Domestic oil, gas production hits record in 2023

An employee of China National Offshore Oil Corp operates at an offshore drilling platform in the Bohai Sea in November. [Photo/Xinhua]

Oil and gas production reached a record high in China last year, as domestic companies stepped up upstream exploitation and exploration of the fossil fuels to ensure energy security, the National Energy Administration said.

Domestic oil and gas production equivalent exceeded 390 million metric tons last year, with an average annual growth rate of 11.7 million tons of oil equivalent.

Crude oil production, meanwhile, rose to 208 million tons, up more than 3 million tons compared with that in 2022, while natural gas production reached 230 billion cubic meters, it said.

Production of unconventional natural gas, including tight gas, shale gas, coal-bed methane, and natural gas hydrates, exceeded 96 billion cubic meters last year, constituting 43 percent of the total natural gas output and emerging as a significant growth driver in the increase and storage of natural gas, NEA said.

China has been accelerating efforts in oil and gas exploration, focusing on increasing capacity and storage of oil and gas, and adopting advanced technologies to bolster energy security and reduce its reliance on foreign energy resources, said Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF.

The nation's domestic gas output grew 6 percent last year as the country has been hiking investment in oil and gas exploration in recent years, Li added.

Surging nonconventional gas production, which is estimated to have spiked by around a third from the previous year in 2023, has contributed immensely to enhanced domestic gas supply security, she said.

"China is on a fast track to further exploit deep-sea gas resources, which will in turn further strengthen the country's energy security in the offshore sector."

China's offshore oil and gas output has great upside potential, Li added.

According to the energy administration, growth in the oil sector last year came mostly from offshore sources, with domestic offshore crude oil production exceeding 62 million tons, accounting for over 60 percent of the national increase in crude oil production.

China National Offshore Oil Corp has said previously that the exploitation of offshore natural gas resources is steadily advancing toward ultra-deep waters.

China has also been making major breakthroughs in independent marine exploration.

CNOOC recently completed a 3,000-meter deep seabed geology exploration, with an independently developed marine seismic exploration and acquisition equipment — "Haijing" — which is a major breakthrough in the country's independent marine exploration technology.