China's first national-level lacustrine shale oil demonstration zone, located in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has achieved an annual output of over 1.5 million tons for the first time this year, marking a shift in China's shale oil development from technological exploration to large-scale and stable production, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.

Located in the eastern part of the Junggar Basin, the Jimsar Shale Oil Demonstration Zone has continuously optimized key technologies such as drilling and fracturing, significantly improving development efficiency, according to the report.

The average daily output of newly drilled wells has reached 1,360 tons, while the drilling completion cycle has been shortened by 10 percent compared with the original plan. To date, the demonstration zone's cumulative output has reached 5.19 million tons, making it China's first shale oil production base with an annual output exceeding one million tons, the report said

The Jimsar Shale Oil Demonstration Zone is part of the Xinjiang Oilfield, the first large oilfield developed after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The oilfield holds more than one billion tons of shale oil resources, ranking among the top nationwide in both reserves and development scale.

Over the past 70 years, the Xinjiang Oilfield has produced more than 560 million tons of oil and gas equivalent. Situated within the resource-rich Junggar Basin, the oilfield benefits from abundant reserves, with proven petroleum resources of 15 billion tons and natural gas resources exceeding 6 trillion cubic meters.

"These vast reserves provide a solid foundation for the continued capacity expansion of the Xinjiang Oilfield and for advancing China's efforts to optimize its energy structure," the CCTV report said.

According to China National Petroleum Corporation, the developer, the Jimsar zone is set to reach an annual shale oil production of 1.7 million tons by 2025, Xinhua News Agency reported earlier.