Recently, the hydraulic energy recovery device developed by Professor Zhang Desheng’s team at the Fluid Center of Jiangsu University was successfully commissioned at the Bozhong 19-6 BOP offshore platform of the Bohai Oilfield. The device has been connected to the power grid and put into operation, marking a major breakthrough in China’s offshore oilfield hydraulic energy recovery technology and providing significant support for the green and low-carbon development of offshore oil and gas fields.

The seawater treatment system is a key power system in offshore oil and gas field development. However, due to widely varying operating conditions and frequent fluctuations in flow and pressure, offshore platforms have long faced technical bottlenecks in residual pressure recovery and utilization. In 2023, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Research Institute initiated the major project “Key Technology Research for Energy Efficiency Improvement in Offshore Oil and Gas Fields”, with Professor Zhang Desheng’s team responsible for developing a high-efficiency hydraulic recovery device. Guided by Party-building principles, the project team formed an industry–academia–application collaborative task force to serve major national needs at the project front line.

The team established a broad-range, high-efficiency turbine design theory suitable for extreme offshore platform conditions, and developed a novel dual-guide-vane system and an intelligent speed control system, enabling high-efficiency and stable operation under complex conditions. Testing results showed a hydraulic efficiency exceeding 86% at rated operating points and an average efficiency above 80% across multiple conditions. The technology is fully protected by independent intellectual property rights, leading to a product series of energy recovery devices tailored for offshore platforms, filling a domestic gap in this field. In May 2025, the device was successfully deployed at the Bozhong 19-6 BOP platform in the Bohai Oilfield, China’s largest offshore oilfield.

According to estimates, a single 132 kW hydraulic turbine can save approximately 1.064 million kWh of electricity annually—equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of 886 households—while reducing carbon emissions by 1,060.76 tons, comparable to the annual carbon absorption of 53,000 trees. The achievement provides a solid technological foundation for the green and low-carbon development of offshore oil and gas fields in China.