New major oilfield find in Henan basin

Beijing: A new oilfield with crude oil reserves totaling 107 million tonnes was recently discovered in the Sanmenxia basin in central China’s Henan province, marking a key milestone in the region’s 50-year-long petroleum exploration.

Although China’s petroleum resources discovered so far are mainly in six major basins such as the Ordos Basin and the Tarim Basin, areas like Sanmenxia, characterised by numerous small to medium-sized basins, also boast huge potential for oil and gas exploration, said the China Geological Survey (CGS), which is undertaking the Sanmenxia project.

The CGS is a bureau affiliated with the Natural Resources Ministry .

The Sanmenxia discovery comes against the backdrop of China’s mature oil regions gradually entering the later stages of development, which are typically marked by challenges in maintaining stable supply and high production costs.

Therefore, the exploration of new oilfields holds crucial significance, experts said.Lyu Jianzhong, deputy director of the CNPC Research Centre of China Top Think Tanks, part of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), said that currently, about 70% of China’s crude oil consumption relies on imports. The figure for natural gas exceeds 40%.

“China should take measures to ensure energy security while developing new energy. It should continue to enhance domestic oil and gas exploration and development, expand petroleum and natural gas reserve capacities, and build a comprehensive production-supply-reserve-sales system,” Lyu said.The latest data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed that in 2023, crude oil production in China reached 208 million tonnes, up by over three million tonnes, and by nearly 19 million tonnes over the 2018 level.

Last year, output of domestic oil and gas equivalent – the amount of gas and oil converted into crude oil by equalling the energy produced from the latter – exceeded 390 million tonnes, maintaining a rapid growth trend of over 10 million tonnes annually for seven consecutive years, according to the NEA. — China Daily/ANN