Oil industry symposium draws 2,000 experts to Southwest Petroleum University

More than 2,000 experts from home and abroad gathered at Southwest Petroleum University in Sichuan province over the weekend for the First International Symposium on Oil & Gas CCUS and New Energy CCUS, focusing on how the industry can reduce emissions while expanding energy output.

The two-day event, which concluded Sunday, brought together 10 academicians and representatives from 32 companies to discuss carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), new energy integration, and international cooperation in oil and gas development.

Zhang Liehui, Party secretary of Southwest Petroleum University, said the oil and gas industry should use CCUS to cut carbon emissions, expand green energy supply through new energy replacement, and drive growth through technological innovation.

The university inaugurated the China–Iraq Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Oil and Gas Energy in April, according to Zhang, the lab's director. The project was built in collaboration with ZhenHua Oil and the Petroleum Research and Development Center of Iraq's Ministry of Oil. It focuses on the exploration and development of complex oil and gas reservoirs, CCUS, and clean energy use in oil fields.

Lu Lize, general manager of ZhenHua, said the lab's technical support had enabled the company to build what he described as its first overseas megawatt-scale solar farm in Iraq and establish a system for the comprehensive utilization of associated gas. He said the lab would accelerate the deployment of integrated photovoltaic projects and CCUS pilot programs.

Participants also held sessions on CCUS commercialization, green transformation, and the integration of oil and gas with new energy, with company representatives and researchers discussing joint research and project implementation.