China's Changqing Oilfield Exceeds 60 Million Tonnes in Annual Output, Sustaining Six-Year Growth Momentum

On 26 November, China National Petroleum Corporation's Changqing Oilfield announced that its annual oil and gas equivalent production has surpassed 60 million tonnes. This achievement marks the sixth consecutive year of sustained production growth and follows its milestone in 2020, when Changqing became China's first ultra-large oil and gas field to reach annual output above 60 million tonnes.

Located primarily in the Ordos Basin and spanning Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia, Changqing Oilfield is situated in reservoirs internationally recognised as typical 'three-low' formations — characterised by low pressure, low permeability, and low abundance — where economic development poses a global technical challenge. Through continuous strengthening of exploration, development, and technological innovation, the field has pushed beyond the limits of profitable exploitation in 'three-low' reservoirs. It has established China's first 3-million-tonne shale oil production base and a 50-billion-cubic-metre gas field. In 2024, Changqing set a record high in annual production, contributing one-sixth of China's total national output.

In 2025, Changqing Oilfield continues to demonstrate strong development momentum, adhering to the concept of 'energy equivalent' and advancing three critical priorities: efficient exploration, lean development, and new energy construction. This strategy aims to establish a rational reserve sequence, optimise development processes, and accelerate the creation of a low-carbon industrial structure. Anchored to the strategic goal of 'two firsts,' the oilfield is advancing the 'four major projects' to ensure stable growth in energy equivalent.

The oilfield has maintained a resource-oriented approach, successively establishing five oil-bearing zones — Ji Yuan, Longdong, Huaqing, Northern Shaanxi, and Qingcheng shale oil fields — each containing more than 1 billion tonnes of oil equivalent. Additionally, the Sulige region, eastern basin, Lower Palaeozoic, southwestern basin, and coalbed methane fields each hold more than 1 trillion cubic metres of gas. These breakthroughs have accelerated the full-scale development of China's low-permeability tight oil and gas resources, with nearly 30% of China's newly proven reserves over the past three years originating from Changqing.

Shale oil and gas, together with coalbed methane, have become crucial successor resources of strategic value. In recent years, Changqing Oilfield has prioritised innovation-driven development and fundamental research. At the Qing H41 platform in the Qingcheng shale oil field, it established China's first hydraulic fracturing test site, advancing single-well productivity and achieving profitable shale oil recovery. At the Mizhi coalbed methane site in Shaanxi, the field pioneered 'zero proppant' fracturing technology, transitioning from traditional slurry-sand mixtures to pure-fluid fracturing. In the Yuán 284 block in eastern Longxi, it built CNPC's first demonstration zone for water injection transformation in ultra-low permeability reservoirs, increasing oil production fourfold and raising annual output from 48,000 tonnes to 196,000 tonnes.

Aligned with China's dual-carbon goals, Changqing Oilfield has accelerated the development of new productive forces, actively participating in the construction of multi-energy integrated renewable bases combining 'desert-grassland-wasteland resources' with 'wind-solar-gas-storage-hydrogen.' It has built 2,780 photovoltaic power stations, generating more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours in cumulative electricity. Meanwhile, Changqing's annual natural gas production has exceeded 50 billion cubic metres since 2022, accounting for 50% of the supply transported through the West-East Gas Pipeline. This ensures stable gas supplies for more than 50 major and medium-sized cities — including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia — supporting regional industrial transformation and providing clean-energy momentum for national strategic initiatives.