Article source: Xinjiang Daily

On May 4th, the Jimusaer National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang was bustling with drilling, new well fracturing, and spectacular production capacity construction.

The Jimusar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang is the first national shale oil demonstration zone in China. In the first quarter of this year, Xinjiang Oilfield and Tuha Oilfield jointly produced 315000 tons of shale oil in Jimusaer, setting a new historical high.

Currently, in this national demonstration zone, which covers an area of 1278 square kilometers and has an estimated resource reserve of over 1 billion tons, efforts are being accelerated to increase shale oil storage and production.

According to the plan, 100 shale oil drilling and 110 fracturing wells will be completed in the Jiqing Oilfield operation area of Xinjiang Oilfield this year.

"In the first quarter, the shale oil production in the operating area reached 215000 tons, an increase of 46% compared to the same period last year; the daily shale oil production was 2800 tons, an increase of 700 tons year-on-year." Wang Wei, a senior petroleum engineering engineer in the Jiqing Oilfield operating area of Xinjiang Oilfield, said that there are currently 27 wells being drilled in the operating area, marking the largest production capacity construction scale since the establishment of the operating area.

This year, Tuha Oilfield plans to build a shale oil production capacity of 162000 tons in Jimusaer and deploy 25 new drilling wells. In the first quarter of this year, the shale oil production of Tuha Oilfield reached 100158 tons.

Shale oil is a type of oil that adheres to shale or crevices and is one of the most difficult to extract. Wu Chengmei, a second level engineer at the Geological Research Center of the Jiqing Oilfield Operation Area in Xinjiang Oilfield, introduced that the Jimusaer shale oil is generally buried more than 3800 meters underground. Not only is the burial depth deep, but the permeability is also particularly low, and the difficulty of extraction is like extracting oil from a grinding stone. In recent years, Xinjiang Oilfield has innovatively established a comprehensive identification problem for high-quality shale oil reservoirs, promoting the drilling rate of the "golden target" of shale oil to increase from 44% to 85%.

The global traditional oil resources are constantly decreasing, and the extraction of shale oil, which is difficult to access, has been put on the agenda. Currently, shale oil has been discovered in 75 basins in 21 countries worldwide, with recoverable resources ranging from 70 billion to 80 billion tons. China has abundant shale oil resources, distributed in five large basins including Ordos, Songliao, Junggar, Sichuan, and Bohai Bay, as well as eight small and medium-sized basins including Qaidam, Jianghan, and northern Jiangsu. Its recoverable reserves rank third in the world. Xinjiang has abundant shale oil resources, mainly distributed in the three major depressions of Jimusaer, Mahu, and Wucaiwan Shishugou, with a total resource of over 3 billion tons and broad exploration and development prospects.

At present, the United States is the world's largest producer of shale oil, accounting for 35% of the total global production. The shale oil revolution in North America has had a profound impact on the world energy landscape, and China has identified shale oil resources as an important battlefield for future oil replacement.

As of now, China has approved the establishment of three national shale oil demonstration zones, including the Jimusaer National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang, the Gulong Continental Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone in Daqing, and the Shengli Jiyang Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone. The Jimusar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang was approved for establishment in 2020, making it the first national shale oil demonstration zone in China. 

In 2023, the Jimusaer block of Tuha Oilfield produced 140000 tons of shale oil. As of May 4th this year, a total of 47 wells have been drilled in the Jimusaer shale oil block of Tuha Oilfield, with an annual production capacity of 200000 tons of shale oil.

It is expected that by the end of the 14th Five Year Plan period, the Jimusaer National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang will form an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tons.

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