Fuzhou: Fujian Province Collaborates on Innovative Research Project for Hydrogen Production from Gas Field Produced Water

Fujian Province has seen a significant milestone in its efforts to promote the green and low-carbon development of oil and gas fields, as Dongfang Electric (Fujian) Innovation Research Institute Co., Ltd. (Dongfu Research Institute) and the PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Oil and Gas Process Research Institute have signed a contract for a research project on hydrogen production from gas field produced water. This collaboration marks a new stage in the two parties' exploration of gas field produced water hydrogen production technology, aiming to provide key technical support for promoting the deep integration of the hydrogen energy industry and the green, low-carbon development of oil and gas fields.

Key Takeaways:

• The research project, titled "Mass Transfer Membrane Water Replenishment Coupled with Produced Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Technology," aims to scale-up testing of hydrogen production from gas field produced water to verify the stability and economic feasibility of the technology under large-scale conditions.
• Changqing Oilfield, currently China's largest oil and gas field, produces over 3 million tons of produced water annually, which is complex and contains numerous pollutants, making traditional treatment expensive.
• Traditionally, treatment of produced water is expensive, but the new project aims to explore more efficient and environmentally friendly treatment methods.
• In May 2024, Dongfu Research Institute successfully expanded the in-situ direct hydrogen production technology from seawater without desalination to the industrial wastewater sector, completing a field trial of hydrogen production from produced water without purification by electrolysis at the Sulige Gas Field in Inner Mongolia.
• The demonstration prototype achieved rated hydrogen production with a purity of 99.999% and ran stably for 330 hours.
• The technology enables direct hydrogen production from produced water without purification by electrolysis from a variety of oil and gas fields, overcoming the technical difficulties of traditional direct hydrogen production from gas field water.
• The project will lay a key technical foundation for promoting the deep integration of the hydrogen energy industry and the green and low-carbon development of oil and gas fields.
• It will also provide a systematic solution for China's oil and gas producing regions to achieve "renewable energy consumption + wastewater utilization + low-carbon transformation."

Statistics:

• Changqing Oilfield produces over 3 million tons of produced water annually.
• The Sulige Gas Field in Inner Mongolia ran stably for 330 hours with the demonstration prototype achieving rated hydrogen production with a purity of 99.999%.
• Dongfu Research Institute successfully expanded the in-situ direct hydrogen production technology from seawater without desalination to the industrial wastewater sector.

Sources:

• https://www.fujian.gov.cn/xwdt/fjyw/202509/t20250917_7010685.htm