Domestic crude oil production has been effectively maintained at 100 million tons.

In recent years, driven by China’s rapid economic growth, demand for oil and gas has risen annually, while the country’s dependence on foreign energy sources has continued to climb. In the face of a complex and ever‑changing international environment, it is China National Petroleum Corporation’s inescapable responsibility to accelerate oil and gas production and safeguard national energy security. In 2019, the vast ranks of cadres and employees across CNPC’s oil and gas development front confronted the challenges of low‑grade resources, depressed oil prices, and high costs, resolutely implementing the Group’s strategic plan to accelerate development and steadfastly pursuing a path of innovative growth. By launching an aggressive campaign in exploration and development, they not only exceeded all annual targets but also paved the way for a new phase of accelerated domestic oil and gas development.

　　Stability in the mature fields ensures overall stability. For China National Petroleum Corporation’s oil and gas development operations, the mature oil and gas fields serve as the cornerstone of production, accounting for more than two-thirds of total output. In 2019, each field focused on two key priorities—controlling decline rates and enhancing recovery factors—while systematically advancing detailed reservoir characterization, effective waterflooding, remediation of long‑idle wells, tiered and classified reservoir management, and major pilot projects for crude oil development, while intensifying measures to boost well productivity. As a result of these concerted efforts, the development outlook for the mature fields gradually improved: the natural decline rate, the overall decline rate, and the water cut increase rate of crude oil all slowed by 0.3, 0.6, and 0.1 percentage points, respectively, further strengthening the foundation for stable production in these mature fields.

Capacity development is a crucial safeguard for ensuring stable and increased oil and gas production. In 2019, China National Petroleum Corporation’s capacity‑building efforts were centered on two key pillars—“technological advancement to boost per‑well output” and “management innovation to enhance efficiency”—while strengthening upstream control, adhering to a performance‑driven incentive mechanism, integrating multiple disciplines to optimize development plans, innovating management models, transforming development approaches, and expanding the application of “horizontal wells plus volumetric fracturing.” Throughout the year, the number of newly drilled horizontal wells nearly doubled compared with the previous year, reaching a record high; the technical level of large well clusters and platform‑based well placement advanced further, with platforms housing three or more wells accounting for over 61% of all new wells, up 7.5 percentage points year on year. A total of 14.71 million tonnes of new crude‑oil production capacity was brought online, and construction of 13 demonstration zones for efficient production—such as the Longdong shale‑oil field in the Changqing Basin—progressed steadily. Additionally, 1.2 million tonnes of new capacity was added at the Mahu field, and a 1‑million‑tonne desert oilfield in the Tarim Basin was brought into operation efficiently.