Chinese oil major Sinopec said it has booked large proven reserves of gas at its ultra-deep Ziyang Dongfeng shale gas field.

It said it had secured official approval for proven geological reserves of 235.687 billion cubic metres for the Ziyang Dongfeng field, which lies deeper than 4,500 metres in the Sichuan Basin.

To overcome the challenges of exploring and evaluating the formation deep underground, Sinopec said it had used artificial intelligence integrated with geophysical imaging to identify the reservoir.

"This validates the formation's vast potential and gives us a replicable technical pathway to expand China's shale gas development frontier," Sinopec Southwest Petroleum Bureau director Liu Wei said.

The company did not say when it hopes to start producing gas from the field.

Sinopec brought its first major shale gas field, Fuling, into operation in 2017.

Between 2018 and 2025, the company also confirmed several deep shale gas fields with reserves of more than 100 billion cubic meters, including Weirong, Qijiang, Yongchuan and Hongxing. (Reuters)


Edited by Tony Sabine