At present, China's proven shale oil reserves are about 50 billion tons, ranking third in the world, after Canada and the United States. Previously, domestic shale oil was mainly distributed in Songliao, Ordos, Bohai Bay, Sichuan, Junggar and Qaidam basins. Last year, domestic shale oil production was about 2.4 million tons and shale gas production was 23 billion cubic meters. From January to July this year, domestic shale oil production was 1.7 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14%.
Shale oil and gas is an unconventional oil and gas, which mainly refers to liquid hydrocarbons in thin interbeds of organic-rich shale, carbonate rock, sandstone and siltstone. Due to the fact that China is dominated by continental shale oil, shale sedimentary facies change rapidly, reservoir heterogeneity is strong, thermal evolution degree is low, shale is relatively high in colloidal and asphaltene content, and the fluidity is poor, so exploration and development is difficult and costly.
In January 2020, the National Energy Administration and the Natural Resources Administration replied to the establishment of the first national-level continental shale oil demonstration zone in China - Xinjiang Jimsar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone. The construction of the first batch of independent production wells in the Jimsar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang Oilfield has set two domestic shale oil horizontal well construction records. In 2022, the annual output has exceeded 500,000 tons, and it has made great strides year after year. It is expected to achieve the annual shale oil production target of 1.7 million tons in 2025.
On June 22, 2021, the Daqing Gulong Continental Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone was approved for re-establishment, and on August 28 of the same year, the National Demonstration Zone was unveiled. Gulong shale oil has unique type, huge scale and moderate burial, and has the remarkable characteristics of good hydrocarbon source quality, good reservoir, oil type, high free hydrogen content, high gas-oil ratio, high pressure coefficient and favorable ground. Since the breakthrough of Gulong shale oil in Daqing Oilfield in 2020, the ** geological reserves of 126.8 billion tons, up to now, the cumulative output is 9760,000 tons, 3,960 tons of natural gas960,000 cubic meters.
On August 26, 2022, Sinopec Shengli Jiyang Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone officially started construction. It is the first national demonstration area of shale oil in continental faulted lake basin in China. The preliminary estimated resources of Shengli Jiyang shale oil are 4.1 billion tons. Among them, the peak daily oil production of Fengye 1-1HF well is 2628 tons, once again refreshed the highest daily production record of a single well of shale oil in China, showing the broad prospects of Shengli Jiyang shale oil. Well Fengye 1-6HF was successfully drilled to a depth of 7,025 meters, setting two new records: the deepest horizontal well and the longest shale oil horizontal section of 3,055 meters in the Shengli Jiyang Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone. In 2023, 100,000 tons of production capacity will be built, and it is expected that 1 million tons of shale oil production capacity will be built during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.