CHINA: SURVEYS BY FOREIGN OIL COMPANIES SHOW ENCOURAGING PROSPECTS OF OIL RESERVES IN THE TARIM BASIN

Record ID: 344805

  • Title: CHINA: SURVEYS BY FOREIGN OIL COMPANIES SHOW ENCOURAGING PROSPECTS OF OIL RESERVES IN THE TARIM BASIN
  • Date: 1st May 1995
  • Summary: TARIM BASIN, XINJIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA RECENT (RTV - DAVID MCDONALD) 1. WV SAND DUNES 0.04 2. WV SAND STORM 0.06 3. GV CHINESE MAN DIRECTING VEHICLE 0.10 4. GV SAND STORM, MEN IN SQUARE, CHINESE FLAG 0.12 5. GVS CHINESE OIL WORKERS ON DRILLING PLATFORM AT TAZHONG CAMP (2 SHOTS) 0.15 7. GV OIL DRILLING RIG 0.17 8. CU CHINESE FLAG 0.19 9. GV ENTRANCE TO OIL RIG, CHINESE FLAG 0.21 10. WV TRUCKS DRIVING THROUGH DESERT PAST OIL RIG 0.24 11. GV CHINESE WORKER WALKING IN HALLWAY WEARING T-SHIRT WITH WRITING ON THE BACK THAT SAYS: "TARIM BASIN, CHINA'S HOPE FOR OIL INDUSTRY" 0.27 12. GV MEETING, CHINESE BRIEFING FOREIGN OIL COMPANY WORKERS 0.34 13. GV ESSO CHINA'S OFFICE IN KORLA, WORKERS LOOKING AT COMPUTER SCREENS 0.38 14. CU JOHN SHEFFER, GEOPHYSICAL OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR, ESSO CHINA, SAYING "WE ARE VERY ENCOURAGED. WE HAVE GOOD COOPERATION FROM THE CHINESE OUT HERE. WE HAVE GOTTEN BETTER DATA THAN WE'VE EVER HAD BEFORE." (ENGLISH) 0.51 15. GVS NIGHT SHOTS OF FLARE AND BUILDINGS IN TAZHONG CAMP (2 SHOTS) 0.54 16. GV OIL TRAIN AT KORLA 0.57 17. GVS WORKERS LOADING OIL ONTO TRAIN AT KORLA, TRAIN ON TRACK (3 SHOTS) 1.06 18. GV PIPELINE AND TELEGRAPH POLES AT KORLA 1.09 19. GV/CU CHINESE WORKER LOOKING AT COMPUTER AT LUNAN OIL SUPPLY STATION, COMPUTER SCREEN (2 SHOTS) 1.13 20. GV CHINESE WORKERS LOADING PIPE ONTO TRUCK 1.17 21. GV OIL TANKER DRIVING PAST OIL STORAGE TANKS AND FLARE AT LUNAN 1.21 22. GV OIL STORAGE TANKS AND FLARE AT LUNAN 1.25 23. GVS CHINESE WORKERS AT TAZHONG DRILLING PLATFORM (6 SHOTS) 1.44 24. GV TRUCK LEAVING FOR DESERT 1.47 25. CU OLD OIL DRILL BITS IN SAND 1.48 21. GV OIL LOADING INTO TANKER 1.50 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 16th May 1995 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, XIN JIANG AUTOMOUS REGION, CHINA
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Reuters ID: LVA6TNZNWQY7J0YSO68NFY0RK1M1
  • Story Text: The Tarim Basin is about the size of Texas. Until recently, people prefered to stay out of it. But like Texas, oil is found there and now the Chinese are moving to exploit it.

    The surging Chinese economy has meant supplies in the east are dwindling. China's economic managers desparately want to tap the Tarim Basin's reserves in the far west.

    Getting to the black gold is such a priority that Beijing has dropped it usual policy of self-reliance and allowed foreign oil companies to explore a small portion of the desert.

    Esso China has just completed a year of seismic surveys and according to John Sheffer, Geophysical Operations Supervisor, the results have been very encouraging.

    "We are very encouraged. We have good cooperation from the Chinese out here. We have gotten better data than we've ever had before." The optimism about finding oil despite the harsh conditions in this remote area may be dampened somewhat by the costs of transporting the oil to the energy starved eastern seaboard.

    At present the rail system can only handle about 20 million barrels a year.

    Building a pipeline that would stretch thousands of miles could cost up to 10 billion U.S. Dollars according to foreign oil experts, though the Chinese say they can do it for much less.

    The size of the Tarim Basin reserves are not yet known.

    Chinese production shot up from one million barrels in 1990 to over 14 million in 1994. But that is only scratching the surface with estimates of oil and gas reources going as high as 140 billion barrels.

    Whether and how much of that is recoverable and at what expense is a harder question to answer. One industry insider noted simply that you don't know how much oil you have until you drill.

    Experts consider China a difficult site for extraction. But there is oil under the Tarim Basin sands and China wants it.

    More importantly, China needs it.

    Despite the freezing winters, the boiling summers, the barren wasteland and the sand storms, what China wants and needs, China intends to get.


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