View of a shale gas drilling platform in Luxian, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 24, 2022. Photo: VCG

A new well in the Sichuan Basin has yielded high flows of shale oil and gas, with daily production of 38.64 cubic meters of oil and 10,000 cubic meters of gas, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday. The results confirm the discovery of a new shale oil field, which boasts estimated reserves surpassing 100 million tons, and represents a significant expansion of China's shale resources.

Shale oil, which is an unconventional petroleum resource found in shale formations, holds vast development potential. It is considered as a key driver for maintaining China's long-term stable crude oil output.

Located in Qijiang district of Chongqing Municipality, the well, named Qiluye-1, was drilled into shale reservoirs more than 2,000 meters underground, with a horizontal section extending over two kilometers and encountering nearly 40 meters of oil-bearing shale. The discovery indicates that a new type of high-quality shale layer stretches over 1,000 square kilometers in the area - signaling strong prospects of exploration and development, according to the report.

According to a representative from the Sinopec exploration branch, the shale oil at the Qiluye-1 is shallowly buried and of high quality with promising economic benefits.

The Qijiang shale gas field was discovered in 2022 with proven reserves of hundreds of billions of cubic meters of shale gas. The high-yields of shale oil and gas from the Qiluye-1 well have expanded the unconventional resource portfolio of the region. 

In 2024, China's shale oil output reached 705,000 tons, up 308,000 tons from the previous year. In 2025, Sinopec submitted over 200 million tons of proven geological reserves of shale oil and 12.35 billion cubic meters of gas, according to the CCTV report.

Global Times