On January 19, the Department of Natural Resources of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Base of Huairou Laboratory jointly convened a symposium to advance oil and gas resource exploration in Xinjiang, aiming to further improve scientific planning, integrated deployment, and orderly implementation of exploration activities. The two sides signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish a long-term collaboration mechanism, promote the sharing of exploration data, technologies and成果, and jointly advance major oil and gas discoveries in mineral rights blank areas across Xinjiang.

Xinjiang is one of China’s most resource-rich regions, with predicted oil and gas reserves accounting for 22 percent and 28 percent of the national onshore total, respectively, playing a pivotal role in safeguarding national energy security.

The Xinjiang Base of Huairou Laboratory is the only national laboratory base in China’s oil and gas sector. It has strong advantages in data resources and comprehensive research conditions, and brings together high-level, full-industry-chain talent teams led by academicians and leading scientists.

According to Zhi Dongming, Executive Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Base of Huairou Laboratory, oil and gas exploration in Xinjiang has long been concentrated in major basins such as Tarim, Junggar and Turpan–Hami, while mineral rights blank areas remain extensive. Peripheral basins and low-exploration areas within the three major basins feature favorable hydrocarbon accumulation conditions and broad exploration prospects, and are expected to become important strategic replacement zones for national oil and gas resources.

Sun Jizhou, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources of Xinjiang, said that in 2026 Xinjiang will align with national needs and leverage its own strengths, deepen the concept of “prospecting for the country,” focus on the overarching goal of increasing reserves and production, and carefully plan geological exploration—especially oil and gas resource exploration—during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. Efforts will be made to accelerate the transformation of resource advantages into industrial and economic advantages, better benefit people’s livelihoods, and better serve high-quality economic and social development in Xinjiang, making greater contributions to building a national energy and resource strategic security base.

It was introduced that in 2026, fiscal funds from the autonomous region will prioritize oil and gas resource surveys and evaluations in areas including the Shiqiantan Sag of eastern Junggar, the piedmont structural belt on the northern margin of the Turpan–Hami Basin, the Erdaogou area on the southern margin of the Junggar Basin, and the Yining Sag. The Xinjiang Base of Huairou Laboratory will dispatch experienced expert teams to participate in project feasibility studies, exploration well tracking, and成果 evaluation, providing technical support and decision-making consultation for geological exploration, drilling deployment, and scientific research projects to ensure high-quality implementation of oil and gas exploration.

At the meeting, the Xinjiang Base briefly presented recent scientific成果, including foreland domain analysis and deployment proposals around the Bogda Mountains and a three-year integrated research and implementation plan for the Ili Basin, and put forward recommendations for overall oil and gas geological exploration deployment in Xinjiang. Participants engaged in discussions and exchanges. The Department of Natural Resources of Xinjiang and the Xinjiang Base signed a memorandum of cooperation to carry out pragmatic collaboration in oil and gas exploration, promote long-term mechanisms, conduct in-depth studies on long-term planning and integrated deployment of blank-area exploration and development, accelerate technological breakthroughs and成果 transformation, and explore the construction of pilot demonstration zones for integrated oil and gas development.

The meeting emphasized that 2026, the first year of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” is also a critical year for advancing a new round of strategic mineral exploration breakthroughs. Xinjiang must shoulder the political responsibility of building a national energy and resource strategic security base by scientifically and orderly advancing oil and gas exploration and development, increasing investment, deepening research, achieving technological breakthroughs, enhancing data and成果 sharing, and accelerating block transfer preparation and exploration progress through policy innovation and pilot programs.