Advances in Oil and Gas Exploration, Resources, and Production in China

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 June 2026 | Viewed by 1159

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Institute of Energy, Peking University, Beijing, China
2. Ordos Research Institute of Energy, Peking University, Ordos, China
Interests: petroleum geological survey and assessment; geophysical methods and algorithms; natural hydrogen exploration and assessment

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China
Interests: the mechanism of oil and gas accumulation

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Guest Editor
College of Geoscience, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China
Interests: the accumulation of ultradeep oil and gas and their associated resources; geological storage of CO2
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the period from 2021 to 2025, China’s oil and gas sector achieved remarkable successes in exploration and development, with investment, reserves, and production all reaching historic highs. Exploration efforts advanced into new frontiers, including “deep earth, deep water, unconventional resources, and new domains,” with major breakthroughs being achieved in the Tarim, offshore, and Ordos basins, while important discoveries were also made in new areas such as basin–orogen junctions and small- to medium-sized basin groups. Furthermore, new resources like deep coal-measure gas have been developed efficiently. In terms of theory and technology, innovations in geological research, such as ultradeep hydrocarbon accumulation, coupled with the upgrading of “deep-earth tools,” like 10,000-meter automated drilling rigs or the expanding use of digitalization and intelligence, have strongly supported the increase in oil and gas reserves and production.

Consequently, this Special Issue aims to showcase and disseminate the latest advances and new understandings in the theories and technologies of oil and gas exploration. It seeks to cover a wide range of settings, including onshore and offshore basins, ultradeep plays, and unconventional reservoirs, as well as new regions and strata such as basin–orogen junctions and small- to medium-sized basin groups.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Tectono-sedimentary characteristics and evolution and their relationship with hydrocarbon accumulation;
  • Re-evaluation of source rocks and optimization of favorable hydrocarbon zones;
  • Characteristics of reservoirs, seals, and traps and their relationship with hydrocarbon accumulation;
  • Hydrocarbon accumulation models and resource potential in new areas, new strata, and new types;
  • New advances and discoveries in onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration;
  • New methods in oil and gas geophysics;
  • New technologies in oil and gas geochemistry;
  • New instruments and methods in petroleum experiments;
  • New equipment and technologies for oil and gas exploration and development.

Prof. Dr. Yuanyin Zhang
Prof. Dr. Shang Xu
Prof. Dr. Zezhang Song
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • new advances in oil and gas
  • sedimentary-tectonic evolution
  • accumulation elements and models
  • resource potential assessment
  • oil and gas exploration technology
  • petroleum experimental methods

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 2468 KB  
Article
Pyrolysis Kinetics of Kerogen and Bitumen in Shahejie Shale: Implications for In Situ Heating Strategies
by Chenge Zheng, Yiwei Wang, Xiaowei Huang, Weijiao Ma, Jinzhong Liu, Qiang Wang, Cui Weng and Yong Li
Geosciences 2026, 16(3), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences16030117 - 12 Mar 2026
Viewed by 679
Abstract
Unconventional shale resources remain crucial to energy security. In situ conversion technology (ICP) offers a promising pathway for exploiting low–maturity shale, yet the distinct roles of kerogen and bitumen during thermal conversion are not fully understood. This study investigates the decomposition behavior of [...] Read more.
Unconventional shale resources remain crucial to energy security. In situ conversion technology (ICP) offers a promising pathway for exploiting low–maturity shale, yet the distinct roles of kerogen and bitumen during thermal conversion are not fully understood. This study investigates the decomposition behavior of kerogen and extracted bitumen from the Shahejie Formation through gold–tube pyrolysis experiments at 50 MPa and heating rates of 2 °C/h and 20 °C/h. The results show that the yield curves of C1, C2–C5, and C6–C14 generated from kerogen and bitumen exhibited similar trends. In contrast to the C15+ fraction from kerogen, which initially increased and then decreased, the yield of C15+ from bitumen began to decline from the onset of cracking. Additionally, the CO2 generated from the kerogen continued to increase until the end of pyrolysis, whereas the CO2 from the bitumen reached its maximum at an EasyRo of approximately 1.8%. The kinetic results show that bitumen has a higher activation energy for gas generation than kerogen, while kerogen has a higher activation energy for oil generation than bitumen. A heating program of 1 °C/day rate, 324 d duration, and a final temperature of 360 °C was applied to predict oil and gas generation during ICP. Below 326 °C, the proportion of C1 and C2–C5 contributed by kerogen increased and exceeded 90%. Although kerogen’s contribution ratio of C6–C14 exhibited fluctuating variation characteristics, it remained above 50% across most of the intervals. The gas–to–oil ratio increased rapidly above 299 °C and reached 375 m3/m3 by the end of heating. Full article
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