The "Strategic Mineral Survey and Evaluation in Key National Shale Gas Areas" project, organized by the Oil and Gas Resources Survey Center of the China Geological Survey, has recently passed its results evaluation. The project introduced an innovative geological concept of "four controls" for shale gas enrichment in the Permian system and preliminarily developed an integrated geophysical survey technology system tailored for highly deformed zones in southern China.

Launched in 2023 under the unified deployment of the China Geological Survey, the project was jointly implemented by the Oil and Gas Survey Center, the Chengdu and Wuhan Geological Survey Centers, and the Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

Focusing on organically rich shale intervals previously identified in promising zones—such as the Permian formations in western Hubei and eastern Chongqing, the Triassic in the southwestern Sichuan Basin, the Devonian–Carboniferous systems in the Dongting–Yuanmami area, and the Cambrian formations in the southwestern margin of the Xuefeng Mountains—the team carried out fundamental geological surveys and favorable zone selection. The work systematically clarified sedimentary environments, structural features, and reservoir-forming conditions, and identified the distribution patterns of depositional facies, organic geochemistry, reservoir physical properties, and "sweet spot" segments across various formations. This provided a scientific foundation for future exploration.

During the project:

• The Yu-Wu-Di 1 well in eastern Chongqing yielded a stable industrial shale gas flow of 4,234 cubic meters per day from shallow Permian layers, marking a breakthrough in exploring shallow shale gas in structurally complex regions outside the Sichuan Basin.

• The E-Jian-Ye 2 well in western Hubei encountered high gas content shales in multiple Permian intervals.

• The Chuan-Ma-Ye 1 well in western Sichuan discovered a compound shale-tight gas reservoir in the Triassic Xujiahe Formation. These achievements provide direct support for resource base development in areas such as western Hubei–eastern Chongqing and southwestern Sichuan–northeastern Yunnan.

According to the Survey Center, the project's major findings and accomplishments include:

1. Clarifying the sedimentary and structural characteristics and shale gas geological conditions of formations across the western Hubei–eastern Chongqing region, the western Sichuan Basin, the Lianyuan Depression, and the Xuefeng Mountains.

2. Achieving key shale and tight gas discoveries in eastern Chongqing, western Hubei, and western Sichuan.

3. Selecting 20 favorable areas and evaluating shale gas resource volumes.

4. Proposing a new "four controls" geological model for Permian shale gas enrichment, establishing three shale gas accumulation models, and developing a preliminary integrated geophysical survey approach suitable for southern China’s complex structures.

5. Supporting the Ministry of Natural Resources in the release of one exploration block, proposing four new exploration rights, securing two National Natural Science Foundation grants, publishing 12 academic papers, and delivering effective scientific services to the broader community.