The largest gas storage facility in the Tarim Basin—the Yaha Gas Storage operated by PetroChina Tarim Oilfield—officially commenced its winter gas supply on December 3 after several days of operational adjustments. This ensures a steady flow of natural gas from underground reserves to households.
Located in Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, the Yaha Gas Storage is built on the Yaha condensate gas field, with an average reservoir depth exceeding 5,100 meters. With a designed capacity of 15.16 billion cubic meters, it is China’s largest deep underground gas storage facility below 5,000 meters in terms of both storage and working gas volumes. It plays a critical role in seasonal peak-shaving and emergency supply for five southern Xinjiang regions and the West-East Gas Pipeline network.
Thanks to its advantageous location, abundant surrounding gas sources, and favorable geological conditions, the Yaha facility serves as an ideal "granary" for natural gas storage.
"Yaha Gas Storage undergoes seven months of injection and four months of extraction annually. This year, a new gas gathering and injection station was constructed, boosting daily extraction capacity to over 20 million cubic meters—a significant increase," said Hu Yusheng, manager of the Yaha Processing Station under Tarim Oilfield’s Dina Oil and Gas Production Management Area.
Alongside the Yaha facility, Tarim Oilfield is actively managing operations at the Kekeya Gas Storage in Kashgar, which together provide an annual peak-shaving capacity of 710 million cubic meters. This effectively alleviates winter gas supply-demand imbalances in southern Xinjiang, ensuring reliable heating and daily-use gas for residents.
As of December 4, the Yaha facility has injected a cumulative 1.256 billion cubic meters and extracted 65 million cubic meters. Further expansions are underway, with plans to increase working gas volume to 2.4 billion cubic meters by 2026, enhancing the security of China’s western natural gas supply network.
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