The drilling operation at the Ping'an 9H well, located in Banmiao Town, Pingchang County, Bazhong City, has now entered the intermediate completion phase. Approximately half a month ago, the well achieved a significant milestone by drilling 2,485 meters in a single run using a 311.2 mm borehole, breaking the previous record of 2,313 meters for boreholes of the same size in the Sichuan-Chongqing region.

Currently, cementing operations are underway to stabilize the wellbore, ensuring safe conditions for subsequent drilling activities. The goal is to complete the drilling of the Ping'an 9H well by early April. The well is a key exploratory well deployed by Daqing Oilfield's Sichuan branch in the Pingchang shale oil block, with a designed depth of 5,494 meters and a horizontal section length of 2,000 meters.

Prior to setting the regional record on March 6, the well also established a new daily drilling record for the Sichuan-Chongqing area on February 28, advancing 1,240 meters within 24 hours.

These consecutive achievements are supported by strong national and provincial policies, as well as local institutional frameworks. Last year, Bazhong was designated as a key area for oil and gas exploration and development, leading to a comprehensive campaign to accelerate progress. The city has established task forces to coordinate efforts at municipal and county levels and has strengthened cooperation with major oilfield operators such as Daqing Oilfield and Zhongyuan Oilfield.

As one of the main sites in Bazhong's oil and gas development campaign, Pingchang County has planned a total of 24 oil wells. By implementing a streamlined approval mechanism and a three-level responsibility system, the county has reduced the preparatory cycle for drilling platforms from six months to approximately 70 days, improving drilling efficiency by 22%.

Currently, nine pilot production wells in Pingchang County are operating steadily, contributing to accelerated capacity building. Bazhong is rich in both oil and gas resources, with mining rights covering 82.5% of its territory. By 2025, the region is projected to hold prospective oil resources of about 2.5 billion tons, with an estimated output of 22,000 tons of oil. Natural gas geological resources are estimated at 1.4 trillion cubic meters, with expected production of 510 million cubic meters.

Last year, Pingchang County produced 15,541 tons of oil and 33.4285 million cubic meters of natural gas, representing year-on-year increases of 602.51% and 653.91%, respectively. Bazhong is the only prefecture-level city in the Sichuan Basin with conditions for large-scale oil resource development and utilization. The city aims to achieve proven oil reserves of 186 million tons and natural gas reserves of over 500 billion cubic meters by 2030, with annual production targets of 400,000 tons of oil and 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The petrochemical industry output is projected to reach 30 billion yuan.