Tarim’s Kela 2 gas field in Northwest China reports more 10-billion cubic-meter high-yield natural gas wells
The Kela 2-5 well in Tarim Oilfield’s Kela 2 gas field in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Photo: screenshot of CMG’s report
As of Wednesday, the Kela 2-5 well in Tarim Oilfield’s Kela 2 gas field has produced 10.009 billion cubic meters of natural gas, becoming the seventh well at the field to exceed 100 billion cubic meters in cumulative output and forming China’s largest high-yield well cluster—each producing over 10 billion cubic meters—while the field itself retains the national record for the highest average single-well production, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Thursday.
The Kela 2 gas field in the Tarim Basin, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is a major gas field for China’s west-east gas transmission project and is known as the “first source of the west-east gas transmission project.” Facing growing gas demand, Tarim Oilfield has developed a core production technology of “control, adjust, discharge, and inject,” breaking the conventional limits of strong water-drive gas reservoirs, according to CMG.
After more than 20 years of development, the Kela 2 gas field has maintained stable production, sustaining an annual output of approximately 6 billion cubic meters for 10 consecutive years, with a cumulative natural gas production of nearly 153 billion cubic meters.
Meanwhile, the Kela 2 gas field has adopted automation technologies to create an efficient production model. The field’s 33 gas wells are operated and maintained by just 32 technical and operational personnel—averaging one person per well—with each well producing 860,000 cubic meters per day.
To put it in perspective: based on a daily consumption of 0.5 cubic meters per three-person household, a single well at Kela 2 can meet the daily gas needs of over 1.7 million families. This exemplifies the highly efficient development model of “one person, one well, one city”, CMG reported.
As one of China’s three major gas-producing regions, the Tarim Oilfield has achieved a cumulative natural gas output of over 500 billion cubic meters, maintaining an annual production of more than 31 billion cubic meters for six consecutive years. It has played a key role in safeguarding national energy security and promoting energy restructuring as well as green and low-carbon development, CMG reported.
In the first quarter of 2026, Tarim Oilfield’s three core businesses—crude oil, natural gas, and new energy—operated smoothly and in an orderly manner. The field supplied more than 13.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas, generated 590 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity, and saw gas storage extraction more than double compared to the same period last year, the local media outlet reported.
Global Times
