"Over 124.5 billion cubic meters! Another large deep integrated shale gas field is born in China"-Jingzhou Jinxiu Machinery Technology Co., Ltd._Plug valve

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"Over 124.5 billion cubic meters! Another large deep integrated shale gas field is born in China"

Published time:

2025-08-25

On August 14, the additional proven geological reserves of 124.588 billion cubic meters in the Yongchuan shale gas field, submitted by Sinopec Southwest Petroleum Bureau, were approved by the expert group of the Ministry of Natural Resources, marking the birth of another large deep integrated shale gas field in China with reserves exceeding 100 billion cubic meters.

The Yongchuan shale gas field is a deep shale gas field located within Yongchuan District, Chongqing City, situated in the complex structural area of southern Sichuan Basin, with the main part buried deeper than 3,500 meters. In 2016, Sinopec Southwest Petroleum Bureau achieved a major breakthrough in exploration with the first pilot well Yongye 1HF in this area, leading to the discovery of the Yongchuan shale gas field.

In 2019, an additional proven geological reserve of 23.453 billion cubic meters was approved by the expert group of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Subsequently, Sinopec continued to tackle the more challenging exploration and development in the central and northern Yongchuan area, ultimately achieving the overall proven reserves of the Yongchuan shale gas field, with total proven geological reserves reaching 148.041 billion cubic meters.

The Southwest Petroleum Bureau is Sinopec's largest oil and gas production enterprise in the Sichuan Basin, having developed and constructed the Yuanba gas field, Weirong gas field, Western Sichuan gas field, and Qijiang gas field, among others. Last year, the Southwest Petroleum Bureau's natural gas production exceeded 10 billion cubic meters, equivalent to an oilfield with 8 million tons of oil equivalent, and the thermal energy equivalent to the total annual power generation of the Three Gorges Dam.

Thanks to the growth of unconventional natural gas such as shale gas, China's natural gas production has steadily increased in recent years. Last year, domestic natural gas production reached 246.4 billion cubic meters, increasing by over 10 billion cubic meters for eight consecutive years. Among this, shale gas production exceeded 25 billion cubic meters, accounting for 10% of the total natural gas output.

Data from the Ministry of Natural Resources shows that China's recoverable shale gas resources amount to 21.8 trillion cubic meters, ranking first in the world. Currently, the proven rate of shale gas in China is only 4.79%, indicating huge resource potential. The National Energy Administration has proposed vigorously promoting shale oil and shale gas as strategic successor fields, firmly supporting the development direction of unconventional oil and gas, and accelerating the development of unconventional resources.

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