As China continues to grow with an unmatched intensity, it’s leaders and people alike clammer for an ever-growing amount of oil and gas. This constant cry has lead China to become the world’s largest importer of shale oil. Though China boasts the world’s third highest technically recoverable deposits of shale oil, the energy-hungry nation has yet to find success tapping its vast reserves.
Until now. A fresh discovery in China’s northwestern region could have implications for the future not only of China’s oil and gas projects, but the world’s industry at large.
The Jimsar Bonanza
In February, months of exploration at China’s Jimsar shale deposit yielded exciting results. A test well in China’s northwestern region began producing a daily output of 100 tons of oil (or 733 barrels). The benchmark could have enormous implications for China’s up-til-now underperforming energy industry. For the first time in the country’s history of oil and gas exploration, experts suggest that the Jimsar discovery could have commercial applications.
At the very least, the discovery could serve as a shot in the arm for China’s oilfield service companies, as well as those international companies who move to the region. Analyst Andy Meng noted, “We believe the Jimsar shale oil discovery is likely to trigger China’s shale oil revolution.”
One Piece of the Puzzle
Thanks to the Jimsar’s yield, China is now expected to reach as many as 200,000 barrels per day in the region as early as 2025. That’s an admirable goal, and such production would undoubtedly help slake China’s growing need for energy. Of course, it still won’t fill China’s entire need, and it won’t be enough to dethrone the juggernaut that is the United States shale oil industry (not by a long shot.)
If estimates put forth by the International Energy Agency late last year hold true, then, “By 2025, nearly every fifth barrel of oil and every fourth cubic meter of gas in the world come from the United States.”
A Boon to the Chinese
Though it will ultimately do little to disturb the United States’ spot at the top of the world’s energy power list, the Jimsar discovery should prove beneficial to the hundreds of Chinese citizens who soon find themselves working in one of the slew of new positions destined to be created in the wake of the discovery.
It may be just a blip in the grand scheme of the International oil and gas terrain, the Jimsar discovery is proof of China’s willingness to grow and adapt to meet its own energy needs.