Chinese testing platform rebuilt as steam injection vessel for heavy oil extraction

China Merchants Jinling Shipbuilding (Weihai) has completed conversion work on an offshore testing platform operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to enable it to be operated as a steam injection vessel.

Haiyang Shiyou 162 (“Offshore Oil 162”) has now been rebuilt and will sail under the name Recai Yi (“Thermal Recovery No 1”), thus reflecting its new role. The platform will be used to inject steam to be used in the extraction of heavy oil from offshore sites.

As heavy oil is a relatively viscous and poorly liquidated form of crude oil, extracting it requires the use of specialised equipment that discharges steam at high pressure and high temperatures. In the case of Recai Yi, it can quickly inject high-pressure steam with a temperature of more than 350 degrees Celsius into six oil wells at the same time. The viscosity of heavy oil is thus reduced, and it becomes a "thin” oil with the ideal fluidity to make it easier to extract.

The vessel has an LOA of 82 metres, a beam of 42 metres, and a two-story deck with a total area of 3,000 square metres. The original equipment for oil testing, treatment, separation and storage have been removed and replaced by three boilers used to generate the high-pressure steam.

The platform is non-self-propelled and therefore relies on tugs to be transported to and from offshore areas.

The conversion work on Recai Yi was completed in compliance with China Classification Society rules.