Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co. (YCPC) in northwest China has achieved a major milestone in the country's energy sector, shattering its own production records by surpassing 20 million tonnes in crude oil and natural gas production.
YCPC, one of China's largest oil and natural gas producers, reported production of approximately 11.7 million tonnes of crude oil and 10.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas as of Saturday.
The company's production operations are primarily concentrated in the cities of Yan'an and Yulin in the northern part of Shaanxi.
After more than a century of extraction, most of the remaining reserves are unconventional, making further extraction increasingly challenging
To address these challenges, YCPC has focused on leveraging technology to efficiently explore oil and gas layers within complex geological formations, while accelerating its digital transformation.
"By integrating digital oilfields, gas fields, pipelines, and engineering processes into the exploration and extraction process, we can reduce both exploration costs and carbon emissions," said Wang Xiangzeng, principal scientist of YCPC.
"We remain committed to our core oil and natural gas business, with efforts to expand production capacity, including an increase of 1.227 million tonnes of oil and 2.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas," said Zhang Kaiyong, chairman of YCPC.
Chinese energy giant exceeds 20 mln tonnes of oil, gas output in 2024
The peace talks between the United States and Iran are expected to start on Saturday morning in Islamabad, Pakistan, and the Iranian delegation has already arrived in the Pakistani capital for the negotiations.
The talks will be held during a fragile two-week conditional truce between the United States and Iran which in now hanging in the balance alongside ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the scheduled negotiations between the United States and Iran in a televised address on Friday evening, and Pakistani authorities confirmed in the early hours of Saturday that the talks would take place at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad.
The Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in Islamabad overnight, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. The delegation includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Upon arrival, they were received by Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar who reaffirmed Pakistan's readiness to facilitate the constructive engagement and support a lasting resolution.
However, Ghalibaf said on social media on Friday that two understandings between Iran and the United States have yet to be implemented before negotiations can begin: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the unfreezing of Iran's assets.
He stressed that both conditions must be met before talks can proceed.
For the U.S. side, Vice President J.D. Vance left Washington on Friday for Islamabad. He warned Iran not to "play" the United States in the upcoming negotiations, which he expects to be "positive."
The U.S. negotiation team also includes President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Local media reported that the meeting would be the highest-level encounter between the two countries since 1979.
The talks take place during a diplomatic window provided by the two-week ceasefire which took effect on Wednesday, and more than one month after the start of the joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran.
The ceasefire has already been strained as Israel continues to strike Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
US-Iran peace talks imminent as Iranian delegation arrives in Pakistan
