PetroChina â Xinjiang made a new oil discovery in the Junggar Basin on 15 December 2018. Shatan 1, a NFW, tested 215 b/d of oil from 5,344 to 5,375 m in the Permian Wuerhe Formation.   Shatan 1 is drilled in the Shawan Sag, southwest of the basin. The well also encountered good oil shows in other formations during drilling, such as Triassic Baikouquan and Karamay formations.   There are only a few small fields around this area with main reservoir in the Jurassic Sangonghe formation. The success of the well indicated a new exploration potential prospective area for the Wuerhe play fairway.Â Â Â Â Â    According to current understanding, The Shawan Sag, geologically, 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.   Background Information  PetroChina started Exploration activity in the Mahu area in 1993 and found Mabei field when Ma 2 tested oil from the Permian in the same year. However, there is no further significant exploration success achieved in this area until 2012.   In 2012, PetroChina made a breakthrough in the Mahu Sag. Ma 131 tested 73 bo/d after fracture, from the Baikouquan Formation of the Triassic. Following Mahu 18 tested 347 bo/d and 247 Mscfg/d from the same reservoir, which confirmed and made expansion of the discovery.   In 2013, PetroChina tested oil in Mahu 1, flowing about 400 b/d in the Baikouquan formation of the Triassic. Mahu 1, a new field wildcat, was drilled in the south slope of the Mahu sag.   In 2014, Ma 19 tested 117 bo/d and 265 Mscfg/d from the Baikouquan Formation, which indicated a great potential of the Baikouquan reservoir in the Mahu area.   Furthermore in 2014, PetroChina made a discovery in Aihu 1 in this area and tested 191 bo/d and 78 Mscfg/d from Baikouquan Formation. The discovery indicated a sweet box between Ma 18 and Aihu 1. And the following wells in this area also made success, such as Aihu 011, Aihu 013 and Aihu 6.   In December 2014 PetroChina reported Mahu field discovery. The field, located in the west slope of the Mahu Sag, had defined 1.4 bn barrels of 3P oil in place within a 100 sq km area. In addition, the company had identified a 2,800 sq km play fairway in the Mahu area with potential of more than 7 bn barrels of in place oil resource.   In 2015 PetroChina started a pilot production project and planned to build the field with 50,000 bo/d capacity.  In 2016 Mahu 8 achieved commercial oil in the Upper Permian Wurhe Formation in Mahu 1 area in the south slope of the Mahu Sag, the following Mahu 11 and Mahu 15 also tested oil from the same reservoir, which approved the Wurhe reservoir in the Mahu field.Â    PetroChina continued to achieve exploration success around the Mahu Sag, not only in the west slope of the sag but in the east slope. By 2016 the company has made Mahu field extension in the following areas:Â  Ma 18 and Ma 131 pilot production area, Fengnan 4 and Aihu 2 appraisal drilling area and Da 13 new finding area.   In November 2017 PetroChina reported to has defined up to 9 bn bbl of 3P oil in place in the Mahu field in the Junggar Basin, among of which 3.7 bn bbl of proven oil in place has been confirmed. The main reservoir of the field is conglomerates in the Triassic Baikouquan Formation.   In 2018 PetroChina made breakthrough in shallow reservoir in Mahu Field. Mahu 18, one of the field discovery well, tested 670 Mcf/d of gas plus 24 b/d of oil in the Jurassic Sangonghe Formation, Mahu 015, an appraisal well, tested 2,880 b/d of oil plus 1.3 MMcf/d of gas in the Jurassic Badaowan Formation, which indicated great potential in middle-shallow depth reservoir formations in Mahu field apart from the Permian Wuerhe and Triassic Baikouquan formations.   In 2018 PetroChina is expected to produce 0.95 million tons of oil (19,000 b/d) in the Mahu field. It has been planned the field will reach 60,000 b/d of oil by 2021 and 100,000 b/d by 2025.
Shatan 1 (PetroChina â Xinjiang 100%) new oil discovery in the Shawan Sag, tested 215 b/d of oil from 5344 to 5375 m in the Permian Wuerhe Fm.