Speaking to the media, Sinopec engineer Li Gansheng said, “It is possible for [China] to keep growth of its oil reserves stable for as long as 20 years, with its total amount of explorable crude oil reaching 15 billion tons.”

This would seem like a boon to a country, which last year imported 86 million tons of crude and is expected to buy 100 million tons this year. However, according to Li, there is one slight problem.

“Although China is rich in oil resources, the prospecting work is difficult due to the country's complicated geological structure,” said Li.