China Issues Energy Plan Targeting Stable Crude Output and Higher Natural Gas Production

China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration released the 15th Five-Year Plan for building a new energy system, outlining measures to boost oil and gas exploration and development. According to Jin10, the plan calls for increased investment intensity and stronger development of both traditional large oil and gas fields and newer resources such as shale oil and shale gas. The document focuses on four areas—deep underground, deep sea, unconventional resources, and mature oil and gas fields—to support a policy of stabilizing oil output while increasing natural gas production. It says offshore areas and unconventional resources should become key drivers for maintaining stable crude oil production. The plan sets a goal of keeping annual crude oil output stable at 200 million tons, while steadily raising natural gas production. It also calls for strengthening trunk pipeline construction and interconnection projects. By 2030, the plan says the natural gas pipeline network’s primary transmission capacity should reach 500 billion cubic meters per year. The plan adds that provincial pipeline networks should be developed based on national trunk pipelines, with an orderly expansion of pipeline coverage. It also calls for coordinated planning of refining and petrochemical bases with port layouts, sea and land transport links, and inland delivery, alongside optimization of crude oil and refined product pipeline routes and flows.