China discovers large shale gas reserves

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 26, 2025 shows a scene at the Hongxing shale gas field in Lichuan City, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo by Song Guoliang/Xinhua)

WUHAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), one of the country's three biggest oil companies, on Thursday announced the discovery of more than 165 billion cubic meters of proven shale gas reserves in a field located at the junction of Hubei Province in central China and southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

This discovery marks the emergence of another large-scale shale gas field in China, with this find named the Hongxing shale gas field.

The shale gas reserves at this site were found at depths between 3,300 and 5,500 meters. The geological structure is complex -- which presents significant challenges in terms of exploration and development, according to Sinopec.

With technological innovation, the Hongxing shale gas field has achieved a single-well test production volume of 323,500 cubic meters per day -- up from an initial 89,000 cubic meters per day.

Currently, Sinopec has established one shale gas field with reserves above 1 trillion cubic meters, namely the Fuling shale gas field in Chongqing, and four smaller and deep shale gas fields each with reserves exceeding 100 billion cubic meters, including the Hongxing field.