China’s biggest oil & natural gas basin reaches record output

Over 60 million tons equivalent of crude oil and natural gas has been produced at China’s Changqing Oilfield so far this year. The volume accounts for about a sixth of domestic production.

Located in Northwest China’s Erdos basin, the oilfield has produced 24.5 million tons of crude oil and 44.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas (equivalent to about 35.5 million tons of crude oil) as of Sunday.

According to Changqing’s operator, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), it became the first oilfield in the country to pass the 60-million-ton mark in annual oil and gas output. 

Over its 50-year history the Changqing Oilfield has played an important role in safeguarding the country’s energy security. It has supplied gas to more than 50 cities in north and northwest China, including the Chinese capital, Beijing.

Its oil and gas production areas cover Northwest China’s Shaanxi and Gansu, and North China’s Shanxi provinces, as well as the Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui and North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. In recent years, the oilfield has started developing alternative energy sources such as tight gas and shale oil, pushing up its annual output.

As the largest natural gas producer in China, the oilfield is contributing to China’s efforts in replacing coal with clean energies such as natural gas and hydropower, CNPC said. Beijing has promised to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

“Changqing Oilfield has so far produced 468.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas. This is equivalent to replacing 562 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon emissions by 1.53 billion tons,” said the manager of the oilfield’s gas development division Wu Zheng, as quoted by China Daily.

The oilfield is set to raise its annual output to 68 million tons of oil equivalent by 2025.

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