Huge ultra-deep shale gas field discovered in China

The oil company China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) recently announced the discovery of a new ultra-deep shale gas field in the Sichuan basin, an area in southwestern China, famous for its abundant reserves of this hydrocarbon.

The field, called Hexingchang, is located between the cities of Deyang and Mianyang, and has proven geological reserves of 133,012 million cubic meters, as certified by the Ministry of Natural Resources, cited by Sinopec.

In this way, Hexingchang becomes the first ultra-deep shale gas field of this magnitude discovered in the country. According to the Reuters agency, the new reserve marks the birth of another important compact gas field as the state giant intensifies drilling of deep and difficult-to-extract deposits.

The field is located in an area with deep and narrow sandstone gas reservoirs featuring high pressure and ultra-low porosity, characteristics that pose a considerable challenge to Sinopec. However, 21 new exploration wells have been drilled at a depth of between 4,500 and 5,500 meters. It is estimated that each of them produces a daily average of 155,000 cubic meters of gas, detailed the specialized newspaper Upstream. With RT

Related