China's largest natural gas producer in the southwestern region has reported robust growth in both oil and gas production for the first six months of the year.
The company, a major subsidiary of PetroChina (SSE: 601857), recorded a total natural gas output of 25.31 billion cubic meters, pushing its oil and gas equivalent production past 20 million tons, marking a new historical high for the period.
As the primary supplier for the region, the firm drilled five high-yield industrial gas wells, each with a capacity exceeding one million cubic meters. Natural gas production increased by 1.296 billion cubic meters compared to the same period last year, a rise of 5.4%. Crude oil output saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 62.26%, contributing to an overall growth of approximately 6% in oil and gas equivalent, adding 1.15 million tons and setting another record for the first half.
Exploration Milestones and Resource Base
According to the company's geophysical department head, significant breakthroughs have been made in exploration. A key discovery was the Shunqing Oil Field, the first tight oil field in the Sichuan Basin, which fills a gap in the basin's large-scale exploration for tight oil and solidifies the resource foundation for future crude oil production increases.
The Sichuan Basin holds China's richest natural gas resources but is known in the industry as a "natural gas geology museum" due to its exceptionally complex geological formations, making ultra-deep gas exploration and development particularly challenging.
Overcoming Challenges and Technological Advancements
Despite challenges like complex reservoir conditions, the company has achieved efficient production at major conventional gas fields such as the Anyue and Penglai fields. A number of older wells have been revitalized with precise re-drilling techniques to regain industrial gas flows, breathing new life into mature fields. In the unconventional gas sector, continuous technological improvements in deep shale gas and tight gas development have steadily increased both per-well output and recovery rates.
Future Production Plans and Strategic Role
The company's deputy chief geologist outlined plans for the second half of the year, which include bringing 177 new wells into production and building new annual capacity of 4.188 billion cubic meters. It is projected that by the end of this year, the company's total oil and gas equivalent output will surpass 41 million tons, laying a solid groundwork for sustained production growth in the coming years.
As the largest natural gas production and supply enterprise in Southwest China, the company is responsible for supplying over 75% of the natural gas for the Sichuan-Chongqing region and handles 25% of the national gas peak-shaving demand. The natural gas produced not only supports the construction of a trillion-cubic-meter-level natural gas production base in the region but is also transported via major energy corridors like the West-to-East Gas Pipeline to the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, benefiting hundreds of millions of people. This plays a crucial supporting role in ensuring national energy security and promoting regional green, low-carbon development.