Major Chinese shale oil zone reports output of over 700,000 tonnes in 2025

China has established its first national shale oil demonstration zone in a continental faulted lake basin at the Shengli Jiyang oilfield in east China's Shandong Province, with it achieving annual output exceeding 700,000 tonnes in 2025, according to a report released by the National Energy Administration.

The demonstration zone reported proven geological reserves of 327 million tonnes, the report added.

The project is China's third national-level shale oil demonstration zone, following those in Xinjiang in northwest China and Heilongjiang in the northeast. It aims to improve the country's technological system for shale oil exploration and development in continental faulted lake basins, overcome key technical bottlenecks, achieve major exploration and production breakthroughs, and establish efficient development models that can be replicated nationwide.

Shale oil, defined as liquid hydrocarbons trapped within shale rock formations and extractable for refining, is a widely distributed energy resource with reserves that significantly exceed those of conventional oil sources.

China's shale oil output exceeded 8.5 million tonnes in 2025, more than 10 times the volume recorded in 2018, earlier data showed. ■