(From Xu Delong of Ultrasonic Physics and Exploration Laboratory) On Jan.1, Prof. Pang Xiongqi, the vice president of China University of Petroleum-Beijing (CUPB) and chief scientist of "973" Project, visited the institute of acoustics (IOA) and gave lectures. Ju Qi, the associate director of IOA, welcomed professor Pang and took charge the seminar. In her address, Ju Qi hoped the cooperation between CUPB and IOA could make great strides in research of petroleum exploration and energy field. What??s more, Ju Qi hoped researchers of IOA could make further progress in geophysical and geological field.

Invited by Prof. Wang Xiuming, Prof. Pang gave his lecture "Peak Oil Theory in The World and Shortage of Petroleum in China -- The Difficulties of Exploring Petroleum in The West of China and Its Solution". This seminar is the twelfth academic activity hosted by UPEL. Prof. Li Mingxuan, Prof. Huang Cengyang, Prof. Zhang Hailan, Prof. Zhang Bixing and Lin Weijun, etc. attended the seminar.

Prof. Pang engaged in research of basin analysis, petroleum resources value and hydrocarbon accumulation. He used to be the director of Basin and Hydrocarbon Reservoir Research Center, the director of Petroleum and Gas Reservoir Formation Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of China. Now he is the editor in chief of Petroleum Science and the member of an editorial board of more than a dozen of scientific magazines.

Prof. Pang's report comprised of two parts. One was "Peak Oil Theory in The World and the Challenge of Shortage of Petroleum in China", and the other was "The Difficulties of Exploring Petroleum in The West Congruence Basin of China and Its Geological Progress".

In the first part, Prof. Pang introduced the concept of peak oil. Peak oil theory states that any finite resource production, including oil, has a beginning, middle, and final phase, and at some point it will reach a level of maximum output. Peak oil theory (also called the Hubbert's peak) was put forward by Hubbert, a geologist at Shell. In his report, Prof. Pang analyzed the inevitability, influencing factors and mechanism of peak oil. Most of the geologists in China think the Chinese peak oil will turn up in 2015, its peak production is 1.9 billion tons per year, and the peak gas in 2035, its peak production is 1200 billion cubic meters. After the peak oil, China will face great challenges and must find the way out.

In the second part, Prof. Pang introduced the "973" Project which he takes charge of. Prof. Li Mingxuan, Prof. Huang Cengyang, and Prof. Zhang Hailan etc. discussed with Prof. Pang. In the end of the report, Prof. Wang Xiuming hoped the report would be helpful in our science and research, especially in the scientific proposals, which could serve the country's economic construction better.

After the seminar, Prof. Wang Xiaomin, the deputy party secretary of the IOA, discussed with Prof. Pang, hoping that more cooperations such as petroleum exploration and development and postgraduate education between CUPB and IOA would progress. Prof. Pang agreed with him and gave some suggestions and plans.