SINOPEC Deep Field Engineering · Sichuan Chongqing Natural Gas Base reports good news again. The proven geological reserves of 235.687 billion cubic meters of Sichuan Ziyang Dongfeng shale gas field submitted by Southwest Oil and Gas Company have been officially approved by the expert group of the Ministry of Natural Resources. China's first ultra deep shale gas field with a capacity of billions of cubic meters was born, and shale gas exploration and development have successfully advanced to a new field of ultra deep layers with a burial depth of over 4500 meters, achieving a historic leap from deep to ultra deep layers.

Ancient gas reservoirs from 540 million years ago

The Ziyang Dongfeng shale gas field is located in the Sichuan Basin and is a large-scale integrated gas field discovered in the Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation shale layer series. The Cambrian shale is the oldest shale formation discovered on a large scale worldwide, formed 540 million years ago and buried at depths of 4500 to 5200 meters. By 2025, the annual natural gas production in the SINOPEC Sichuan Chongqing Basin has exceeded 30 billion cubic meters, with a cumulative proven geological reserve of over 2 trillion cubic meters. The addition of the Dongfeng gas field will inject strong new momentum into this huge production capacity map.

Gnaw on the hard bone of the oldest shale on Earth

Exploring ultra deep shale gas is far more difficult than imagined. A burial depth of over 4500 meters means that the ground temperature exceeds 150 ℃, the formation pressure coefficient is greater than 1.8, the characteristics of shale reservoirs are unclear, the mechanism of accumulation and enrichment is unclear, the difficult to drill formation is thick, and the engineering challenges brought about by the superposition of high temperature and high pressure are enormous. SINOPEC has overcome a series of key technologies such as ultra deep horizontal well drilling and volume fracturing to awaken this 540 million year buried gas field from underground.

At present, SINOPEC has built multiple shale gas fields in the Sichuan Basin, including Fuling, Weiyuan, and Changning. By 2025, the annual shale gas production will exceed 10 billion cubic meters, ranking first in China. The landing of Dongfeng gas field will further consolidate the foundation of national energy security and expand the strategic space for increasing reserves and production.Editor/Cheng Liting