China begins using the deepest oil and gas field discovered by mankind

On August 10, China’s Sinopec Petrochemical Corporation announced that the company’s Shunbei oil and gas field had successfully tested high-yield industrial oil and gas flows at a depth of 8000 meters underground.

The field will go into production with a daily capacity of 1,017 tons of oil and gas, which means the exploration and development of the deepest oil and gas field in the world, and will provide a strategic scientific and technological strength for China to secure energy jobs.

The Shunbei oil and gas field is located in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, and is expected to produce 244 tons of crude oil and 970,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day, according to the Chinese, “The People” newspaper.

The field contains 41 oil and gas wells with a vertical depth of more than 8000 meters, and 76 wells with a depth of 7500 to 8000 meters.

It is worth noting that China’s reserves of deep and “ultra-deep” oil and gas have reached 67.1 billion tons of oil equivalent, accounting for 34% of China’s total oil and gas resources.

The production of oil refineries in China fell, during the six months ending in June (2022), to its lowest level since at least 2011, as the strict restrictions imposed by the country to combat the covid-19, in addition to curbing the export of fuel, led to a decline production.

Because of the closures, GDP growth in the world’s second-largest economy slowed to 2.5% during April and May, according to data monitored by the specialized energy platform.

In June, the production of Chinese oil refineries reached 54.94 million tons, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, according to Reuters.

In the opposite direction, and on the contrary, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China’s production of crude oil rose 3.6% year on year to 17.19 million tons last month, with the highest daily production rate at 4.18 million barrels per day.

Crude oil production rose in the first six months of this year by 4% compared to the previous year to 102.88 million tons (4.15 million barrels per day), as national oil companies rushed to develop conventional and non-conventional resources at Beijing’s call to enhance the security of domestic supplies.

Despite record production, the increase in crude oil production remains marginal, as China imports nearly three-quarters of its oil needs.