Geological reserves of sulfur in China's sour gas fields and the strategy of sulfur markets

Exploiting and using sour natural gas safely, effectively and economically is very important for improving China's self-sufficient rate of sulfur, getting rid of the high dependence on import, and ensuring the market independence and environmental safety. The proved reserves of sour natural gas in China are about 1×1012 m3, and the economically recoverable reserves are above 3 700×108 m3. By statistics of the abundance of sulfur and geological reserves, we calculate that the proved reserves of sulfur are 14 946.04×104 t in China, of which the economically recoverable reserves are 9 001.69×104 t. However, the high sour natural gas being developed mainly in dolomite reservoirs, the imbalance distribution of geological reserves, the gas reservoirs' deep burial and the high concentration of sulfur, determine the sulfur reserves, recovery cost, supply, and regional price imbalance, and finally affect the industry chain trend of sulfur-chemical fertilizer-biological energy-petroleum price in the Chinese market. The sulfur market development situation in China and abroad indicates that seeking the stable, traditional market of Southeast Asia and preempting the market of high concentration phosphate fertilizers in South America are the inevitable choice to achieve stable exploitation of Chinese sour natural gas and to resolve the contradiction between market supply and demand.

摘 要安全、有效、经济地开发和利用含硫天然气，对于提高中国硫磺自给率，摆脱高度依赖进口的窘境，保障市场自主性以及环境安全十分重要。中国的含硫天然气探明储量近万亿立方米，含硫天然气经济可采储量逾3 700×108 m3，通过统计含硫天然气田含硫丰度和地质储量，计算出中国含硫气田中硫磺资源的探明数量为14 946.04×104 t，经济可采量9 001.69×104 t。中国高含硫天然气多发育在白云岩储集层中并且地质储量分布不均衡，气藏埋深大、含硫浓度高，这些地质特征直接决定了硫磺资源量、回收成本、供应量和地区价格不均衡，最终影响中国市场硫磺-化肥-生物能源-原油的产业链走势。分析国内外硫磺市场的发展形势表明，寻求稳定传统的东南亚市场，抢占南美洲的高浓度磷肥市场以及开拓硫磺应用领域，是平稳开发中国高含硫气田和解决市场供求矛盾的必然选择。