Abstract: Based on a systematic review of the exploration achievements and theoretical technological progress made by China Petroleum&Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) in different fields since the 14^th Five Year Plan, the main challenges, development opportunities,and directions for oil and gas exploration have been proposed. Since the 14^th Five Year Plan, facing challenges such as relatively weak resource foundation and increasingly complex exploration targets, Sinopec has firmly adhered to its main business of oil and gas energy security, focused on expanding resources, increasing reserves, and expanding mining rights, increased efforts to expand and increase oil and gas resources, and achieved multiple strategic breakthroughs and theoretical technological innovations. Developing theoretical understanding of oil and gas accumulation in ultra deep marine fault controlled fractures and caves, and discovered Shunbei Oil Field; Tackle the theoretical and technological system of shale oil exploration in terrestrial fault basins, and promote sustained major breakthroughs in shale oil;Improve the theoretical understanding of “dual enrichment” of marine shale gas, and achieve leapfrog development in multi-layer shale gas exploration in the Sichuan Basin; Tackle the theory of tight detrital rock formation and reservoir formation, and cultivate multiple scale benefit enhanced storage sites; Tackling the mechanism of coalbed methane occurrence and enrichment, achieving strategic breakthroughs in deep coalbed methane; Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in the exploration of new marine areas such as the Beibuwan Basin. In the future, Sinopec will face three major development challenges: the reduction of mining rights, technological innovation in the exploration theory of “two deep and one non”, and the difficulty of efficient exploration. At the same time, it needs to seize four historical development opportunities: national energy security guarantee, China’s shale oil and gas revolution, green and lowcarbon transformation, and digital and intelligent upgrading. Sinopec will focus on five major projects for development, namely, leading the breakthrough in deep and ultra deep exploration in the central and western regions with the “Deep Earth Engineering”, leading the rapid transformation of mature exploration area resources with the “Shale Oil Demonstration Project”, leading the leapfrog development of unconventional natural gas with the “Shale Gas Demonstration Project”, leading the integrated benefit development with the “Tight Oil and Gas Storage Project”, and leading the new discovery of blue ocean strategy with the “Sea Area Breakthrough Project”. Sinopec will make greater contributions to ensuring national energy security and achieving the “dual carbon” goals.

Key words: Sinopec, 14^th Five-Year Plan, Exploration progress, Main challenges, Development direction