Sinopec Group Discovers Abundant Gas Reserves in Southwest China

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) recently discovered an abundance of natural gas in its Zhongjiang field in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The additional proved reserves of natural gas are more than 34 billion cu m and the total proved reserves reach 106.1 billion cu m.

The newly found reserves are expected to improve Sinopec Group's clean energy supply capacity while helping ensure the country's energy security.

They will also contribute to the building of China's first 100 billion cubic meter natural gas production base in the Chongqing and Chengdu area.

Located in Zhongjiang County in Deyang, the gas field covers an area of 404.9 square kilometers with the main reserves buried to depths of 2,000 to 3,000 meters.

So far, the gas field has produced 5.29 billion cu m of natural gas and produced more than 1 billion cu m of natural gas annually for two consecutive years. The energy is enough to meet daily consumption of 5.5 million households.

The Sichuan basin is rich in ultra deep natural gas and deep shale gas and is regarded as a key to improving gas output and storage in the future.

However, the low proven rate and rough conditions for exploitation and construction made the fields difficult and dangerous to develop.

The company has developed more than 20 large-and middle-sized oil and gas fields in the Sichuan basin, accumulatively produced more than 80 billion cu m of natural gas.

The annual natural gas output at present exceeds 8 billion cu m, which benefits more than 200 million residents and thousands of enterprises in eight provincial regions along the Yangtze River.

(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)