China's largest ultra-deep oil and gas production base, the Tarim Oilfield, achieved a milestone in 2024 by producing 20.47 million tonnes of oil and gas equivalent from depths exceeding 6,000 meters, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced on Sunday.
The oilfield is located in the Tarim Basin in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the largest oil and gas bearing basin with rich ultra-deep resources. The Bozi-Dabei gas zone, a newly developed area within the oilfield, has experienced robust growth in natural gas production for five consecutive years.
"Recently, nighttime temperatures in the Bozi-Dabei gas zone have dropped below minus 20 degrees Celsius. With carefully organized production, we have opened 123 wells, which generate nearly 30 million cubic meters of natural gas from deep underground every day," said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the Bozi-Dabei gas zone.
So far, five main producing areas for deep and ultra-deep gas have been built in the Tarim Oilfield, situated on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and in the heart of the Takla Makan Desert. The daily natural gas output registers over 90 million cubic meters, most of which is extracted from the depths of seven to eight kilometers below the surface.
"By honing drilling techniques and enhancing research support, our 9,000-meter drilling technology has matured, which has also equipped us with key technologies and tools to drill 10,000-meter-deep wells," said Wang Xiaoliang, deputy director of the Drilling Research Department of the Oil and Gas Technology Research Institute under the CNPC Tarim Oilfield.
In 2024, more than 50 wells exceeding 8,000 meters in depth were drilled in the Tarim Oilfield. Notably, the depth of the Shendi Taco 1 exploration well exceeds the 10,000-meter mark, making it the world's second and Asia's first deepest vertical well. This achievement has not only facilitated the advancement of 10,000-meter drilling technology, but also promotes the progress in deep oil and gas exploration in China.
Tarim Oilfield hits 20 million tonnes record in ultra-deep oil and gas production
A group of experts said they are expecting China's economy to post steady growth in 2026 despite an increasingly uncertain global situation that posts challenges to the country's development.
The experts made the remarks in a recent interview with China Global Television Network in south China's tech hub Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
An official for Qianhai, a special economic zone that has become a critical growth engine for south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster, said that like other major economies around the world, China is also facing increasing challenges, but he believes the country will post steady growth in 2026.
"I mean [for] other major economies right now, they [are] kind of also facing a bit of challenges. Geopolitical risks are rising. Trade war [has] not yet completely ended. But having said that, I think [for] China, there is also a domestic-oriented economy. You know that 80 percent -- more than 80 percent -- is still domestic demand. And also we start to see some kind of, particularly in the areas like the new industries, but even in some kind of the broad-based industry, we still see the manufacturing investments keep rising despite the uncertainties, despite all these various kinds of pressures. I expect China's economy still going to remain kind of a stable piece of growth. [The growth rate of] four point five to five percent, I think, is still going to be quite achievable for the next twelve months or so," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for Qianhai authority.
Greg Smith, chairman at AustCham South China, an institute for promoting Australia-China commercial relationship, said China's resilient partnerships with other countries around the world can help the country navigate through the uncertain global landscape.
"I think that you'd be a very brave person to bet against the Chinese economy. It's been resilient over a long period and it's gone through some fairly strong headwinds and come out with still the flag waving. Taking some of the issues that you're talking about with tariffs and the geopolitics that's in place, there's resilience in the partnership [which] is what all the countries are looking for in their trades. So the stronger relationships that you have, I think that's going to really be the bedrock to making sure that we do hit the 4.5 [growth] rate. I think all the countries around the world are looking for trusted partners to be able to work and trade with," said Smith.
Sunny Tan, chairman at the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), said he believes the rest of the world wants to be part of China's economic growth.
"I would say that China has a very, very good number -- achievable number. And I can see the big market by itself, the resilience, and also [it] is really providing a certainty in the time of uncertainty. Our country can continue to grow as planned. At the same time we can see very good interest from around the world, who wants to be part of this growth, and be wanting [who wants this growth] to be in China," Tan said.
Qin Youming, founder and CEO of Manifold Tech, a startup based in Shenzhen, said the entrepreneurs still see opportunities in globalization and companies should be quick in adapting themselves to the changing environment to survive.
"For market wise, we still see there are opportunities in globalization even though there are a lot of geopolitical matters going on. But the uniqueness of the Greater Bay Area, I think, is still unmatched, like the talents we can find here, the craftsmanship, the well experienced engineers here, is [are] still unmatched. I think even though there's uncertainty around the world, the business has to grow globally. Anyone who can adapt [themselves to] this quickly can survive," he said.
Experts expect China's economy to continue growing amid uncertainties in global landscape
