China and Peak Oil

Abstract

In the mid-1950s there was a severe oil shortage in China. Fighter jets and tanks stood still and the buses on Beijing’s streets were fueled from large bags of gas on their roofs. Several drilling teams traveled northeast of Beijing to look for oil. One of those teams was led by the legendary “Iron Man” Wang Jinxi and was to drill in the eastern area of Heilongjiang province. The temperature in that area can drop to below −30°C during winter and just getting the equipment to the drilling site required heroic effort. However, they eventually succeeded and began to drill. The first two holes were dry but on their third attempt they succeeded in finding an oil-bearing layer. On September 26, 1959 they had discovered one of the world’s largest oilfields, Daqing (meaning “Great Celebration”) [1].