China has achieved comprehensive and groundbreaking results in oil and gas exploration during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Prioritizing oil and gas development in the national mineral resource breakthrough strategy, Chinese authorities have invested nearly 450 billion yuan in exploration and construction, unlocking massive domestic energy reserves and greatly strengthening national energy security.
China's proven oil and gas geological reserves have achieved rapid and substantial growth in recent years. A total of 225 new large and medium-sized oil and gas fields have been discovered nationwide, including 13 ultra-large oil fields with reserves of over 100 million tons and 26 giant gas fields with reserves exceeding 100 billion cubic meters. Compared with the 13th Five-Year Plan period, newly proven crude oil reserves increased by 51.7%, while hydrocarbon natural gas reserves rose by 44.2%.
Deep coalbed methane exploration made historic progress, with newly verified reserves exceeding 1 trillion cubic meters, surpassing the total historical proven reserves of shallow coalbed methane in China. As a new growth driver for the energy sector, unconventional oil and gas resources have played an increasingly prominent role. In 2025, China successfully confirmed commercial shale oil reserves in 8 major oil fields across 5 key basins, accounting for 38% of the country's newly added annual oil reserves.
Boosted by soaring proven reserves, China's domestic oil and gas output has maintained steady and high-level growth. The country's annual crude oil output has remained above 200 million tons for years, hitting a record high of 216 million tons in 2025. Natural gas production exceeded 260 billion cubic meters in the same year, marking nine consecutive years of annual growth of over 10 billion cubic meters.
In terms of unconventional energy output, China's shale oil production surpassed 8.5 million tons, and shale gas output stabilized above 27 billion cubic meters, serving as a vital supplement to conventional energy supply. The country's total oil and gas output reached 420 million tons of oil equivalent, providing stable and reliable energy support for domestic economic and social development.
China's oil and gas exploration has expanded from shallow land areas to ultra-deep underground and deep-sea territories, forming a three-dimensional exploration pattern. The Tamuke No.1 ultra-deep well successfully penetrated 10,000 meters of strata, discovering oil and gas indicators at a 10,000-meter depth for the first time globally. This finding breaks the traditional geological consensus that ultra-deep formations contain no fossil energy, opening up a new frontier for deep-earth energy exploration.
In deep-water energy development, China's ultra-deepwater gas field "Deep Sea One" has been fully operational, pushing the country's offshore oil and gas exploration technology to world-class standards. China's total offshore oil and gas output has exceeded 90 million tons of oil equivalent, representing a pivotal strategic breakthrough from shallow to deep and from onshore to offshore energy exploration.
Technological independence has become the core competitiveness of China's energy industry. China has independently developed key seismic exploration technologies and formed a complete technical system for 10,000-meter ultra-deep well drilling. In addition, major breakthroughs in helium extraction from natural gas have ended the country's long-term reliance on imported helium, realizing self-sufficiency for core helium demands.
These technological innovations strongly support domestic energy exploration and production, while significantly enhancing China's technological influence and comprehensive competitiveness in the global energy market, laying a solid foundation for long-term national energy security.