PetroChina sent gas to Lhasa, and the long-distance transport LNG convoy flipped up the Tanggula Pass. (Photo by Liu Shiming)
"Now cooking, bathing, heating everything is using natural gas, which is really convenient. Even cooking and boiling water when we were young is inseparable from cow dung. On January 18, The Tibetan aunt Yeshe Dolma, who lives in the Tamar Community of Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, was cooking with a natural gas stove in the kitchen, and when talking about the changes brought about by natural gas, she lamented the huge changes in the past and the present to reporters. The 120,000 residents of Lhasa city have the same feeling as her, in the words of her old partner Solang Tsering: "The days are really fast, in the blink of an eye, Tibet has been peacefully liberated for almost 71 years, and our days are really getting better and better!" "The changes brought by natural gas to the people's livelihood in Tibet can be described as earth-shaking, thanks to the implementation of the "Gasification of Tibet" project by PetroChina in the past 10 years.
Citizens of Lhasa and taxis refuel. (Photo by Liu Shiming)
In order to support Tibet's social and economic development, improve the fuel structure of the Tibetan people, and protect the natural environment of the snowy plateau and its three river headwaters, in March 2010, PetroChina launched the "Gasification of Tibet" project with the Shibei Gas Field in Qinghai Oilfield as the gas source, transporting the natural gas from Shibu in the Qaidam Basin to Golmud through pipelines for compression and liquefaction, and then transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to Lhasa thousands of kilometers away with a large tank truck, and then sending it to thousands of households through gasification processing. An industrial chain of production, transportation, storage, trade and sales jointly built by a number of enterprises of PetroChina was completed.
In October 2011, the world's highest altitude Lhasa natural gas station was completed and put into operation, and the Qinghai Oilfield supplied 710,000 square meters of gas to Lhasa city that year, thus ending the history of Lhasa as the only province (district, city) capital of China that did not use natural gas, which is another plateau new "heavenly road" after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and power lines. In the following years, China National Petroleum Sales Qinghai Branch combined with the Gasification Plan of the Tibet Autonomous Region Government for 70 counties in Tibet, and successively launched the gas market development work in Nagqu, Nyingchi, Shannan, Qamdo and other places, aiming to protect the ecological environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with green and clean energy.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that Lhasa is located on a snowy plateau at an altitude of more than 3600 meters, and the winter is cold. Constrained by poor economic foundation and lack of energy, Lhasa and even the whole of Tibet have failed to achieve urban central heating. Thanks to the natural gas sent by China Petroleum, since 2012, Lhasa City has gradually opened the curtain of natural gas heating transformation, and since then the heat flow provided by natural gas boilers has been continuously transported from the heating pipe to each household, gradually replacing the history of burning coal, firewood, cow dung to heat or using electric heaters and air conditioning for heating, and the first sentence popular in the winter when Lhasa citizens go home - "So cold, hurry up and turn on the electric heating" is no longer mentioned.
In the past 10 years, PetroChina has supplied natural gas safely and steadily to Tibet, igniting the stoves of its fellow villagers and warming the lives of ordinary people in Tibetan areas. In the past 10 years, the annual gas consumption in Lhasa alone has increased from less than 1 million cubic meters in 2012 to more than 54 million square meters in 2021. By the end of last year, the supply of natural gas in the main urban area of Lhasa has achieved full coverage, and more than 120,000 residents, 515 buses and related enterprises in the urban area have enjoyed the green development dividend brought by natural gas clean energy to the snowy plateau. Including the use of natural gas in other parts of Tibet, it has made positive contributions to protecting the clear waters and blue skies of Tibet, promoting local economic development, and benefiting the people in Tibetan areas.
According to Wang Wei, deputy general manager of China National Petroleum Sales Qinghai Branch, the Lhasa natural gas station has been put into operation for more than 10 years, with a cumulative gas supply of 296 million square meters, replacing about 400,000 tons of coal burning, and reducing carbon dioxide and dust by about 1.1 million tons, which not only solves the heating problem of the people of Lhasa, but also reduces environmental pollution.
In the face of the continuous impact of the global epidemic and the rapid changes in the energy supply situation, PetroChina has made concerted efforts to ensure the stable supply of natural gas in Tibet.
A corner of the site of the Qinghai Oilfield Shibei Automation Unattended Gas Collection Station.
Shibuku gas field employees inspect and maintain at the site.
Since August last year, Qinghai Oilfield has completed the goal of 6.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas production per year from six aspects: "new well production increase, measures to increase production, dissolved gas resale, sporadic gas recovery, exploration of well contributions, and reduction of old well control". At present, the daily output of shibubei gas field, the largest gas field on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has continued to stabilize at 14 million square meters, creating a stable production performance of 5 billion square meters for 11 years, and making outstanding contributions to the protection of the ecology of the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve and the warm winter of all ethnic groups on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Due to the barrier of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the fact that the Tibet region does not produce natural gas, the natural gas pipeline network has not yet covered Tibet. PetroChina needs to transport large tank trucks for liquefied natural gas from the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to Lhasa, more than 1,000 kilometers away, and then send it to the homes of people of all ethnic groups in Tibetan areas through gasification processing.
Gasification of Tibet LNG liquefied natural gas loading. (Photo by Liu Shiming)
Every year from mid-November to March of the following year, it is the natural gas heating period of Lhasa City, and it is also the peak period of consumption. There are more than 1,140 kilometers from Golmud to Lhasa, and in winter, the snow covers and freezes the road, and the tank truck transporting LNG crosses Coco Siri and crosses the Tanggula Mountain at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters. Since October of each year, the Qinghai Branch of Natural Gas Sales has joined hands with the Qinghai Branch of China Petroleum Transport Corporation to arrange the deployment of natural gas supply and distribution in advance in view of the special circumstances of the Qinghai-Tibet Transport Line, such as the long duration of winter, wind and snow, and the ice and snow pavement, so as to ensure the safe transportation and stable supply of LNG. In the past 10 years, they have set a safety record of zero accidents in long-distance road transport of LNG on the "Sky Road".
The LNG transport convoy arrives in Lhasa. (Photo by Liu Shiming)
Since the beginning of winter last year, Lhasa has been heating for two months, and the average daily gas consumption of residents has increased from 230,000 square meters to 377,000 square meters. As the weather gradually turns colder, the gas consumption of Residents in Lhasa Will Also Usher in a Peak Period. In order to ensure the safe and stable supply of natural gas in Lhasa, the Tibet Company affiliated to the Qinghai Branch of Natural Gas Sales has done a good job in advance to ensure resources, and the Lhasa Natural Gas Station alone has reserved 1.6 million cubic meters of natural gas to ensure that in the emergency state, Lhasa Urban Area has a week of natural gas supply resources.
Unloading at Lhasa gas station. (Photo by Liu Shiming)
Storage tank area of Lhasa Natural Gas Station.
In addition, according to the winter supply guarantee plan of Lhasa Natural Gas Station, there are currently 15 vehicles departing from Golmud, Qinghai every day, and each vehicle transports 20 tons of liquefied natural gas, which can be converted into 30,000 square meters of natural gas, with an average daily transportation volume of 300,000 cubic meters, which can meet the gas needs of residents in Lhasa.
LNG tank trucks passed through the Kunlun Pass and along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, sending natural gas to Lhasa to warm tibetan compatriots.
The person in charge of the Tibet Company affiliated to the Qinghai Branch of China National Petroleum Sales said that at present, it is the cold winter of the ninth month, and they are focusing on the risk point of supply assurance, focusing on projects with a high proportion of heating and many gas supply links, solving possible problems in advance, and paying close attention to the weather forecast, predicting the heating demand point, ensuring the safe and stable supply of gas on the snowy plateau, and ensuring that the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet are warm through the winter. (Author\Jiang Wanquan Wang Yue)
Source: China Petroleum News Center