In order to secure their energy needs, they "take root" in the Bohai Sea
2024-08-26
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China Youth Daily·China Youth Network Intern Reporter Chen Xiao Reporter Ma Yuping
Oil workers are indispensable in ensuring my country's energy security and consolidating the country's energy foundation. Under the strategic goal of ensuring that the energy rice bowl is firmly in our hands, getting oil from the sea has become a crucial link. And this blue dream has become a reality for Shengli people.
At around 10 a.m. on August 24, after a temporary safety training for going to sea, the reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network put on work clothes, life jackets and safety helmets as required, followed the oil workers on a boat ride for about 40 minutes, and boarded the No. 1 platform of Chengdao Center of Shengli Oilfield Offshore Production Plant.
The No. 1 platform of Chengdao Center of Shengli Oilfield Offshore Production Plant. Photo by Chen Xiao, trainee reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network
The platform stands 30 meters above the sea. The average water depth of the platform is 12 meters, and it is about 8 kilometers offshore. It has oil, gas and water processing and automatic full-process control functions. It centrally receives and processes the liquid from the surrounding well groups, provides electricity and water injection for the well group platform, and is a closed external transmission platform. According to Wang Zhiqiang, deputy chief engineer of Shengli Oilfield Offshore Production Plant, they are responsible for the liquid processing and water injection work of 126 oil wells and 58 water wells in the surrounding area. Since it was officially put into production in April 1995, a total of 20.52 million tons of crude oil and 383 million cubic meters of natural gas have been exported.
In 1997, after graduating from Shengli Petroleum School with a major in oil production engineering, Wang Zhiqiang came to the offshore oil production plant to work as a technician, responsible for the daily maintenance and repair of oil and water wells.
With excellent academic performance, he could have chosen to work in a company with better working conditions, but he chose the offshore oil field, which was just starting out and more challenging. "Offshore oil production is more technically difficult, and I think I can better train myself here and achieve greater breakthroughs in technology," he said.
Wang Zhiqiang has been doing this job for 27 years. The No. 1 platform of Chengdao Center is technology-intensive, with complex processes and a high degree of automation. Since it is completely dependent on electricity for operation, the oil workers are most worried about power grid fluctuations.
What impressed Wang Zhiqiang the most was the 2019 Typhoon Lekima. "The waves of more than ten meters hit the platform violently. People outside could not walk at all. The whole platform was shaking." The storm surge caused a power outage. Although the staff handled the emergency efficiently, the No. 1 platform of Chengdao Center was shut down for one night. "More than 2,000 tons of crude oil were lost in one night." When talking about this, Wang Zhiqiang's expression was still sad. "This not only affects economic benefits, but we need to go all out to ensure that the annual production task is completed."
The No. 1 platform of Chengdao Center implements a 15-day shift system, with about 40 employees on each shift, working in shifts 24 hours a day. On land, Wang Zhiqiang can fall asleep at 11 o'clock in the evening. But at sea, he never sleeps before 1 o'clock in the morning, and has to get up at four or five in the morning. He admitted that he "dared not sleep" and always kept the safety production string tight.
Walking on the platform, there are no "kowtow machines" or belt-type oil pumps commonly seen on land, nor can you see any traces of oil and gas. The oil and gas processing, external transmission, produced water treatment, and water injection are all operated in a closed manner to ensure that "oil does not enter the sea, gas does not go up to the sky, and water is not discharged."
The sea is the main battlefield for Shengli Oilfield to increase reserves and production, and it is also the top priority for safety and environmental protection. "As long as a drop of oil enters the sea, a large oil film will be formed." Wang Zhiqiang said that at present, platforms like the No. 1 platform of the center can monitor the pressure changes of pipelines in real time, realize leakage warning, and use oil spill radar to ensure timely detection and handling of emergency situations.
Zhang Yunchang is the deputy manager of the Haiyi Oil Production Management District of Shengli Oilfield. He is also a young employee born after 1985 and graduated from the Resource Exploration Engineering Department of China University of Petroleum.
Here, the deck temperature can reach 60℃ in the hot summer and -20℃ in the winter. Despite the harsh conditions, Zhang Yunchang is happy: "I must put the professional knowledge I have learned in four years of college into practice and realize my personal value."
"As the younger generation, we need to inherit the spirit of hard work and practical action from the older generation, and also give full play to the advantages of young people's enterprising spirit." Zhang Yunchang said that he hopes that in the next few decades, he will inherit the spirit, persist in innovation, continue to struggle, participate in more exploration and development of new technologies, and contribute to ensuring national energy security.
Most of the 10,000-square-meter platform is occupied by equipment, but in the limited space, people from all over the world gather here, taking root in the Bohai Sea and devoting themselves to the country's oil production.
Source: China Youth Daily Client
