More economical, safe and stable natural gas available on the Macau Peninsula in the middle of the year

On the early morning of March 26, the directional crossing of the submarine natural gas pipeline from Taipa to the Macau Peninsula was successful. Invested by Macau City Gas Company Limited, a company jointly established by Nam Kwong Petroleum, Sinopec Great Wall Gas Investment and Macau New Energy, the project has been named as a key project in the 2022 Policy Address of the Macau SAR government. It will fundamentally address key difficulties in natural gas application in Macau, lay a solid foundation for the completion of trunk gas pipeline between Taipa and the Macau Peninsula in the middle of the year, and provide access to multiple gas sources on the peninsula.

Group photo of on-site workers

Directional drilling crossing technology, already used in many projects of Nam Kwong, is proven, stable and reliable 

Since the completion of trunk pipeline network in the Cotai area in 2018, Nam Kwong has been advancing the connection of the natural gas pipeline between Taipa and the Macao Peninsula. It finalized the submarine crossing route scheme with the strong support of relevant departments of the SAR Government, and selected the trenchless directional drilling crossing technology after fully considering the geological conditions and construction environment of Macau and repeated scientific demonstration and comparison. This technology has been successfully applied to the Nam Kwong jet fuel submarine pipeline project and the Zhuhai-Macau natural gas pipeline network interconnection project from Hengqin to the University of Macau and from Gongbei to Qingzhou.

Considering the complex geological conditions and construction environment in the reclaimed area and the sea crossing area, the project was equipped with customized modular drilling rig equipment, which effectively addressed the problems of machine tool transport and narrow working space. By means of double casing and large-angle drilling, difficulties under poor geological conditions were solved. Besides, advanced geomagnetic positioning technology, multi-functional fiber materials and other protective measures were used to ensure the accurate positioning, protection in place, and quality and safety of the pipeline for a long time. 

The entrance point of the Macau side of the Sai Van Bridge project

Green and eco-friendly construction, with minimal impact on citizens

The submarine pipeline has its entrance and exit points on the south side of Sai Van Lake on the Macau Peninsula and the waterfront rest area of Taipa, respectively. With a total length of about 2 kilometers and the deepest crossing up to 58 meters below sea level, the pipeline is by far the longest and most difficult directional drilling crossing project in Macau. To avoid noise disturbance during the construction, electric drilling rigs with low noise were specially customized to replace diesel drilling rigs, sound shields were equipped for each machine, heightened and thickened sound insulation boards were set up in the construction area, and real-time noise monitoring and control was carried out. To reduce the impact on daily life and mobility of surrounding residents, the route for the exit point was carefully studied, and casings were pre-buried in advance together with other engineering construction to reduce repeated excavation. To reduce the occupancy of green space and tree migration, the pipeline back-towing scheme was optimized scientifically. The pipeline was connected in nine sections on site to minimize the area of construction land.

Schematic diagram of the submarine gas pipeline crossing project from Taipa to Macau Peninsula

Gas supply available in the middle of the year, saving nearly half of the gas expenditure for residents

According to the project schedule, Nam Kwong will step up the follow-up auxiliary project construction to realize gas transmission from Taipa to the Macau Peninsula in the middle of the year. At that time, the trunk gas pipeline of Macau will be completed and the Zhuhai-Macau gas pipeline network will be fully connected, which will effectively ensure the long-term, safe and stable gas supply in Macau. Compared with conventional fuels such as LPG, natural gas is safer, economical, easy to access and clean. Preliminary analysis shows that household expenditure on natural gas will be reduced by nearly half compared with that on LPG. 

This project is the first major project after the Macau SAR government implemented the integration of natural gas monopoly business. It is an important measure to implement the consensus reached by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and Director Hao Peng of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), support the SAR government in implementing its new development concept, and strengthen the ability to guarantee Macau's energy supply. Nam Kwong Group has attached great importance to the project construction and carried out research, deployment and demonstration for many times. On the morning before the successful crossing of the pipeline, Chairman Fu Jianguo visited the work site, and asked to practice the service principle of "Give back to the society with the best" and organize the construction meticulously to ensure quality and safety, so as to provide citizens with low-carbon, safe, economical and stable natural gas as soon as possible and contribute to the optimization of Macau's energy consumption structure and cost saving.

The project construction has received extensive attention from the Macau community. Many media such as Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and Macao Daily News gave live coverage about it.