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China’s Sinopec Books Major Reserves in Ultra-Deep Shale Find

Reuters | Energy Production

China’s Sinopec Books Major Reserves in Ultra-Deep Shale Find

“Chinese oil major Sinopec said it has booked large proven reserves of ​gas at its ultra-deep Ziyang Dongfeng ‌shale gas field.
It said it had secured official approval for proven geological reserves of 235.687 billion ​cubic meters (8.323 trillion cubic feet) for the ​Ziyang Dongfeng field, which lies deeper ⁠than 4,500 meters (14,764 ft) in the Sichuan ​Basin.

To overcome the challenges of exploring and evaluating ​the formation deep underground, Sinopec said it had used artificial intelligence integrated with geophysical imaging to identify ​the reservoir…

The company did not say ​when it ​hopes to ⁠start producing gas from the field.”

From Reuters.

Interesting Engineering | Mineral Production

US Hits Jackpot: 1.78 Million Tons of Tungsten in Nevada Desert

“A US critical minerals company has recently confirmed the nation’s largest known tungsten resource at its Railroad Valley Minerals Project in Nye County, Nevada, despite a NASA land withdrawal restricting exploration across part of the site.

In its updated resource report, 3 Proton Lithium (3PL) said that the project hosts an inferred resource of 1.78 million tons of tungsten. The company revealed that the deposit is part of a mineral system that also contains world-class resources of lithium, potash, and boron.

As per 3PL, the deposit is reportedly five times larger than the biggest tungsten resource currently listed in the US and comes at a time when the country relies heavily on imports for the strategic metal…

At current consumption rates, the resources could provide the U.S. with tungsten for hundreds of years, 3PL said.”

From Interesting Engineering.

Yale Environment 360 | Energy Production

The World Adds a Third Terawatt of Solar Power

“In March, the world passed a major energy milestone, adding its third terawatt of solar power. Increasingly, poorer countries are leading the shift to solar, analysts say.

It took nearly seven decades, after the invention of the silicon solar cell in 1954, for the world to install 1 terawatt of solar capacity, conceivably enough to power the entire United States. After passing that milestone in 2022, the world added its second terawatt in 2024 and its third in 2026, Bloomberg reports.

BloombergNEF expects installations will continue apace, with the world hitting 9 terawatts of solar power by 2036. Analysts project that, by that date, poor countries will have installed more solar power than rich countries, China notwithstanding.”

From Yale Environment 360.

Reuters | Energy Production

China Now Generates Less than Half of Its Electricity from Coal

“China, the world's largest coal consumer, generated less than 50% of its ​electricity from the fossil fuel in the six months to June, marking a first ‌for the country, which has been promoting the use of renewable energy, officials said.

Coal's share of the power mix was 49.7%, Xing Yiteng, deputy director general of the energy administration's development and planning office, told a press conference on Thursday.”

From Reuters.

US Energy Information Administration | Energy Production

New LNG Terminal Expands North American Export Capacity

“Energia Costa Azul, the second liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Mexico, shipped its initial cargo from Phase 1 of the terminal on July 8, according to the project developer. The completion of the project adds 0.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of nominal export capacity from a single train, tripling Mexico’s LNG export capacity. The facility is the first terminal in Mexico and the second in North America, following LNG Canada, to be located on the Pacific Coast, boosting North American export capacity there to 2.2 Bcf/d. The Pacific Coast location allows for shorter shipping routes to importers in Asia.”

From US Energy Information Administration.