From September 20th to 22nd, the 2023 International Conference on Oil and Gas Field Exploration and Development (IFEDC) was successfully held at the Eurasia International Hotel in Wuhan, jointly organized by our university, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and the Shaanxi Petroleum Society. The conference was conducted in a combined online and offline format and attracted more than 1,800 registered participants, including experts and scholars from over 20 countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Malaysia, as well as leading Chinese oil and high-tech companies like China National Petroleum, Sinopec, CNOOC, Sinochem Group, YanChang Petroleum, and others, with more than 1,200 attendees participating in-person.

The opening ceremony of the conference was hosted by Zhang Xinyun, the Secretary-General of the Shaanxi Petroleum Society. Vice President of the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Liu Jie, welcomed the participants as the host, and Chang Jiang, the Secretary of the Party Committee of our university, delivered a speech on behalf of the conference organizers and initiators.

Chang Jiang stated that the purpose of the "International Conference on Oil and Gas Field Exploration and Development" was to explore new technologies, new directions, and new developments in the field of oil and gas exploration and development.

The conference aimed to provide experts and scholars in the oil and gas industry with a broad, effective, and professional platform for exchange and cooperation, promote the development of reservoir geology theory, reservoir engineering, oil and gas well drilling and production technology, conventional and unconventional resource development, reservoir monitoring, enhanced oil recovery, and intelligent oilfields. The conference also aimed to achieve resource information sharing and collaborative technology development to promote broader and more effective cooperation within the industry. This conference had become one of the important international academic conferences in the industry and was included in the "Important Academic Conference Guide (2023)" by the China Association for Science and Technology, providing significant guidance for advancing technological progress in China's oil and gas field exploration and development.

The conference's theme presentations covered the latest developments in six key areas and hot technologies related to the country's energy construction. Six experts, including Wang Yanxin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and Syed M. Farouq Ali, a foreign member of the United States National Academy of Engineering and a professor at the University of Houston, delivered reports on topics such as geothermal energy storage systems, horizontal well multi-stage fracturing technology, oil and gas well engineering technology, decline analysis of water-driven development reservoirs, distributed fiber optic sensing systems, and the current state of dynamic monitoring.

The conference's thematic forum was hosted by Zhou Desheng, Dean of our university's School of Petroleum Engineering. It focused on the theme of "Efficient, Green, and Intelligent Exploration and Development Theory and Technology for the Oil and Gas Industry Driven by Dual Carbon Policies." The forum included discussions on development strategies for the oil and gas industry under the dual carbon goals, current challenges and technological trends in unconventional resource development, gas storage construction, and future prospects, as well as trends in geophysical exploration.

The conference featured 15 specialized sessions covering a wide range of topics, including basic geology for oil and gas exploration and development, geophysical exploration, geophysical logging technology, detailed description of oil and gas reservoirs, dynamic monitoring of oil and gas reservoirs, coalbed methane exploration and development, natural gas hydrate exploration and development, oil and gas reservoir engineering and management, drilling and completion, oil and gas production engineering, enhanced oil and gas recovery, geothermal resource exploration and development, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage), gas storage construction and operation, artificial intelligence, and big data in oil and gas fields. In total, more than 630 experts and scholars shared their reports in various sub-conference sessions.

Furthermore, after rigorous review by over 560 expert reviewers, the conference selected 123 outstanding papers, including 109 outstanding papers from enterprises and 14 outstanding papers from students.

By establishing an extensive and effective platform for academic exchange and cooperation, this conference effectively showcased research achievements in new technologies, methods, processes, and products related to oil and gas exploration. It delved into critical technical challenges in oil and gas exploration and development, facilitated the effective sharing of cutting-edge resources and information in the oil and gas field, and held great significance in addressing technical bottlenecks and promoting technological and scientific innovation in China's oil and gas industry.