Domestic oil production has entered a stage of steady growth

As state-owned oil companies continue to increase their efforts in oil and gas exploration and development, domestic oil production has entered a stage of steady growth. According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, as of November 2023, domestic crude oil production was 191.25 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%. This means that domestic oil production will continue to remain above 200 million tons in 2023, after exceeding 200 million tons in 2022.

Luo Zuoxian, an oil and gas research expert at Sinopec Economic and Technical Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from the China Economic Times that since the implementation of the "Seven-Year Action Plan" for increasing oil and gas reserves and production in China, important progress has been made in oil and gas exploration and development, and remarkable results have been achieved in increasing reserves and production. In 2022, China's annual crude oil production will increase to 205 million tons, jumping back to the level of 200 million tons, and the annual production of natural gas will increase to 220.1 billion cubic meters, achieving an important breakthrough in oil and gas production. The increase in oil and gas production has improved energy security and built confidence in the development of the oil and gas industry.

Ma Yongsheng, Chairman and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of Sinopec Group, said at the Group's oil and gas exploration and development conference held in December last year that in 2023, Sinopec will vigorously implement the actions of increasing production, reducing costs and improving efficiency, achieving new breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration, creating a new level in crude oil development, reaching a new level in natural gas development, showing new highlights in new energy, and deepening reform and management.

With the acceleration of domestic crude oil production growth, the growth rate of imports has changed from increasing to declining. In November this year, the domestic production of crude oil was 17.2 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.6 percent, the growth rate was 2.1 percentage points faster than that in October, with an average daily output of 573,000 tons, and the import of crude oil was 42.45 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 9.2 percent, and an increase of 13.6 percent in October. From January to November, domestic crude oil production was 191.25 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%; The production of natural gas was 170.2 billion cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%.

PetroChina is the largest oil and gas supplier in China, PetroChina told the China Economic Times reporter that PetroChina will continue to increase the implementation of "increase reserves and production", implement a new round of prospecting breakthrough strategic actions, focus on increasing economies of scale recoverable reserves, improve SEC reserves-production ratio, and strive to achieve a virtuous cycle of increasing reserves and production. At the same time, it will strengthen domestic exploration, increase risk exploration, and vigorously improve the quality of exploration wells. Strengthen overseas exploration, increase the exploration of existing projects, increase the acquisition of new projects with high-quality resources, strengthen breakthroughs in key research, strengthen key core technology research, and actively promote the construction of original technology sources.

In the middle of this year, the National Energy Administration emphasized at the 2023 Work Promotion Conference on Vigorously Improving Oil and Gas Exploration and Development that as the world's largest energy consumer, how to tap the potential of increasing production and supply and effectively ensure national energy security has always been the primary task of China's energy development. China's energy development is in a new stage of accelerating the planning and construction of a new energy system, and oil and gas resources are an indispensable and important part, and they are the bottom line of energy security that needs to be built for a long time at present and in the future. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of the heavy political responsibility shouldered, base ourselves on the domestic market, and do everything possible to enhance the capacity of independent oil and gas supply.

Luozuo County pointed out that the oil and gas industry should continue to take the "seven-year action plan" for increasing oil and gas reserves and production as an opportunity to anchor onshore deep and ultra-deep oil and gas, offshore oil and gas, unconventional oil and gas, stable production of old oil and gas fields, and capacity construction in new areas, and comprehensively promote domestic oil and gas exploration and development. At the same time, it is also necessary to take the road of green development and accelerate the integration of oil and gas exploration and development with zero-carbon and carbon-negative technologies.