China’s state-run China Petrochemical Group, Sinopec, says it has discovered a massive oilfield in the Tarim Basin, containing 1.7 billion tons of oil reserves. The discovery is the result of exploration in the Shunbei oil and gas field, said to be one of the deepest commercial fields in the world, in the country’s Xinjiang region. According to the Global Times , Sinopec’s exploration program at Shunbei includes 117 wells, one of which strikes 9,300 meters in depth. Citing the director of China’s Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, the Global Times said the newest discovery could supply the country’s oil demand for two years. Shunbei is estimated to have the capacity to produce 244 tonnes of crude oil and 970,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day, according to Sinopec. The Chinese are targeting the Tarim Basin as having the potential overall to meet domestic oil and […]