China News Service (chinanews) , China News Service, Xining, January 3(Dai fengjiao, Dou xuejiao, Li Jiangning) reporters learned from the China National Petroleum Corporation Qinghai Oil Field Branch (hereinafter referred to as “Qinghai oil field”) on the 3rd, the first associated mineral utilization project of oil and gas field in qinghai-tibet plateau ーー the comprehensive treatment pilot project of gas field in Jianbei area has entered the trial Operation Stage, it also marks the success of the trial operation of the first commercial test unit for lithium extraction from associated brine of oil and gas fields in China. Qinghai oilfield is the highest oil and gas field in the world and one of the earliest oil fields developed in China. The field is located in the northwest Qaidam Basin of Qinghai province and is an important oil and gas production and supply base of Qinghai, Xizang, Gansu and Ningxia provinces, with an average elevation of about 3,000 meters.

The JIANBEI gas field is located in the upper part of the buried structure in the Jiandingshan area of the Eastern Front section of the Altyn-Tagh River in the western Qaidam Basin of China. This test project is to develop“White petroleum”-lithium carbonate extraction test by using produced water of gas field in Jianbei area as main production raw material, this project can separate, enrich and extract the lithium resource under the complex impurities and multi-element coexistence system in the produced water of gas field. In recent years, Qinghai oilfield, combined with its own resources, to promote the industrialization of deep brine lithium extraction process. Through active planning and multi-party efforts, construction of the pilot project for integrated treatment of gas field water in the area began on August 20,2008,2023, design and construction of lithium carbonate production capacity of 100 tons per year production line 1, lithium phosphate production capacity of 8 tons per year production line 1. 2023 on December 31, the first batch of lithium carbonate products were successfully produced. In recent years, with the rapid development of low-carbon economy and green new energy industry, the lithium industry is rising rapidly, and the market demand for lithium carbonate has exploded. Lithium resources mainly occur in Salt L. , rock and mineral, and part of them occur in produced water of oil and gas fields.

Zhang Xuebin, a staff member from the associated mines utilization office of the new energy Business Department of Qinghai oilfield, said, “The chemical type of produced water in JIANBEI gas field is high-calcium chloride type, rich in lithium, potassium and other resources. The ratio of magnesium to lithium is low. It has the advantages of abundant resources, good mining conditions, high salinity, large reserves of beneficial components, and high grade. The indexes of produced water in some blocks far exceed the comprehensive utilization grade of produced water in China. It is significantly different from the chloride, sulfate, and carbonate salt lake brine that the world has developed and is developing at present. It is easy to extract lithium and is of great value for comprehensive development and utilization.”(end)[ Edit: Huang Yuhan ]