China has successfully repurposed a section of an old oil pipeline to transport carbon dioxide, marking a breakthrough in its decarbonization efforts. The 27km trial delivered CO2 to an oilfield in Henan province earlier this month. This development provides a replicable and scalable model for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies.
China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, also known as PipeChina, has announced a successful trial repurposing a long-haul oil pipeline for carbon dioxide transport. The 27km (16.8-mile) route delivered carbon dioxide to an oilfield in central China's Henan province earlier this month.
In an online statement, the state-owned infrastructure giant said the trial provided a “replicable and scalable” model for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). Its success was deemed a significant step in China’s green transition, aiming to propel CCUS from isolated pilots towards large-scale deployment.
CCUS comprises technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions from sources such as power plants or industrial facilities to prevent the detrimental by-product from entering the atmosphere. The captured gas is compressed, transported, and typically reused in industrial applications or stored. By injecting captured carbon dioxide into oilfields, the process not only securely stores the greenhouse gas deep underground in impermeable geological formations that have naturally trapped oil and gas for millions of years, but also facilitates the recovery of additional crude oil—a technique known as enhanced oil recovery, or EOR—thereby boosting production.
The trial unlocks vast carbon dioxide transport potential, bridging geographical gaps to accelerate a process seen as vital to large-scale decarbonisation in support of China’s ambitious climate goals. Keywords include carbon capture, utilisation and storage, PipeChina, Beijing, Jilin province, Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, European Union, National Energy Administration, enhanced oil recovery, renewables, carbon neutrality, decarbonisation, Henan province, China, and China National Petroleum Corporation.