Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, on Monday announced the discovery of two new major shale oilfields in the east of the country with combined proven reserves of 180 million tonnes.
The confirmation of the Xinxing and Qintong oilfields, which was proved by China's Ministry of Natural Resources, is a strategic move to exploit and identify shale oil reserves in the country's continental rift basins.
Shale oil mainly refers to liquid hydrocarbons trapped in formations of shale rock that can be extracted for refining. It is often found in organic-rich shale and thin interlayers of carbonate rock, sandstone and siltstone.
The two oilfields show promise for high initial yields due to favorable fracturability and formation pressure, with test results indicating the likelihood of stable outputs over extended periods.
"We have developed our own set of practices, and shale oil reservoirs can now be developed economically. After the peak period of conventional oil, its output declined. Through the development of shale oil, old oilfields can experience a second major development," said Jia Chengzao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Sinopec is aiming to see an annual shale oil output of 2 million tonnes by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), with an annual increase in proven crude oil reserves exceeding 100 million tonnes during the period.
The recoverable shale oil reserves in China, one of the world's major crude oil consumers, ranks third globally. Data from China's National Energy Administration shows that the country's crude oil production was 213 million tonnes in 2024, while its shale oil output surged to 6 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of over 30 percent.
China discovers 180-mln-ton of new shale oil reserves
China's commitment to its path of opening up will continue as a long-term national strategy and should increasingly be defined by inclusiveness, a national political advisor said Friday.
Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, made the remarks in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) during the annual political "two sessions" underway in Beijing.
"Opening-up is and has been a long-term national policy and a strategy ever since China opened itself up (to the world) some 48 years ago. Ever since China joined WTO (World Trade Organization), you could see it has fundamentally changed the formats of economic movements. So opening-up is a reference and also a driving force," he said.
Zhou stressed China must also invite less privileged nations to share in the prosperity of a more open world.
"Inclusiveness is one word that should be used to modify China's opening-up. I (previously) submitted a bill in CPPCC for the zero tariff for those least developed nations' exportation to China. Because for each and every China International Import Expo, you can see quite a large number of exhibitors coming from the least developed countries. We need to give them very genuine help. We are just in the situation of that. We just try to do not only with developed nations, but the Global South and rest of the countries, all together," he said.
Zhou's comments come amid the ongoing "two sessions", the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC. Both bodies serve a five-year term and hold a plenary session each year, generally in March.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. A main focus is the adoption of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a key blueprint guiding China's drive toward modernization. When asked about key signals from the plan that the international community should closely watch, Zhou outlined several key issues.
"We are now carrying on this Five-Year Plan in the most crucial period of time. We are going to generally modernize the country (in) another 10 years. In this five-year period of time, we need to focus more on creation. Creation not necessarily in the field of technology. Creation means the modernization of the governance, create lots of new things in the system and methods of governance. This is also important," Zhou said.
"The modernization of industrial systems, the further expansion of the ability of consumption, and we try to know very well the longevity, whatever solves people's daily needs. The last but not least, we try to understand fully international collaboration. Opening-up is still a driving force," he said.
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
