This aerial photo taken on November 4, 2023 shows a major gas and oil processing station in the Fuman oilfield in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Photo: Xinhua

Fuman Oilfield in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has witnessed its daily production of oil and gas reach 10,000 tons, marking a new phase of oilfield output for wells deeper than 8,000 meters, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) announced on Tuesday. 

It marks another "deep-earth benchmark" for high-quality exploration and development in complex formations deeper than 8,000 meters. With a depth of 7,000-10,000 meters, Fuman Oilfield is recognized as an "exploration-forbidden zone" due to its extremely complex geological conditions, such as ultra-deep burial, ultra-high temperature, ultra-high pressure, and high hydrogen sulfide content, according to CNPC.

Niu Ge, an engineer at CNPC, noted that high-yield wells at Fuman Oilfield, including one exceeding 9,000 meters and others more than 8,000 meters deep, confirm the resource potential of the Taklimakan's ultra-deep layers and lay the foundation for the high output of the oilfield, according to a CCTV News report on Tuesday.

In recent years, Tarim Oilfield in Xinjiang has innovated ultra-deep geological theories, identifying 70 oil- and gas-rich faults, leading to more than 300 ultra-deep wells. These wells primarily yield light crude oil, often with associated natural gas. The Tarim Oilfield has achieved the full storage of oil and gas in the heart of the desert by building new processing facilities.

"Over the past two years, we have built extensive oil and gas pipelines along fault zones and a large number of oil and gas processing facilities spanning 200 kilometers, which are capable of processing 5 million tons of oil and gas annually. This enables nearly 10,000 tons of crude oil output and 5 million cubic meters of natural gas to be collected daily," said Wang Ziyue, director of the Production Operations Department at Tarim Oilfield, according to CCTV News.

Tarim Oilfield has developed 150 ultra-deep wells with cumulative yields exceeding 10,000 tons each, including 35 wells with cumulative output surpassing 100,000 tons each, forming the backbone of production growth. 

This year, the average drilling depth in the Taklimakan Desert exceeded 8,300 meters, with 40 wells of more than 8,000 meters completed in the first half, averaging 8,350 meters. It has become the oil and gas area with the most ultra-deep wells drilled on land in China.

In January, the Shenditake-1 well, China's first scientific exploration well exceeding 10,000 meters, reached 10,910 meters deep, revealing oil and gas potential at extreme depths.

Ultra-deep drilling technology has accelerated the extraction of 1 billion tons of oil reserves. A recently operational well in Fuman Oilfield, drilled to 8,593 meters in 104 days, reflects a reduced drilling cycle. Advanced equipment, including automated intelligent rigs and high-efficiency diamond drill bits, tackles extreme conditions, according to CCTV News.

Also, China has made notable progress in shale oil. On July 23, CNPC reported that Changqing Oilfield's shale oil production exceeded 10,000 tons daily, reaching 10,006 tons. Located in the Ordos Basin in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, exploration of the shale oil field, with thin heterogeneous layers, posed significant challenges. 

There was no precedent for economically effective development internationally. However, after 15 years of scientific research and technology breakthroughs, Changqing Oilfield has drilled 135 wells, with new wells deployed in 2025 adding 1,320 tons of daily oil output, according to CNPC. 

Global Times