China has discovered deep shale gas reserves in two major gas fields in the southwest, each holding more than 100 billion cubic metres (bcm) of proven reserves, as the country continues its push for greater energy security.
The state-owned China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) said late Thursday that the government had certified 165 bcm of natural gas reserves at the Hongxing field, which spans Hubei province and Chongqing municipality.
“It proves the Hongxing region’s strong resource potential and this new strategic shale gas reserve contributes to national energy security,” Sinopec said in a statement.
Sinopec also disclosed last week that the Ministry of Natural Resources had certified a further 124.6 bcm of geological reserves in the Yongchuan shale field – a site in the Sichuan Basin that was founded in 2016 and had 23.5 bcm of reserves verified in 2019.
The reserves at both of the newly discovered shale gas fields lie in rock layers more than 3.3 kilometres underground, with complex structural deformation that will make exploration and extraction challenging. Sinopec said it was working on developing technology to address these difficulties.
The company has been exploring the Sichuan Basin – a region of southwestern China rich in deep-layer oil and gas resources – for more than a decade. So far, it has discovered five large shale gas fields in the area, including a site in Fuling with 1 trillion cubic metres of reserves and four 100-bcm-class fields in Weirong, Qijiang, Yongchuan and Hongxing, according to the statement.
