Introduction: Petroleum is the blood of industry.
As a non-renewable natural resource, oil has naturally caused many disputes around the world, such as the Gulf War, the Middle East War, etc., and it is precisely because of such strategic reserves that oil is closely linked to power and currency in the world pattern.
Petroleum is known as the "blood of industry", and has a wide range of applications in all walks of life around the world, and the amount of oil reserves and exploitation has an important impact on the survival and development of a country.
But in essence, petroleum is only a mixture of hydrocarbons, it is not a separate substance, but exists in various forms, such as liquid oil, gaseous natural gas, solid bitumen, etc.
Why do you want to light a fire above an oil well when you're extracting oil?
What does this have to do with oil?
1. Why do you need to ignite a fire above an oil well?
For oil, its boiling point is about 100 °C, and the temperature of the oil stored in the oil well is much higher than 100 °C, so when the liquid oil in the oil well is pumped out, the gas in the oil will evaporate, thus forming a certain pressure, these gases are called "associated gas".
When exploiting the oil field, the liquid oil will first be pumped out of the ground, and the liquid oil will be accompanied by a large amount of gas, which will re-turn into gas at the surface temperature, once the gas in the oil field directly enters the atmosphere, then it is very easy to cause an explosion.
Because the associated gas in the oil well contains a certain proportion of methane, and the explosion range of methane is extremely wide, only the oxygen content in the air needs to reach between 5% ~ 15%, as long as this proportion is reached, these methane gas and oxygen in the air will form an explosive gas.
Once the gas in the oil field explodes, it will bring a very serious disaster to the oil field for a long time, so in order to avoid this danger, oil extraction workers will ignite above the oil well and burn the associated gas.
Burning associated gas above oil wells is not only to prevent these gases from entering the atmosphere directly and causing explosions, but also to reduce the cost of extracting oil, after all, burning these gases is equivalent to completing its treatment work, and if these gases are directly discharged into the atmosphere, then it will require more resources to treat it.
2. Utilization of petroleum associated gas.
In the process of oil extraction, most of the liquid oil produced by oil wells will be associated with gas, and these gases are often referred to as "associated gas".
When the underground rocks are rich in a lot of oil, then the extraction of oil and gas will become quite easy, but there will also be a considerable part of the rock rich in a large amount of oilfield associated gas, and most of these gases are of no value, and they contain very low energy.
Therefore, we will burn this part of the gas to prevent problems before they occur, and at the same time can save the cost of extraction, but there are also some of these gases that are very valuable, so we need to accurately treat these associated gases, and at the same time, we also need to pay attention to protecting the environment when treating the petroleum associated gas.
1. Combustion of petroleum associated gas.
This is a precautionary treatment, because the associated gas in the oilfield is combustible, so when combusting, we need to determine the combustion method according to the composition of the associated gas, and at the same time we need to ensure the safety of combustion.
In the oil fields of the mainland, the way to burn the associated gas is to collect the associated gas to a special place, and then burn it, and convert the burned gas into electricity through thermal energy, which not only ensures the safety of the oil field, but also improves the economic benefits, and also reduces the pollution caused to the environment.
2. Recycling of oilfield associated gas.
In the process of treating oilfield associated gas, the combustion gas is collected, and then it is desulfurized and processed through synthetic ammonia and petrochemical plants, so that the oilfield associated gas can be converted into industrial raw materials, so this method is also called "turning waste into treasure".
In many oil fields in the mainland, this method has been promoted, which has greatly improved the economic benefits and environmental protection effects, and also reduced the pollution caused to the environment.
Conclusion: How to better collect and utilize oilfield associated gas is also a very important issue.
With the continuous development of technology, how to use and collect oilfield associated gas more efficiently will also become an important topic in the field of oilfield development, which is also of great significance for promoting the sustainable use of resources.
Because in the mainland oil fields, a considerable part of the associated gas is incinerated, but this way is a very serious waste of resources.
Therefore, in the future, how to make better use of this part of the resources is of great significance for reducing environmental pollution and improving energy efficiency.
At the same time, the development and utilization of oilfield associated gas is not only related to economic benefits, but also involves social responsibility and environmental protection, and needs to comprehensively consider the interests of multiple parties.
Therefore, in promoting the comprehensive utilization of oilfield associated gas, it is necessary for the joint efforts and support of the government, enterprises and the public to form a consensus and action of the whole society.
By continuously improving the technology of oil extraction and improving the efficiency of resource utilization, we will promote the sustainable development of the oil industry and contribute to the clean energy transition of the mainland.