China’s upstream oil and gas regulator the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has announced a significant hydrocarbon breakthrough in the Sanmenxia basin onshore in China’s Henan province.

Touted as the area’s first discovery in half a century, the Yuxiandi 1 exploration well, drilled in the basin’s central region, achieved daily production of 17.13 cubic metres of light oil (126 barrels) during testing across three pay zones, each spanning 10 metres.