A worker at a shale oil exploration well in Taizhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province on November 11. After 10 days of work, staff at the well completed the construction transformation of a certain layer of the reservoir, paving the way to develop a nearby shale oil farm. Photo: cnsphotos

The annual output of the Jimsar shale oilfield in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has exceeded 500,000 tons, marking a milestone in building the nation’s first continental shale oil demonstration zone, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday, citing sources from PetroChina. 

Shale oil is an unconventional oil and gas resource that is found in dense formations, with low permeability and poor mobility, making it one of the most difficult oils to extract, according to the report. 

Since entering scale development in 2018, the local operational team has mastered two core technologies for extracting the resource, Wang Tao, a manager of PetroChina's Xinjiang Oilfield Co, told CCTV, the state broadcaster.

Wang added that the team has accelerated the drilling and commissioning of new wells with a production rate of more than 90 percent. 

Recently, the JHW61-34 well in the Jimsar shale oil well area was completed, with a drilling efficiency of 85 percent and daily oil production of 30.9 tons after fracturing, according to local media reports.

Some 40 new wells have been drilled in 2022, with new production capacity of 396,000 tons and a daily oil production of 1,935 tons, the highest level in history for this period. 

China has been fully promoting the development of the Jimsar shale oilfield since 2019 by the Xinjiang Oilfield Corporation, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

The Jimsar shale oilfield is located in the eastern part of the Junggar Basin, covering an area of 1,278 square kilometers, with proven reserves of more than 100 million tons and cumulative production of 1.51 million tons of shale oil. Xinjiang is rich in shale oil resources, with a potential reserve of more than 3 billion tons, according to Chinese media reports.

The daily natural gas output of the Tarim Oilfield in Xinjiang, one of the main sources for west-to-east gas transmission pipeline, surpassed 100 million cubic meters earlier in December. 


Global Times