Sinopec, China’s state-owned oil and gas giant, has announced that it is now pumping 1,600 metric tons per day (mmt/d) of shale oil at its pilot project in Jiyang, east China, an increase from the 100 tons it was producing in 2021.

Herein, Sinopec is well on track to achieve its 2022-set target of producing 500,000 tons a year by 2025 at the Jiyang field, according to Reuters. This field, located in Shandong province and spanning an area of 7,300 sq km (1.8 million acres), is a key part of Sinopec’s strategy to enhance domestic energy security.

In response to the central government’s call to boost domestic energy security, China’s national oil companies are intensifying their efforts to tap into hard-to-extract shale deposits, compensating for the rapid depletion of older, conventional oilfields.

Currently, the Jiyang field has 36 wells, each pumping more than 100 tons a day. The Fengye 1-1HF well holds the record for the highest daily output, producing 262.8 tons.

The Jiyang shale oil zone is part of the aging conventional Shengli oilfield and is estimated to contain 10.5 billion tons of shale oil resources, of which 1.73 billion tons have been identified as prospective reserves.

Despite the vast resource size, shale oil remains one of the most geologically challenging and costly types of oil to explore and produce. Currently, shale oil output constitutes only 1% of China’s total crude oil production.