China unveils world-leading flue gas waste heat power generation unit

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) announced the delivery of a flue gas waste heat power generation unit in Tianjin Municipality on Tuesday, marking a groundbreaking achievement in utilizing gas waste heat for clean energy generation.

The unit, being the world's first 5MW offshore high-temperature flue gas waste heat power generation unit, is set to be demonstrated in the Wenchang 9-7 oilfield development project, according to CNOOC.

To date, there have been no established methods for utilizing high-temperature waste heat offshore, globally or domestically. This device represents a significant technological breakthrough in offshore oil and gas operations, China Media Group (CMG) reported.

The power station serves as the "heart" of an offshore platform, which generates electricity by burning the oil and gas produced on the platform. However, this process will release a large amount of high-temperature flue gas, becoming one of the main sources of carbon emissions in offshore oil and gas development. 

The flue gas waste heat power generation unit utilizes the high-temperature flue gas produced during power station operations as a heat source, converting the waste heat into clean power. 

Compared with traditional flue gas combustion and emissions, the installation of this high-temperature waste heat power generation unit can increase the waste heat utilization potential of the power station to 60 to 70 percent, significantly improving energy efficiency, according to CNOOC.

The overall energy efficiency of the main power stations is expected to increase by 7 percent when put into use, thereby reducing the consumption of crude oil and natural gas in offshore oil and gas fields, said An Weizheng, chief engineer of mechanical and electrical instruments at the Engineering Research and Design Department of CNOOC Research Institute.

Once operational, the annual waste heat power generation of the unit could reach 40 million kWh, enough to meet the annual electricity demand of 30,000 households. It is also expected to save approximately 300 million cubic meters of natural gas consumption in a 20-year period, and offset carbon dioxide emissions by around 800,000 tonnes, equivalent to planting 7.5 million trees, according to CNOOC.