ABSTRACT
China is producing roughly 1.8 million bpd of crude oil, with annual production having increased by over 20 percent since 1970. To reach any supportable conclusions about China's potential, however, production rates and reserve estimates for individual fields and geologic basins must be analyzed. A new element has been China's purchase of Western oil equipment and the emergence of offshore developments. With a few exceptions, most of China's potential oil areas are in continental lacustrine basins. Oil produced from these basins is usually characterized by high wax content and a high pour point, requiring elaborate heating facilities to extract and transport it. The exploration of oil in stratigraphic traps, however, generally requires greater technological sophistication. Infrastructure investment requirements, therefore, probably dictate China's development dynamic as much as geological considerations. The highly differentiated geologic environment of eastern China could make further development increasingly costly as more wells with low pump rates are required to boost overall production.
