PetroChina - Xinjiang has made a significant discovery in the Junggar Basin. Gaotan 1, a NFW located in the south margin of the basin, tested 8,500 b/d of oil and 11 MMcf/d of gas, under wellhead pressure of 32.4 Mpa, on 6 January 2019. The successful result indicated great exploration potential in this area.   A few wells have been drilled in this area with oil tested from the Cretaceous and Tertiary clastic rock, but without commercial value. Gaotan 1 is believed to achieved commercial oil and gas flow from the deeper formations.   In December 2018 PetroChina made an oil discovery in the Junggar Basin. Shatan 1 tested 190 b/d of oil from 5,344 to 5,375 m in the Permian Wuerhe Formation through a 3 mm choke after fracking, then flowed 126 b/d through a 2.5 mm choke. The well also encountered good oil shows in other formations during drilling, such as Triassic Baikouquan and Karamay formations. The well is drilled in the Shawan Sag, geologically, it is very similar to the Mahu Sag where PetroChina has approved a giant field. It is expected to find another similar size of field in the Shawan Sag area.   The Junggar Basin is one of the key exploration and production base for PetroChina. The company has approved more than 25 oil and gas fields by 2018 with total of 22 bn bbls of oil and 6 Tcf of gas in place reserves. In 2018 PetroChina produced 11.47 million tons of oil (229,000 b/d) and 2.9 Bcm of gas (290 MMcf/d). The company plans to increase oil production to 260,000 b/d by 2020.
China (Western Uplift (Junggar B.)) Baikouquan