Study Ideology, Be a Pioneer | Identify Strategic Mineral Resources to Ensure Energy Security

Since General Secretary Xi Jinping sent a letter of reply to all the geological workers of the Sixth Geological Brigade of the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources on October 2, 2022, all staff members of the Institute of Geophysical Exploration—especially Party members—have been greatly encouraged and have redoubled their efforts. At this critical juncture in the reform of geological exploration units, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s letter of reply has undoubtedly served as a powerful boost for geological exploration units across the country and represents tremendous encouragement for the vast number of geological explorers.

In recent years, the Institute of Geophysical Exploration has deeply studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, strengthened Party building, broadened business strategies, reinforced brand development, built a talent pipeline, established an academician and expert workstation, and set up a science and technology innovation studio, achieving leapfrog development.

To promote the deep integration of Party building with production, key projects undertaken by the Geophysical Exploration Institute—such as the wide-area electromagnetic exploration project, the fracturing electromagnetic monitoring project, and the “3+2” pre-drilling electrical prospecting project—have all established temporary Party branches. Guided by Party building, these branches are strengthening their sense of mission and responsibility, upholding the spirit of craftsmanship, and striving to make geophysical exploration work more solid, deeper, more specialized, more refined, more innovative, and more meticulous. As a result, they have earned widespread praise from all client units.

In particular, leveraging the academician He Jishan’s workstation as a foundation, we have vigorously developed deep-depth, high-precision, wide-area electromagnetic exploration technology, which has been successfully applied to the exploration of energy resources—including shale gas, mineral resources, geothermal resources, and water resources. From Gansu to Xinjiang, from Hunan to Yunnan; from Shuanglongbei to Tiangongtang, from Changning to western Chongqing; from the Gobi Desert to the sandy deserts, from deep mountains to rolling hills; from the Jinsha River to the Yangtze River, from the Wenjiu Expressway to the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway; from the Cambrian to the Cretaceous, from the Wufeng Formation to the Longmaxi Formation—wide-area electromagnetic exploration has traversed every corner of our motherland, touching every mountain and river. The temporary Party branch established for wide-area electromagnetic exploration projects serves as a mobile bastion of combat: wherever the project goes, there you’ll find the Party branch, the vanguard, and the role models.

Currently, the temporary Party branch of the wide-area electromagnetic exploration project has once again arrived in Bishan, Chongqing, where it is conducting 354-kilometer-wide-area electromagnetic resistivity surveys centered on the Qitangchang syncline in western Chongqing. The surveys aim to investigate the spatial distribution of low resistivity within the Longmaxi–Wufeng Formation—the target strata for shale gas—and further refine the identification of favorable zones for shale gas accumulation based on electrical parameters. This work will provide technical support for evaluating shale gas prospective areas and optimizing well placement.

All the Party members of the project’s temporary Party branch are working diligently on the front lines of the project, engaging in field surveying and stakeout, controlling source emissions, collecting wide-area data, conducting indoor data processing and analysis, performing refined processing and interpretation, carrying out comprehensive evaluation and analysis, and preparing outcome reports. In every critical stage of the project, you’ll find the footprints of Party members. Each Party member is a pioneer, each is a role model, and each is dedicating their youthful energy and talents through concrete actions, staying true to their original aspirations and fulfilling their mission. They carry forward the fine traditions of geological workers—pioneering spirit and hard work—using geophysical exploration as the foundation, seeing the big picture in the small details, and contributing to the exploration and development of energy resources as well as to ensuring national energy security.

Executive Producer | Zhang Guangda
Reviewed by | Zou Zhongping
Editor-in-charge | Zhou Huiying
Text | Chen Jie
Figure | Chen Jie, Zhang Xingcheng
Editor | Wen Han