Item from June 13, 1988, in China Daily: Engineers are installing drilling equipment at an oilfield in Henan province. Such equipment, made in China, is now operational in three oil and gas fields.

As the world's biggest energy consumer and fastest-growing non-fossil fuel market, China has been accelerating its pace in energy exploration.

In December, China developed iPreSeis, software for resources exploration that aims to raise the operational efficiency of oilfields and coal mines.

The application uses seismological waves to image and quantitatively predict oil and other reserves. Its development could break the monopoly of international companies in the sector.

Earlier this year, scientists built the country's first land-based drilling platform on the Tibetan plateau, where abundant methane is trapped under the permafrost. Last month, China announced it had succeeded in mining combustible ice beneath the surface of the South China Sea after nearly two decades of research and exploration.

This will play a significant role in upgrading China's energy mix and securing its energy security, experts said. Authorities hope to commence commercial exploitation before 2030.

The construction of the ultra-deep-water semisubmersible drilling rig Blue Whale 2, which can mine both combustible ice and oil, will be completed later this year, according to its producer China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd.

The government has set a target of developing deep-sea energy production at depths of 1,500 to 3,000 meters using domestically developed technology during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).