Abstract: China was late in tight oil exploration and development. Based on comprehensive analysis, tight oil is the realistic exploration and development field of non-conventional oil and gas resources. In recent three years, PetroChina has made tenacious efforts for the theoretical study of tight oil exploration and development and clarification of the resources, prepared for technological breakthrough and positioned tight oil exploration and development. As a result, the company has established three zones, each with the reserves exceeding 100 million tons, and six new discoveries in the six main basins like Erdos Basin, Junggar Basin and Songliao Basin. PetroChina has also created and improved four key technological families for prediction of the tight oil sweet-point zones as well as seismic prediction and logging evaluation targeted at improvement of single-well production, and developed two initial theories on China^’s onshore tight oil accumulations. However, China^’s tight oil development is still under the preliminary stage. The analysis shows there are four challenges, such as how to enhance theoretical study, how to make breakthrough in key technology, how to bring about high-efficiency development, and how to reduce the cost. Thanks to China^’s complicated onshore tight oil geological conditions, it is proposed that the State formulate more preferential policies to support this industry while focusing efforts for technological study and application, highlighting the discoveries, reducing the cost and improving the economic performance. Those suggestions are of great significance to acceleration of China^’s tight oil development and the security of the country^’s oil and gas supply.

Key words: China^&rsquo, s tight oil, exploration and development results, theoretical study, systematic technology, challenges, suggestions