Changqing oilfield, China's largest oil-and-gas field, produced over 10,000 tons of shale oil in a single day for the first time, marking a milestone in the oilfield's shale oil drilling capabilities.
Located in northwest China's Ordos Basin, the Changqing oilfield contains estimated 1 billion tons of shale oil.
It produced 3.21 million tons of shale oil in 2024, accounting for 52.2 percent of the country's total. So far, the cumulative output of shale oil from Changqing oilfield has exceeded 18.5 million tons.
"The daily output of shale oil at Changqing oilfield exceeds 10,000 tons, making an annual production capacity of 3.65 million tons, comparable to that of a medium-sized oilfield. We plan to further enhance shale oil drilling efforts, aiming to reach an annual production of 4.5 million tons by 2030," said Lei Qihong, manager of the shale oil drilling branch of Changqing oilfield.
To date, Changqing oilfield has discovered proven oil reserves of 50.24 million tons and estimated oil reserves of 56.2 million tons in the area.
Since the 1970s, Changqing oilfield accumulated proven oil and gas reserves account for one-third of the country's total, playing an important role in safeguarding the national energy security.
Daily shale oil output of China's largest oil-and-gas field exceeds 10,000 tons
Highlighting the "Future Energy" as a key direction for China's strategic emerging industries, the country's nuclear energy development, guided by its three-step strategy, has seen major strides in the past year, said a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
In a recent press briefing, Xin Feng, also deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), updated the media on the progresses China has achieved under the strategy.
"China's three-step strategy for nuclear energy development -- from the thermal reactor to the fast reactor and the fusion reactor -- was formulated in 1983 as a medium- and long-term plan. For the thermal reactor, over the past year, our 2.0 version of the Hualong One technology has been approved. This is a unified and fully self-owned intellectual property based third-generation nuclear power technology solution. And the Linglong One small modular reactor also successfully completed its cold-state functional test last year and is expected to be put into commercial operation this year," he said.
For the second and third steps, Chinese researchers and engineers have achieved milestones in the past year with the government support, Xin noted.
"Then for the fast reactor, last year, a closed-cycle system for an integral fast reactor successfully achieved preliminary standard design. We will continue to solve its engineering technology challenges. As for the fusion reactor, in 2025, with national support, we established the China Fusion Energy Company in Shanghai. And our Huanliu-3, a platform for conducting research and development of fusion technology, made a big stride, with an iron temperature in it achieving 117 million Celsius and an electron temperature reaching 160 million Celsius. We will continue to adhere to the development strategy and focus on technological research and engineering technology development," Xin said.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.
The "two sessions" -- which refer to the annual meetings of China's supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and its top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC -- are a key event on the country's political calendar and offer a window into the country's development direction.
China's nuclear energy development makes great strides with three-step strategy: CPPCC member
