China is accelerating efforts to produce more oil from ultra-deep formations to boost domestic supply amid continued global market turmoil.
State-owned giant PetroChina has produced more than 26 million tons of oil equivalents from reservoirs dug 6,000 meters (19,685 ft) below the surface in the Hade-Fuman oilfield in the western region of Xinjiang, state media report.
Reservoirs at 6,000 meters and deeper are considered ultra-deep and more expensive and technologically challenging to drill.
China has drilled a total of 485 ultra-deep wells at the Hade-Fuman oil field, which has become the biggest desert oilfield in China and a base for ultra-deep oil and gas exploration and production.
In recent years, the world’s top crude oil importer has accelerated exploration of domestic resources, including in ultra-deep formations and shale reservoirs as it aims to reduce its dependence on imported crude supply.
Chinese state oil giant Sinopec is opening a major ultra-deep shale gas play after obtaining official government approval for proven geological reserves of 235.687 billion cubic meters in the Ziyang Dongfeng field in the Sichuan province.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, as it is more commonly known, announced in May that the Ministry of Natural Resources of China approved its reserves validation at the shale gas field, marking the creation of China’s first ultra-deep, 100-billion-cubic-meter-level shale gas field.
In recent years, Sinopec has been actively exploring and certifying growing volumes of shale oil and gas reserves in China’s onshore basins, despite technically and geologically challenging terrains and ultra-deep formations.
Despite the challenges, shale exploration is an important part of China’s push to boost its domestic oil and gas production in a bid to reduce its significant exposure to imported hydrocarbons.
Despite a rather diversified base of suppliers in both oil and gas, China has made it a priority to increase its degree of self-reliance in hydrocarbon energy, alongside its alternative energy growth.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
