The Sulige gas field is located in the abdomen of the Maowusu sandy land in Ordos. In this semi-desert, there’s sandstorm in the spring, high temperatures in summer, and the lowest temperature in winter could be minus 30 degrees. With total resources of 5.5 trillion cubic meters and an exploration area of 60,000 square kilometers, it is China's first super-large gas field with proven reserves exceeding one trillion cubic meters.
The harsh climate is not the only obstacle to the project. The South Sulige gas field belongs to a typical "three low" reservoir (low permeability, low production, low pressure), which is called "grindstone" in Chinese because of its tight reservoir. As its Mongolian name implies, Sulige means half-cooked meat. Although it has considerable reserves, it is very difficult to exploit.
United for Progress, Breaking the Barriers
In March 2006, TotalEnergies signed a 30-year Production-Sharing Contract (PSC) with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the evaluation, development and production of tight gas in South Sulige. TotalEnergies holds 49% of the partnership, mainly providing technical support and project management assistance.
Since the project's development, TotalEnergies has partnered with operator CNPC to overcome challenges and forge ahead with unwavering determination, developed natural gas on this “grinding stone,” building it from scratch and scaling it up, repeatedly breaking barriers. Through aligned efforts, the project has become a model for CNPC's international cooperation and a flagship global strategic partnership for TotalEnergies.
Technology-Driven, Enhancing Efficiency and Boosting Production
To overcome challenging geological conditions and improve development efficiency, TotalEnergies and CNPC have collaborated to continuously advance geological study and intensified technological research. Innovative technologies have ensured efficient, intensive development and production ramping up.
The project commenced first gas in 2012, achieving annual natural gas production exceeding 1 billion cubic meters in 2013, surpassing 2 billion cubic meters in 2017, and 3 billion cubic meters in 2021. After fully achieving the original ODP plan's 3 billion cubic meter plateau, both parties capitalized on this success in 2022 by deepening cooperation and raising the yearly production plateau to 4 billion cubic meters. This milestone was successfully achieved in 2023. By the end of 2024, the project's cumulative production exceeded 30 billion cubic meters, providing stable natural gas supply for cities including Beijing, Xi'an, and Yinchuan.
Green Development, Digital & Intelligent Transformation
The project consistently prioritizes safety and environmental protection as its paramount benefit. Since operations commenced, no safety or environmental incidents of general severity or higher have occurred. Upholding the principle of “preserving green mountains and clear waters,” the project has comprehensively implemented technologies such as no mud waste on ground, recovery of fracking flowback fluids and flareless cleanup, while strengthening management of water, air, soil, and solid waste. Proactive planning and implementation of initiatives including electric drilling to replace diesel-based drilling, photovoltaic power generation, and upgrades of high-energy-consumption equipment demonstrate its commitment to zero-carbon development.
Throughout its journey, the project has pioneered the implementation of digital transformation by innovatively promoting and applying new technologies such as integrated well cluster digitalization, automated gas gathering stations, intelligent gas well switching, smart wellhead methanol injection, and robotic inspection. These advancements have enabled automated gas field operations, propelling the project toward the realization of a smart gas field.