Homo sapiens

Li Qingye, who was in Medan, received reports from Chen Jianxiong and Domino. After reading them, he was very satisfied with the progress of the security division.

Then he input his instructions into the earphones and asked Garfield to reply to the two of them as soon as possible.

He himself continued what he was doing.

At this time, he was in the Zamboanga area of ​​Mindan Island, where a methane fermentation plant was set up, and the research base was right next to the methane fermentation plant.

A 30-meter-high dome steel structure has been built at this base, which tightly wraps the interior and is claimed to be a new methane fermentation tank.

Three fresh graduates recruited from Huaguo Petroleum University, plus two veteran engineers recruited from Shengli Oilfield, are busy drilling wells.

They have become Luzon citizens and have brought their family members with them before they can participate in this project.

Veteran engineer Qi Yuanchao and his wife Zhang Hong are both veteran engineers from Shengli Oilfield. One is engaged in drilling and the other is in geological survey. They have both retired for several years.

The couple actually didn't want to come to Luzon, but fate struck them. Their only son contracted lung cancer, which cost them almost all their life savings, and their grandchildren were waiting to be paved.

They had no choice but to go back to their old jobs, but there is no need for retired old people in China. Even if they were, the salary level would not be much higher, and the couple were not the kind of people who knew how to run a business.

In the end, the human resources department of Homo sapiens Company came to visit in person. In front of the real money, the couple was still moved.

After arriving in Luzon, his son was quickly admitted to the Homo Sapien Company hospital.

Li Qingye even took action personally, using genetic technology to develop a gene bomb specifically designed to suppress his lung cancer cells, directly killing the cancer cells in Qi Yuanchao's son's body.

Seeing their son's gradual recovery, Qi Yuanchao and his wife reciprocated the favor. They not only helped the Homo sapiens company explore for oil and natural gas, but also helped with some newcomers and compiled some teaching materials.

At this time, the drilling equipment in the base has reached about 300 meters underground.

Through the taken out core, Qi Yuanchao and Zhang Hong carefully inspected it.

"Teacher, this should be oil-bearing shale, right?" another young quasi-engineer asked.

Qi Yuanchao nodded: "Yes, starting from 273 meters, it is oil-bearing shale. Now it depends on the specific thickness."

The equipment continued to drill down, and over time, the oil-bearing shale was discontinued at a depth of 362 meters.

They looked at cores from five other wells.

Zhang Hong said while writing the data: "The average depth of the oil-bearing shale in this area is between 260 and 370 meters, and the thickness reaches about 90 to 110 meters. It is a good shale oil reservoir."

The reason why Homo sapiens is eyeing shale oil and shale gas is that the natural gas and oil reserves in Luzon are too small, and the only natural gas field that can be exploited on a large scale is on the verge of exhaustion.

Although Homo sapiens' methane production in Luzon now reaches 6.7 billion cubic meters per month, this amount is still too small.

As for Malaysia's oil and natural gas, it will also be exhausted. In addition, many of the oil and gas fields there are contracted by European and American companies. If the contract cannot be broken, Malaysia's oil and gas supply is not enough.

In particular, Siam and Hongsawady are areas with relatively poor oil and natural gas resources.

It is obviously a bit difficult to rely on the Malaysian branch to support three companies.

Therefore, Homo sapiens companies must find ways to tap their own potential resources.

Because the Luzon Islands are located at the junction of tectonic plates, it is basically difficult for large-scale oil and natural gas reservoirs to appear, but this does not mean that Luzon does not have the potential to tap fossil fuels.

Frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions will destroy oil and gas reservoirs, making it difficult to form large oil fields.

However, the igneous rock layer formed by volcanic eruptions is a porous rock with a sparse interior. Therefore, the oil and gas that has been destroyed and divided will gradually transfer into the pores of some igneous rocks during the long-term geological movement, forming an oil-bearing igneous rock layer.

In addition, some shale is also a good oil storage rock.

Now the Homo sapiens company is focusing on searching for these two rock formations in Luzon.

Among them, Luzon has a lot of igneous rocks, while Medan has a lot of shale.

As for how to mine.

This is why Li Qingye came here.

After identifying the oil-bearing shale formation, technicians and engineers quickly installed gas extraction pipelines and water injection pipelines.

Li Qingye injected an improved version of genetically modified methane bacteria and special hormones into the water tank.

"let's start!"

"Yes, Dr. Li."

The person who came this time was Dr. Li Min, who was studying genetically modified methane bacteria. He was also one of Li Qingye's vests.

The technician flips the switch.

Everyone watched as the aqueous solution in the water tank decreased rapidly and was pressed into the underground oil-bearing shale by the water injection pipe.

As time goes by, the gas pressure sensor in the gas extraction pipeline begins to feedback signals of increased downhole pressure.

Without even starting the air extractor, a large amount of methane began to rise continuously from the bottom of the well.

"The air output has reached 400 cubic meters per day...it is still improving."

"It exceeds the limit of 1,000 cubic meters per day..."

After more than three hours of testing, the five wells were able to produce 170,000 cubic meters of methane per day, and the pressure was very stable, with little need for active pumping.

Only a certain amount of genetically modified methane bacteria and growth hormones need to be injected regularly. The generation of methane will not stop until the organic matter in this underground shale is completely consumed.

"Compared with North American shale oil production technology, the cost of biodegradation is much cheaper." Qi Yuanchao raised his glasses and sighed.

Apart from the initial exploration and drilling expenses, pipe laying and auxiliary equipment, the other costs of a well are very few.

Qi Yuanchao made an estimate in his mind and found that the production cost of this gas well, if the current daily output could be maintained, would be about US$3 to US$5 per thousand cubic meters.

This cost is already very low.

Domestic coal-bed methane production costs are around US$270-280 per 1,000 cubic meters; while domestic natural gas is around US$45 per 1,000 cubic meters.

The production cost of shale gas in North America is between US$70 and US$280 per thousand cubic meters; the production cost of shale oil is about US$30 per barrel.

The reason why such low cost can be achieved is mainly due to the biological decomposition method of Homo sapiens Company, which does not require the use of thermal fracturing method with relatively high energy consumption.

Thermal fracturing requires not only high temperatures, but also special solvents, which require continuous investment.

Although the genetically modified methane bacteria and growth hormone produced by the biodegradation method also have a service life, this is a self-limitation specially set to prevent the genetically modified methane bacteria from escaping and reproducing in nature.

Under normal circumstances, a portion of genetically modified methane bacteria and growth hormone can maintain activity for about 30 days.

After the well is dug, as long as genetically modified methane bacteria and growth hormone are put in, methane can be continuously produced at low cost.

In fact, this technology can also be used to mine highly viscous oil and coal, converting it into methane that will overflow on its own, which can effectively reduce production costs.

Moreover, the pollution is very small. The improved version of genetically modified methane will completely consume all the organic matter in the reservoir, leaving no pollutants behind.

Of course, if this mining method is used in coal mines, it may cause large-scale landslides.

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