China Petroleum & Chemical (HKG:0386, SHA:600028) discovered about 180 million tonnes of shale oil reserves in eastern China, Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Sinopec discovered the reserves in the Xinxing and Qintong fields, the report said.

The two oilfields have an equivalent reserve of about 1.3 billion barrels, according to a separate Reuters report.

Shale oil is trapped in shale rock formations that could be extracted for refining, the report said.