Ministry of Natural Resources Announces China Ten-Year Prospecting Results

On February 25, a reporter from China Metallurgical News learned from the press conference on the 10-year results of the prospecting breakthrough strategic action held by the Ministry of Natural Resources that since the State Council approved the implementation of the prospecting breakthrough strategic action in 2011, mining consumption has continued to increase. Under the circumstances, the amount of retained resources of major minerals has generally increased. Among them, the newly added resources of oil and natural gas in ten years were 10.1 billion tons and 6.85 trillion cubic meters, which accounted for 25% and 45% of the total discovered since the founding of New China. 17 large oil fields and 21 billion-ton oil fields were discovered. A large gas field of 100 billion cubic meters. At the same time, the newly added resource reserves are 1.2 billion tons of manganese, 18.74 million tons of molybdenum, and 6.12 million tons of tungsten.
 
Significant progress and breakthroughs in prospecting
At the press conference, Yu Haifeng, Director of the Geological Prospecting Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced that in terms of oil and gas minerals, the newly added resources of oil and natural gas in the past decade were 10.1 billion tons and 6.85 trillion cubic meters, respectively, accounting for approximately the total amount ascertained since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. 25% and 45% of the total, 1.7 billion-ton large oil fields such as Mahu and Qingcheng, and 21 100-billion-cubic-meter large oil fields such as Anyue and Sulige were discovered. The exploration and development of shale gas has made great progress. The annual output of the southern Sichuan gas field reached 11.7 billion cubic meters, and the annual output of the Fuling gas field reached 6.7 billion cubic meters. The Qinshui 100 billion cubic meter coalbed methane field was discovered.
　
The focus of mineral resources exploration and development shifts to the west and expands to the sea
Yu Haifeng said that the newly-added proven geological reserves and production of Western Petroleum accounted for 62% and 34% of the national total (the same below), and natural gas accounted for 85% and 84%, of which the cumulative proven geological reserves of oil in Ordos was nearly 7 billion tons. And natural gas exceeds 5 trillion cubic meters. One billion-ton oil field and four 100-billion cubic meters of gas fields have been discovered in the sea. In 2020, the oil and gas production in the sea will account for about 1/4 of the national output.
 
A new batch of new resources in mine prospecting
"Breakthroughs have been made in the deep and marginal prospecting of old mines. The newly added resources of 87 old mines have reached the scale of large and medium-sized deposits. The service life of 755 production mines has been extended to varying degrees, and the mining life of the mine has been extended by an average of 16.8 years." Haifeng Yu introduced , To consolidate 50 old energy resource bases, a group of crisis mines have revived, stabilized the employment of more than 200,000 employees, and bought time for the transformation and development of resource-based cities.