In a major boost for China amidst the ongoing tariff war with the United States, Beijing has discovered large reserves of shale oil two separate regions of the country. According to details, two shale oilfields, estimated to contain around 180 million tonnes of shale oil reserves, have been found in the Bohai Bay Basin of northeastern China and the Subei Basin of the eastern province of Jiangsu.
The discoveries were announced Monday by state-owned Sinopec, China’s largest oil refiner. Citing preliminary assessments, the company said that the two shale oilfields have the potential to sustainably extract oil for a “very long time”, according to Xinhua. Notably, this marks the first occasion that China has employed indigenously-developed standards to evaluate shale oil reserves in the country, the report stated.
China looking to cut oil imports
China is heavily dependent on imports for fossil fuels and the new discovery will strengthen Beijing’s efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on oil exports, especially from West-aligned Gulf nations, as per experts.
In 2011, China had launched the Mineral Exploration Breakthrough Strategy to strengthen the country’s energy security by exploring natural resources such as fossil fuels, lithium, cobalt, as well as rare earth metals. The initiative, which aims to protect China’s gigantic manufacturing sector by ensuring steady access to stable supplies of vital resources, has proven to be a success as the country has discovered several hidden gold, oil, and mineral reserves in recent years.
Addressing a presser last week, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources said the initiative has progressed rapidly over the past four years, resulting in the discovery of 10 new oil fields, each with oil reserves of over 100 million tonnes. Additionally, 19 natural gas fields, containing gas reserves of more than 100 billion cubic metres, as well as 10 large uranium deposits, have also been discovered, according to the ministry.
As per official data, China’s crude oil production reached 213 million tonnes in 2024, while its shale oil production increased to 6 million tonnes, a whopping 30 percent increase compared to last year.
With the discovery of two new oilfields, China now has the third largest shale oil reserves in the world, Xinhua reported.
China-US tariff war
The crucial discovery comes at a time when the US and China are standing at the brink of a full-blown trade war, after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
Beijing has threatened to impose reciprocal tariff 10-15 percent on American goods, triggering fears of a trade war which could hurt both economies, as well as nations aligned with these two powers.
Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will come into effect from April 2 next months, and will witness US impose equal tariffs on goods from countries where tariffs are imposed on American-made products.
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