Thread Content
Recently, news came from the Fuling shale gas field of Sinopec. As China’s first large-scale shale gas field to be put into commercial development, its total gas production has now exceeded 60 billion cubic meters. The Fuling shale gas field is located in districts and counties such as Fuling, Nanchuan, Wulong, Zhongxian, Liangping, and Fengdu in Chongqing Municipality. Construction on it began in December 2012, and commercial production started in March 2014; it is one of the important gas sources for the Sichuan Gas to East China pipeline project. To date, the gas field has an accumulated proven reserve of nearly 900 billion cubic meters, with a daily production of around 23 million cubic meters of shale gas. Since the development of these gas fields, six core technologies for efficient shale gas development have been established: comprehensive geological assessment of shale gas, development design and optimization, rapid drilling of horizontal well clusters, efficient fracturing for long horizontal wells, integrated gas production processes, and green development methods. Meanwhile, by taking advantage of the strengths across the entire industrial chain, equipment such as electric drill rigs and fracturing units has been developed independently, with all key equipment being manufactured domestically. The Fuling shale gas field provides replicable and scalable experiences in aspects such as shale gas exploration and development, technical equipment, standards and regulations, as well as the integration of industry, academia, and research. It plays a vital role in promoting the high-quality development of China’s shale gas industry, supplying clean energy to over 70 cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.