On November 24, Sinopec's press office was informed that Sinopec had made another major breakthrough in its "Deep Earth Project - Sichuan and Chongqing Natural Gas Base", with the first phase of proven geological reserves of the Qijiang shale gas field submitted by Sinopec's Exploration Branch and Southwest Petroleum Bureau passing the validation of the expert group of the Ministry of Natural Resources, marking the birth of another This marks the birth of another large shale gas field of over 100 billion cubic metres in China.

The Qijiang Shale Gas Field is located in the Qijiang District of Chongqing and the Xishui County of Guizhou Province, in a complex tectonic zone on the southeastern Sichuan Basin margin of the Sichuan Basin, which has been transformed by strong tectonic movements and is characterised by "double complexity" on the surface and underground.·

The gas field is the first medium-deep - deep shale gas field discovered in a complex tectonic zone on the basin margin of China. Generally speaking, shale gas with a burial depth of more than 3,500 metres is defined as deep shale gas, and the shale layer in the Qijiang shale gas field spans from 1,900 metres to 4,500 metres, with the main part buried at a depth greater than 3,500 metres. Deep shale gas has a complex overlying stratigraphy, with a number of world-class challenges such as large shale burial depths and variable ground stress, requiring high technical requirements and making exploration and development difficult. If the development of shallow shale gas is to expand the "sheep intestine path" into a "highway", then the development of deep shale gas is to open up mountains and build bridges on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, building complex interlocking "mountain roads". "The difficulty of exploration and development is high.

Sinopec attaches great importance to deep shale gas exploration and has developed a new understanding of the geological theory of shale gas in complex tectonic zones. In order to solve the problem of unclear understanding of shale gas reservoir formation in the "double complex" area at the basin margin, the research team relied on national and Sinopec research projects and the platform of the State Key Laboratory, and conducted more than 10,000 laboratory analyses on cores from more than 1,320 meters underground to reveal the pore development and retention mechanism of deep deep water shelf-phase shale, and clarify This has led to a new understanding of the "overpressure and gas-rich" nature of deep shale gas and guided the selection of targets for evaluation.

In response to the problem of low and unstable production in the early exploratory well tests, the team has developed an innovative three-dimensional fracture network fracturing technology for deep shale "close cutting, pressure expansion, balanced extension and filling". This technology has initially opened up the "seven meridians and eight veins" of deep shale, just like building a village and household highway system on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and shale gas flows out continuously along these three-dimensional channels, with remarkable results in boosting production. The daily production of deep shale gas from a single well has broken the 300,000 cubic metres, 400,000 cubic metres and 500,000 cubic metres mark, and the deep shale gas fracturing technology has gradually matured.

Over the years, Sinopec has always closely integrated the exploration of deep earth with the implementation of the new energy security strategy of "four revolutions and one cooperation", and has continued to make efforts in the research, exploration and development of deep earth oil and gas. In August this year, Sinopec took the lead in launching the report on the results of the "Deep Earth Project", which is considered by the industry as a "major national weapon" for deep oil and gas exploration and development and has broad prospects. The technology is considered to be a major tool for deep oil and gas exploration and development, with broad prospects. In the field of deep shale gas, Sinopec has 6.3 trillion cubic metres of deep shale gas resources in the Sichuan Basin, which is an important area for increasing shale gas reserves and production in the future.