Deep within the underground rock strata of Gaoqing County, Shandong Province, China's energy exploration is writing a new era legend. After more than a decade of technological breakthroughs, Shengli Oilfield recently announced that the Fan Ye Ping 1 block, China's first billion-ton shale oil field, has passed the national review, with proven geological reserves of 140 million tons and technically recoverable reserves exceeding 11.35 million tons. This breakthrough not only sets a new record for shale oil development in China but also firmly holds the energy bowl in the hands of the Chinese people themselves.
Technology Empowers the Awakening of Dormant Treasures
Facing the world-class exploration challenge of continental rift lake basin shale oil, the research team of Shengli Oilfield broke through the shackles of traditional theories and innovatively formed a "storage-fracture-pressure" ternary storage and seepage theoretical system. Through 150,000 laboratory simulations and full-process automation renovations, the drilling cycle was shortened from 133 days to 17.7 days, and the number of layers for three-dimensional development was expanded from 3 to 7. At the 19.6-acre Fan Ye Ping 1 well site, remote control equipment and unmanned operation systems are running around the clock, performing the technological miracle of extracting oil from "stone crevices" in a 6,000-meter deep well.
Green Mining: Safeguarding the Green Mountains and Clear Waters
This oilfield has pioneered a fully electric-driven fracturing process, achieving full closed-loop treatment of oil, water and gas, ensuring that "oil does not touch the ground, water is not discharged outside, and gas does not go into the sky". During the fracturing operation in 2022, the government and enterprises worked together to urgently allocate water resources, ensuring the smooth completion of continuous operations and demonstrating the exemplary power of oilfield integration. This eco-friendly development model has set a green benchmark for the shale oil industry.
The future is promising as the energy foundation is being strengthened.
With the reassessment of 1.05 billion tons of shale oil resources, Shengli Oilfield plans to add 80 million tons of proven reserves and produce 700,000 tons of oil this year. From the record-breaking 61,500 tons of single-well production set by the Fengye 1HF well to the new drilling wells currently under construction, this breakthrough not only rewrites the energy map but also highlights the ambition of Chinese scientists to "march into the deep earth". As the black gold continues to gush from the rock layers three to four kilometers underground, China's confidence in energy self-sufficiency is steadily growing.