On the morning of April 13, in the vast Gobi Desert in the Junggar Basin, the 17th drilling platform of the Jiqing Operation Area in the Xinjiang Oilfield of China National Petroleum Corp reverberated with the sound of machinery.

Chief geologist Chen Yiwei leaned in to examine rock chips, discussing drilling measures with the technicians. Serving as the primary battleground for shale oil development, the Jiqing Operation Area plans to deploy 11 drilling rigs this year, completing 51 wells and 68 fracking operations, with an expected annual increase of at least 500,000 metric tons of shale oil.

The area produced 395,000 tons of crude oil in the first quarter of this year, marking an 80 percent year-on-year increase and reaching a record high for the period.