Xie, Chenxia¹
(1) IHS Energy, Houston, TX

ABSTRACT: Recent Significant Gas Discoveries in China: Influence on National Energy Structure and Future Gas Exploration

Significant gas fields were discovered in recent years, such as the Kela 2 gas field in the Tarim Basin, Sulige gas field in the Ordos Basin, Luojiazhai gas field in the Sichuan Basin, etc. These new discoveries strengthen the gas supply to West¨CTo-East gas trunkline. Energy growth in China is expected to increase rapidly. As a clean-burning fuel, natural gas is more welcomed in energy-hungry China. The new gas discoveries plus already existing important gas fields, and the construction of gas pipe networks throughout the country, support greatly to reach the target of increasing gas percentage from current less than 3% to 5-8% in primary energy usage in the next ten years. 
Most new gas fields are discovered in the three major gas-bearing basins: Tarim, Ordos and Sichuan. New gas fields in each basin share their own features. In the Sichuan Basin, new gas discoveries are mainly made in the newly found Triassic oolitic limestone play in the northeastern part of the basin; in the Ordos Basin, the distribution of the Upper Paleozoic deltaic sandbodies controls the accumulation of large Upper Paleozoic gas field; while in the Tarim Basin, new gas discoveries are concentrated in the structure-dominated plays in the Kuche Depression. Since huge resource potential exists in the surrounding areas of these new gas discoveries, it is anticipated to discover more gas fields in the areas with similar tectonic features and sedimentary evolution history.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90026©2004 AAPG Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, April 18-21, 2004.