Workers build a lithium battery facility in Meishan, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on November 28, 2022. Companies in China are planning lithium battery projects to meet the growing demand of new-energy vehicles. Photo: cnsphoto

PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company has produced the first batch of lithium carbonate from gas-field water in a gas reservoir named Longwangmiao Formation, marking the successful commissioning of the first domestic pilot plant for lithium extraction from gas-field water, according to a report released by the company on Tuesday.

According to the company, the pilot plant includes gas-field water pretreatment and lithium extraction, which can realize green separation and extraction of lithium resources despite the complex impurities of gas-field water.

The project, with the advantage of being both highly efficient and stable, can extract lithium from gas-field water with high sulfur and salt content. 

It is the country's first attempt at large-scale application in extracting lithium from gas-field water, with annual output of lithium carbonate expected to reach 50 tons.

With the rapid development of new energies industry, the market demand for lithium carbonate has exploded. Lithium resources are mainly found in salt lakes and rock mines, and partly in oil and gas field water. Lithium resources in oil and gas field water have the advantages of wide sources and large reserves, and thus are receiving increasing attention.

According to foreign reports on lithium extraction, the gas-field water in the oil and gas fields of the US, Germany and Canada have better lithium content. Some of gas-field water in the US and Canada generate revenues from lithium extraction projects.

In China, gas-field water is widely distributed in Southwest China's Sichuan Basin.

In July 2022, Southwest Oil and Gasfield Company announced that its pilot test of lithium extraction from gas-field water has achieved milestone result, using gas-field water from Longwangmiao Formation gas reservoir to produce 100 grams of lithium hydroxide and extract 400 grams of lithium carbonate powder. It is the first time that lithium has been extracted from gas-field water in domestic oil and gas field industry.

The Longwangmiao Formation was found in 2012, with the geological reserves exceeding 440 billion cubic meters, making it the largest single full-scale gas reservoir ever discovered in China.

Global Times