China Largest Ultra-Deep Gas Storage Facility 40 MPa High-Pressure Centrifugal Compressor Officially Put into Operation

On April 22, the first 40 MPa high-pressure centrifugal compressor for China's Yaha gas storage facility — jointly developed by Tarim Oilfield and Shenyang Blower Works Group Co., Ltd., and regarded as the "heart" of the facility — officially commenced operation after completing all commissioning tests. Thereafter, 5.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day from the Kelun Line and Kelun Second Line will be injected underground through injection and production wells via this powerful Chinese-made core component. Simultaneously, the Yaha gas storage facility's daily injection capacity exceeds 10 million cubic meters.

As an important component of the national energy strategy, the Yaha gas storage facility is China's largest gas storage facility in terms of storage capacity and working gas volume, built at a depth exceeding 5,000 meters. It also boasts the highest injection pressure and production temperature in the country. Constructed in two phases, it undertakes critical missions such as seasonal peak shaving, emergency gas supply, and energy reserves for the five prefectures in southern Xinjiang and the West-East Gas Pipeline network. The gas storage facility operates on a "summer injection, winter withdrawal" model. The compressor is the most critical piece of equipment during the injection phase, using a high-speed rotating impeller to pressurize the gas and inject it underground for storage.

Based on the characteristics of the Yaha gas storage facility, a compressor with a high pressure of 40 MPa, a large displacement (5.5 million cubic meters per day), and a motor power of 23.5 MW was required. Previously, the core technology for this level of gas storage was controlled by foreign manufacturers, resulting in significant bottlenecks such as high prices and long delivery cycles. To overcome this bottleneck, the oilfield adopted a "challenge-based" approach, including the research on "Domestic Production of Large-Displacement High-Pressure Centrifugal Injection Compressors and Their Application in Variable-Condition Operation in Gas Storage Facilities" as a key scientific and technological project, marking the first time in China that a 40 MPa-class centrifugal compressor unit for gas storage facilities was developed. After more than two years of effort, the oilfield, in collaboration with Shenyang Blower Works Group Co., Ltd., combined their technical expertise to overcome bottlenecks, pioneering a new drive structure, innovating impeller manufacturing, optimizing rotor design, and solving sealing challenges. They successfully developed China's first high-pressure 40 MPa two-cylinder, two-stage centrifugal compressor. Its main indicators have reached internationally advanced levels, marking China's first achievement in the localization of complete sets of equipment in the gas storage field, filling a domestic gap and breaking the foreign technological monopoly. This series of innovative achievements will not only powerfully promote the technological progress of China's high-end compression equipment but also provide a solid technical foundation and practical experience for the large-scale construction and operation of deep gas storage facilities in the future.

According to the design, the Yaha gas storage facility uses two centrifugal injection compressors, one domestically produced and one imported. The unit configuration is a motor + speed-increasing gearbox + low-pressure cylinder + high-pressure cylinder. In July 2025, the newly developed domestically produced compressor was hoisted into place at the Yaha gas storage facility; in September, the motor was hoisted into place; and in October, the compressor installation and commissioning began. The successful commissioning of this facility has effectively solved key supporting challenges for the Yaha gas storage facility, significantly reducing project costs by more than 30% compared to importing foreign equipment. The imported compressors, motors, and supporting dry gas sealing equipment have also arrived and are in place.