Sinopec Group has an integrated petroleum engineering system which is comprised of geophysical prospecting, drilling, well logging, mud logging, down hole operation, oilfield facility construction and machinery manufacturing, with more than 2,400 crews who are specialized in geophysical prospecting, drilling, well logging, mud logging, and down hole operation, etc. In 2011, the number of employees was about 135,000, with total assets of 62 billion yuan. The annual income was more than 88 billion yuan.
By the reform and adjustment during the “Tenth Five-year Plan”, and the continuous development during the “Eleventh Five-year Plan”, the petroleum engineering industrial chain covering oilfield exploration and development has been gradually becoming clear and integrated. The petroleum engineering industrial clusters has been basically formed. The equipment and its operation capability have been significantly improved. The technical series have been formed and the technology level keeps rising. The income scale has significantly increased. Overseas markets have expanded greatly and economic efficiency improved considerably. While guaranteeing the execution of Sinopec resources strategy, it continues to strengthen the basis of self development, and has laid a good foundation for petroleum engineering to realize professional, market-oriented and international development.
In recent years, the petroleum engineering system of Sinopec Group has made significant achievements on petroleum engineering technology, which made important contributions to Sinopec resources strategy implementation and international market development.
Firstly, the development of the seismic technology in mountains, desert, gobi and loess plateau regions has obtained significant results. It has promoted the discovering of big gas fields in northeast Sichuan and northern Erdos Basin, enlarged the reserve scale of Tahe Oilfield. Sinopec has achieved stable oil and gas production in the eastern matured oilfields through the application of high accuracy seismic technique.
Secondly, Sinopec has improved an integrated drilling and completion technologies in horizontal wells and special wells characterized by large drainage area, high single well production and recovery ratio. Sinopec has developed the drilling and completion technologies which focus on discovery and protection of reservoir, and promoted the exploration and development of low pressure, low permeability and low production rate oilfields.
Thirdly, Sinopec has developed safe and high quality drilling and completion techniques in deep wells and ultra-deep wells, which considerably improved the drilling speed in Northwest China, Sichuan and North China, supported the safe operation of Puguang Gas Field.
Fourthly, Sinopec has improved the well logging and mud logging technologies in complex reservoir and special drilling procedure.
Fifthly, the application of large scale fracturing equipments upgraded the ability of reservoir stimulation, and preliminarily solved the technical problems in deep and high fracturing pressure reservoir. Considerable progress has been made in separate layer fracturing stimulation technology in horizontal wells which are basically adapted to various types of completion. These technologies have improved the development of the low permeability reservoir, and laid a technology foundation for exploration and development of the shale oil or gas reservoir.
Sixthly, new progress has been made in offshore petroleum engineering technologies. Design, drilling and completion techniques of large scale cluster wells for marine oil recovery on land have been gradually improved. Jack-up rig “Kan Tan 6”, Jack-up rig “Hai Yang 1”, Jack-up rig “Sheng Li 10”, and PSV “Kan Tan 311” were delivered and put into operation successfully. Pipe-laying crane vessel “Shengli 902” was constructed by Shengli Oilfield, with an operating water depth up to 100 meters. In Shengli shallow water Lao 168 block, 58 wells were drilled from one drilling platform, which effectively solved the problems on anti-collision in high dense cluster wells, borehole stability of long open hole section and safety disposal and recycling of waste drilling fluid.
Seventhly, the techniques of large diameter pipeline crossing rivers, pipeline construction on the mountain slope, cold bending process of large diameter and thick wall pipe, welding technique of X70 high strength steel, have guaranteed the execution of the Sichuan to East Gas Pipeline Project.
Eighthly, the capabilities of research and manufacturing of petroleum drilling and production equipment continuously grew. Sinopec has developed series of easy mobilization and installation drilling rigs with drilling depth from 3000 meters to 7000 meters and XJ1200 mountainous oilfield workover rig. These equipments with a lot of patents were awarded “national important new products”. Electric drilling/workover rigs driven by industrial grid have been developed, which realized energy-saving and environmental protection. Cementing equipment with liquid level and density automatic control system, model 2500 fracturing package, has reached international advanced level. SL-6000 high-precision imaging logging surface system and its down hole instrument series continue to improve. Stage breakthroughs have been made on research and development of LWD tool, EMWD instrument, exploration and NLS comprehensive logging instrument. At the same time, a number of characteristic technologies and core technologies have been formed which have intellectual property rights. Sinopec petroleum engineering system obtained 217 patents about equipment, apparatus and tools during the “Eleventh Five-year Plan”.