A major shale oil production zone in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region reported its crude oil output exceeding 1.7 million tons so far this year, marking a significant breakthrough in the country's shale oil development, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced on Tuesday.
Established in Xinjiang's Jimsar County in 2020, the zone is China's first national-level continental shale oil production area with an estimated shale oil reserve of over 1 billion tons.
"Since 2020, we have drilled 472 new wells and carried out fracturing on 451 wells, boosting the zone's annual production from 116,000 tons in 2019 to more than 1.7 million tons this year, increasing by 15 times," said Wang Haiming, a senior engineer for the Jiqing oilfield operation zone of Xinjiang Oilfield Company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Shale oil, defined as liquid hydrocarbons trapped within shale rock formations and extractable for refining, is a widely distributed energy resource with reserves that significantly exceed those of conventional oil sources.
In addition to Xinjiang, China has established two other national-level shale oil demonstration zones in Heilongjiang and Shandong to facilitate shale oil development.
In 2024, China's shale oil production exceeded 6 million tonnes, an increase of 30 percent year on year.
China's major shale oil base reports production breakthrough
