On December 31, 2025, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company solemnly announced a historic achievement: annual natural gas production had surpassed the 500 billion cubic meter milestone, crossing the equivalent of 40 million tons of oil and gas! This feat represents the glorious culmination of seventy years of development in the Sichuan Basin's natural gas industry, standing as a monumental landmark on the nation's journey toward becoming an energy powerhouse in the new era. So, what makes this 500 billion figure so "valuable"? These 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas are substantial and gleaming; their "value" extends far beyond the sheer number. It embodies the ambition of a strategic breakthrough, the sharpness of technological攻坚, and the vitality of a green transition. The first measure of "value" lies in strategic underpinning and securing the energy supply. The label of a "gas-poor country" long weighed heavily on China. The Sichuan Basin, as the cradle of China's natural gas industry, shouldered the undeniable responsibility of "striving for gas." Over seventy years, through scorching summers and freezing winters, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company has built a "Great Gas Field" producing 500 billion cubic meters annually in this "geological museum," growing from nothing and from weakness to strength. For the past decade, it has surged forward at an annual "striving speed" of over 30 billion cubic meters, powerfully supporting the national natural gas output's rise to around 2.6 trillion cubic meters and helping China firmly maintain its position as the world's fourth-largest gas producer. In this year alone, the additional 5.3 billion cubic meters of gas produced accounted for 40% of the nation's total production increase! This is the resolute pledge and vivid practice of a central energy enterprise "firmly holding the energy rice bowl in its own hands." The second measure of "value" lies in technological breakthroughs, intelligently unlocking subterranean treasures. "The road to Shu is hard, harder than ascending to the sky." Finding gas in Shu is even harder. With undulating mountains on the surface and complex geological structures underground, it is like deciphering a massive, intricate "ten-thousand-volume celestial book." Yet, PetroChina Southwest Oil &gasfield Company was determined to "dare to change the sun and moon for a new sky." It has persistently tackled challenges, from conquering large gas fields in high-steep carbonate rock structures to pioneering new large-scale shale gas areas. In 2010, the groundbreaking Wei 201 well in southern Sichuan heralded a new era of large-scale shale gas development; today, the Southern Sichuan Shale Gas Field has been built into China's largest shale gas production base. In 2011, the Gaoshi 1 well successfully discovered the giant Anyue Gas Field, marking a major innovation in the theory and technology for ancient carbonate rocks and forming an annual production capacity exceeding 15 billion cubic meters. Progressing from conventional to unconventional resources, from medium-shallow to deep and ultra-deep layers, what were once considered "resource no-go zones" now gush with high-yield gas flows. Every leap forward has been a "Long March" of emancipating the mind and pioneering innovation, demonstrating that China's natural gas exploration and development technologies under complex geological conditions have advanced to the world's forefront. The third measure of "value" lies in green empowerment, charting a course for the blue ocean of energy transition. Guided by the "Dual Carbon" goals, the green wave surges powerfully. Natural gas, as the cleanest fossil fuel, serves as a crucial bridge and the "optimal partner" in the energy transition. PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company actively responds to PetroChina's three-step deployment of "clean replacement, strategic succession, and green transformation," not only全力 producing clean natural gas but also actively broadening the track for "natural gas + new energy." Wind power, photovoltaics, waste pressure power generation, comprehensive resource utilization... multi-energy complementarity and synergistic efficiency gains are pursued. These 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas offer significant emission reduction effects and power the units of 10 natural gas power plants in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, with a peak daily supply capacity reaching 23 million cubic meters, injecting "green momentum" into grid stability. The 500 billion mark is a new peak, but more importantly, a new starting point. Looking ahead, the grand blueprint for building a national-level trillion-cubic-meter production capacity base in the Sichuan-Chongqing region is steadily unfolding. PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company will undoubtedly use this leap as fresh impetus, continuing to be a steadfast promoter of China's "energy independence" strategy and a solid contributor to the construction of an "energy powerhouse."
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