Chongqing - China has reached a major milestone in shale oil exploration with the discovery of the Fuxing Oilfield in the Sichuan Basin. This is the first shale oilfield in the country's southwest, providing a Chinese solution for developing shale oil in complex geological conditions worldwide.

On July 31, 2025, the Ministry of Natural Resources approved proven geological reserves at Fuxing of 20.10 million tonnes of oil and 12.35 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The field is located in Rensha Town, Chongqing's Fengdu County, within the Sichuan Basin, and represents the basin's first successful large-scale shale oil discovery after more than a decade of exploration.

On August 4, in Rensha Town, Fengdu County, staff conduct inspections at the Taiye-1 pilot production station of the Fuxing Oilfield. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)

Wang Feng, head of Chongqing University's Energy Economics Department, said the discovery breaks the traditional perception of the Sichuan Basin's energy profile and creates opportunities for petrochemical industry development in Chongqing, which previously relied entirely on imported refined oil.

While Wang noted that refining could occur locally or in existing hubs like Chengdu, he stressed that "having oil at home" enhances Chongqing's role in national energy planning.

Ge Lan, deputy manager of Jianghan Oilfield Shale Gas Management Department, emphasized that, unlike U.S. shale oil deposits, China's resources are often buried thousands of meters deep in geologically complex formations. The success at Fuxing offers a valuable Chinese sample for developing volatile shale oil reservoirs with high clay content and strong plasticity.

The Sichuan Basin has long been considered "gas-rich, oil-poor," with significant finds such as the Fuling and Puguang gas fields reinforcing this view. Initial attempts in 2009 to tap oil and gas from the Daanzhai section yielded some hydrocarbons but failed to produce commercially viable output.

Sinopec Jianghan Oilfield's Liu Qiaoping recalled that after drilling over 10 wells, "the production was never enough for industrial-scale extraction." By 2012, efforts shifted to shale gas, and the Fuling shale gas field discovery triggered rapid technological advances, including the adoption of horizontal wells and volume fracturing that sharply cut drilling times and boosted production.

Jianghan Oilfield has already engaged in technical exchanges with Saudi Aramco, and it sees export potential for its methods and equipment to Belt and Road co-building countries and regions such as the Middle East and Africa.

Also, representatives of the Fuling shale gas project reported achieving over 90% reuse of drilling wastewater, 100% safe disposal of solid waste, and large-scale adoption of electric fracturing to reduce energy consumption and noise, setting a benchmark for green development in China's unconventional oil and gas sector.