China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has reported progress in the development of shale oil at its Jiyang pilot project in east China, reported Reuters.

The Jiyang project is located in Shandong province and spans 7,300km².

The shale oil field currently boasts 36 wells, each with a daily output exceeding 100 tonnes (t).

Among all the wells, Fengye 1-1HF well has achieved the highest daily production rate of 262.8t.

The field is pumping 1,600t per day, a substantial increase from the 100t reported in 2021.

This development aligns with the company's 2022 target to produce 500,000tpa of oil at Jiyang by 2025.

The Jiyang shale oil zone, part of the older Shengli oilfield, is estimated to hold a resource of 10.5 billion tonnes (bt).

Out of this, 1.73bt are identified as prospective reserves.

Despite the vast resource size, shale oil extraction remains one of the most geologically challenging and cost-intensive types of oil production, contributing to only 1% of China's total crude oil output.

In March 2024, Sinopec also commenced production at the West Sichuan gas field in Sichuan province, China.

This project is estimated to hold 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas reserves and is expected to produce 130,000tpa of sulphur.

Additionally, in June, Sinopec entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sonatrach to explore new oil and gas opportunities.

The MOU aims to strengthen the partnership between the two companies, with a focus on exploration, renewable energy and petrochemicals.

Recently, it was reported that Timor-Leste has held talks with Chinese companies including state-owned Sinopec about developing the long-delayed Greater Sunrise gas field.