China National Petroleum Corporation announced on the 26th that the first national level terrestrial shale oil demonstration zone in China, Jimsar National level Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang, will have a cumulative production of over 1 million tons in 2024, becoming the first national level terrestrial shale oil demonstration zone in China with an annual output of over one million tons. Shale oil is oil that adheres to shale or crevices, and is one of the most difficult oils to extract. Therefore, extracting shale oil is also known in the industry as' squeezing 'oil from rock crevices Chen Yiwei, Deputy Director of the Geological Research Center of Jiqing Oilfield Operation Area of PetroChina Xinjiang Oilfield, introduced that "shale", as the name suggests, is a rock distributed layer by layer like a book page. Shale oil is a petroleum resource stored in shale, which is an emerging oil and gas resource. Due to the continuous growth of global energy demand and the reduction of traditional oil reserves, the market demand for shale oil is constantly increasing. China has abundant shale oil resources, mainly distributed in five large basins including Ordos, Songliao, Junggar, Sichuan, and Bohai Bay, as well as eight small and medium-sized basins including Qaidam, Jianghan, and northern Jiangsu. The recoverable reserves of shale oil rank third in the world. The shale oil resources in Xinjiang are mainly distributed in the three major depressions of Jimsar, Mahu, and Wucaiwan Shishugou, with a total resource of over 3 billion tons and broad prospects for exploration and development. Among them, the estimated amount of Jimsar shale oil resources in the east of the Junggar Basin exceeds 1 billion tons. At present, China has established three national shale oil demonstration zones, including the Jimsar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone in Xinjiang, the Gulong Continental Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone in Daqing Oilfield, and the Shengli Jiyang Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone. In 2023, China's shale oil production will exceed 4 million tons, setting a new historical high. This year, the number of new shale oil wells planned to be put into operation in the Jimsar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone, jointly developed by Xinjiang Oilfield and Tuha Oilfield, has doubled compared to 2023 Chen Yiwei introduced that so far this year, Xinjiang Oilfield and Tuha Oilfield have produced 831000 tons and 180000 tons of shale oil respectively in the Jimsar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone. "Since 2020, the annual production of shale oil has increased nearly threefold." According to China National Petroleum Corporation's plan, the Jimsar National Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Zone will be successfully built and achieve an annual production of 1.7 million tons of shale oil by 2025. Among them, Xinjiang Oilfield completed a production of 1.4 million tons, and Tuha Oilfield completed 300000 tons, providing technical reference for efficient development of unconventional oil reservoirs in China. (New Society)