shown interest in KFU's technological advancements.

Head of SAU EcoOil Mikhail Varfolomeev revealed the good news when speaking about his recent trip to China, “We have already been working with Xinjiang Petroleum Company, part of PetroChina, and Southwest Petroleum University on six projects of light and heavy oil oxidizing at Karamay fields. During our last meeting, we also reached an agreement to implement our innovations in catalysts for underground refining. This project will involve KFU, SWPU, and Keli.”

It's planned that all stages will be finished by the end of 2018. In parallel, the sides also want to conduct a project in monitoring of combustion front. PetroChina is ready to test in-situ combustion at 800 wells at Karamay.

The delegation (headed by Vice-Rector Danis Nurgaliev) also visited Urumqi. Sinopec’s headquarters are situated here.

Dr. Varfolomeev commented, “Sinopec is interested in two matters. First is surveying – China has a deficit of oil products, so this is important. Our geologists showed Sinopec what they had to offer, including magnetic field measurements. The second question is underground refining at Tahuo, one of their largest deposits with about 1 billion tons of oil. The deposit is very deep, up to approximately 5 km, and contains heavy oils. Therefore, the company needs in-situ and on-the-ground refining technologies. Our projects piqued their interest, and we plan to discuss everything in detail.”

Patent issues, both in Russia and abroad, were also discussed. SAU EcoOil is currently working on its patent package for infusion of oxidizing catalysts for in-situ combustion.