On March 10, China Offshore Engineering Equipment Technology Development’s (China Offshore) first domestic underwater oil storage equipment received approval in principle (AIP) certificate from China Classification Society (CCS), which filled the blank in the field of underwater storage technology and provided important offshore engineering equipment for accelerating the development and utilization of offshore energy.
It is understood that underwater oil storage technology has been applied to offshore oil and gas development abroad, but there have always been potential problems of oil-water emulsification and environmental pollution. With the improvement of discharge standards for oily wastewater in offshore oil development, conventional underwater oil storage technology is difficult to guarantee.
China Offshore has proposed isolated underwater oil storage technology through scientific research and independent innovation, and has developed a new type of underwater oil storage equipment, which is an independent storage unit with a storage capacity of 25,000m³ and a design life of 20 years. The outer shell of the storage tank is made of steel, and the inner layer is a kind of composite flexible membrane, which can separate crude oil and seawater, avoid emulsification of oil and water, and realize the goal of zero pollution in sea discharge.
At the same time, underwater storage technology has a wide range of application scenarios. It is not only used for offshore marginal oil field development, underwater storage of produced crude oil and condensate, but also for offshore energy supply, underwater storage of fuel oil, methanol, liquid ammonia and other fuels, and the establishment of future offshore clean fuel bunkering centers to provide fuel supply for global ships and energy supply for remote islands and reefs. In terms of offshore energy storage, underwater constant pressure gas storage is used to eliminate the impact of offshore wind power fluctuations, thereby ensuring stable power output.
As a national offshore equipment innovation platform, China Offshore is committed to the research and engineering application of offshore engineering equipment, and is able to provide integrated solutions for offshore energy development and utilization according to the different needs of users.