The map records 68 oil sand mines discovered in 15 region including Songliao Basin, Eren Basin, Junggar Basin, Tarim Basin, Tuha Basin, Qaidam Basin, Jiuxi Basin, Ordos Basin, Sichuan Basin, Qiannan Depression, Chuxiong Basin, Qiangtang Basin, Lunpola Basin, Baise Basin and Maoming Basin. Total recoverable oil resource of these oil sand mines is estimated to be 10 billion tons. In China, a few oil sand separation plants are currently in the preliminary study stage.
Lunpola Basin Oil Sands: The Lunpola Basin lies in the interior of North Tibet Plateau. Exploration activities shows that oil sand is the main oil resource in this area so far. The oil sand resource quantity of 5 structures (including Niubao, Changshan, Lunpori, Songke'er and Hongxingliang) in Lunpola basin was calculated, and led to a proved reserve of 43.385 million tons.