Oil and gas are important national strategic resources which is related to economic and social development and national security. Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to it and emphasize to improve the supporting ability of oil and gas resources based on the domestic condition. Thus, Oil and Gas Survey (OGS) under China Geological Survey, the only non-profit team to investigate oil and gas resources in China, is established at such a moment.

The main responsibilities and tasks of OGS is to carry out:

　　1) investigation and evaluation of strategic oil and gas resources in key areas and related comprehensive study; investigation on shale gas, gas hydrates, coalbed methane, oil shale, oil sands and other unconventionals and related comprehensive study;

　　2) strategic marine geology research, deployment research and related comprehensive study;

　　3) the research, introduction, demonstration and promotion of new technologies, new methods and new theories on oil and gas survey;

　　4) oil-and-gas-related technical standards, information platform and data services;

　　5) international cooperation and communication associated with oil and gas survey.

Direction and Strategy

The working principles of OGS is insisting on”Four properties”: foundamental, public welfare, strategic and forward-looking with the highlights on ”Four New”: new area, new field, new strata and new type.

The overall strategy is to carry out basin research; to investigate basic oil-and-gas-related geological survey and strategic selection of key areas; to focus on both unconventional ( particularly shale gas) and conventional oil and gas; to provide basic information service of oil and gas to public in a active, comprehensive and real-time way.

View through figures

Oil and Gas Survey undertook more than 86 projects worth of RMB 850 millions from 2012 to 2014. In specific, OGS undertook 6 mineral projects, 7 crosswise projects with total funding of 62.2 million RMB in 2012; undertook 27 mineral projects, 7 crosswise and market projects with total funding of 305.21 million RMB in 2013; hosted 20 mineral projects and undertook 39 mineral projects, 4 crosswise and market projects with total funding of 485.6747 million RMB in 2014. In this 3 years, OGS finished geological routes investigation as many as 5809 kilometers, field profile log 427 kilometers; collected 1654.9 kilometers 2D seismic line, processed and interpreted 17043.8 kilometers of 2D seismic data; measured high-resolution gravity and magnetic for 1047.24 kilometers, MT for 1228.74 kilometers, time-frequency electromagnetic bathymetry for 26 kilometers, acoustic magnetotelluric bathymetry for 142 kilometers; geochemical prospecting 504 points; completed 36 deep drills and 8 shallow drills with a total drilling footage of 55,330.93 meters; observed cores and old wells for 166; testedand analyzed samples for 37702 times totally.

Currency workload of OGS breaks 830 million RMB in 2015 with most of the projects staging into field work. Several new discoveries were gained.

Discoveries review

New areas and new strata：

The “Tucan 1” in Western periphery of “Songliao Basin” drilled light crude, opening up a new window in oil and gas exploration; the “Yican 1”in Southeastern “Ordos Basin” gained industrial gas flow after hydraulic fracturing with the daily priduction up to 15,000 cubic meters, which indicates a promising exploration future of Ordovician weathering crust; Lunpola Basin in Tibet drilled thick layer of regular oil in Paleogene strata for the first time, which brings a new area of oil and gas exploration; the Muli Depression within South Qilian Basin drilled petroleum for the first time; thick layer of crude oil were drilled in Southern Part of Junggar Basin; moreover, The “Keping 1” in Tarim Basin got a good oil and gas show attracting attentions from which petroleum companies.

New types and new field:

South Northern China Basin Western Area revealed several layers of oil and gas show in Upper Paleozoic strata.

Qilian Mountain permafrost zone drilled gas hydrate for the second time; Shale gas was drilled in the structural complex in Cambian strata, Northwestern Hunan province; High gas content shale gas layers were discovered in Southern Ordos Basin; Discovered several points of oil sand and oil shale.

Results of “Comprehensive study of large oil and gas basins”:

Progress has been made on the area selection of Carbonate resources in the main large basins in Western China;

New strata were interpreted by integrated seismic interpretation in Tarim Basin;

Comprehensive oil and gas research and dynamic tracking regime strongly support government management.

Other results

Conventional oil and gas:

Carried out the two-dimensional seismic research in Lunpola basin, overcome the constraints of basinal alpine, complex surface and subsurface structure, obtained a high-quality seismic data, focusing on delta as the next exploration target, lay a solid foundation to make breakthroughs of exploration in Cenozoic middle to deep strata; Preliminary improved the oil and gas evaluation system on large carbonate basin in western China, divided five types of platform edge for the first time, and established corresponding modes, and proposed new exploration areas in different basins; further identified the potential exploration areas and target areas in Sichuan Basin, Chuxiong Basin, Southern North China basin, Tuquan basin, Kaifeng Depression; found widespread moderate source rock in Suolun-linxi, preliminary view showed large resource potential.

Unconventional aspect:

The successful deployment of the first shale gas parameters well in Qaidam Basin opened the window of Qaidam Basin shale gas exploration and development; 10 potential areas and 10 favorable areas were selected from North Qaidam Jurassic strata and shale gas reserve was preliminarily estimated; A thick layer of mudrock in the Western Middle-lower Jurassic, which laid the foundation for further expand the shale gas reserve in Qaidam Basin; In the north of Bogda Mountains, “JZK-1” revealed clues of heavy oil, southward expanded the exploration area of the Permian Lucaogou Formation, which provided possibilities of breakthroughs in “Bogda mountain” with new clues and new directions; Cleared the “chang7-lchang10” stratigraphic distribution characteristics in Ordos Basin, preliminary proved that the “chang7” and the “chang9” have good exploration potential on unconventionals; Picked out favorable shale gas development segment in Lower Paleozoic strata in Southeast Sichuan Province; Comprehensive research of evaluation and accumulation conditions of petroleum in Upper Paleozoic in the Lower Yangtze region shows that shale oil and gas, tight oil and gas has good prospects of exploration and 3 favorable areas were selected; Selected 2 shale gas potential areas in Shimen-Cili and Ciyantang, Northwest Hunan, through the implementation of two-dimensional seismic exploration, 2 favorable target areas were found; Launched a national shale gas blocks evaluation; Metallogenic prospect of unconventional energy and mineral studies focused on coalbed methane, oil shale, oil sands, initially make the unconventional energy minerals potential area clear, plotted a national distribution map with 1︰ 5 million scale on 2 oil shale, oil sands and coal-bed methane resources .

The aspects of Gas hydrates and Marine Geology:

Found gas hydrate in Qilian Mountain permafrost zone, which expanded its distribution of resources, and not only verified the validity of geological, geophysical and geochemical prospecting multidisciplinary methods to find resource, but also confirmed the gas hydrate reservoir control factors and an initial understanding of the accumulation mechanism; The “QK-6” and “QK-7” test wells of Gas Hydrate discovered the shallow gas resources in Qiangtang Basin for the first time, providing new clues finding gas hydrate; It’s revealed anomalies of hydrocarbon gases in Mohe permafrost region, pointing out a direction for hydrate exploration. several hydrocarbon gases anomaly zone were discovered from “MK-2” in this area, demonstrating a broad perspect of “Mohe” permafrost hydrate exploration area; First proposed the “Qilian Mountain” permafrost gas hydrate reservoir accumulation theory and established hydrocarbon resource, migration and frozen soil coupling mechanism of accumulation, which is expected to be a “geological eye” on Gas Hydrate Drilling deployment; Systematically reviews the main characteristics of petroleum geology of sedimentary basins offshore, further enriches the theory of terrestrial generation of oil.

2015 work arrangement 

Critical work:

　　1) Making a major discovery or breakthrough in Northern China; 2) Making a major discovery or breakthrough of shale gas in northern China; 3) Supporting the system revolution of both conventional and unconventional petroleum exploration.

Important task:

　　1) Promoting the integration of geological survey and scientific research, enhancing scientific and technological innovation, advancing petroleum geology discipline construction; 2) Becoming a service-oriented geological survey agency； 3) Establishing geological information system covering major oil and gas basins, starting global oil and gas resources information center.

2015 Expected results：

Master the geological conditions of oil and gas resources in Qiangtang Basin, small basins in Northern China and the reserves of shale gas resources in the South; delineate 10 shale gas potential areas, 8 target areas, submit 8 New District information packages; pick out 10 oil and gas potential areas and 3 exploration blocks in new strata in new area of Northern China; submit 10 potential areas including CBM, oil shale, oil sands and other unconventional resources, 5 target areas and 3 exploration blocks; establish 3 different types of shale gas demonstration bases in different strata, promoting the realization of 10 billion cubic meters capacity; make 2~3 breakthroughs in shale gas, new areas and new strata, driving venture exploration; preliminarily form reservoir accumulation theories of marine shale with complex structure, low-mature terrestrial facies shale and transitional shale.

Form tentative standards and technical system of evaluation of shale gas exploration, identification of “sweet spots” by geophysical methods, evaluation methods of area selection. Establish the key Laboratory of unconventional oil and gas.