Chinese scientists have discovered a petroleum-bearing belt extending 100 km in the northern part of  the Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China.

   Experts predicted that the Qiangtang Basin holds hundreds of  millions of tons of oil.

   Chinese geologists have conducted a series of investigations in the basin since the founding of New China. Last July, a research  team headed by professor Wang Chengshan from Chengdu University of Science and Engineering collected oil-shale and other related  layer samples in the Qiangtang Basin over an area of 160,000 sq km.

   Based on lab research, experts confirmed that the geologic age  of the shale of the Qiangtang Basin is around 180 million years  old.

   The dating of the materials helped scientists determine the  likelihood of oil deposits.
   They further predicted that the reserves of gas and oil in the  basin would be around 4 billion to 5.4 billion tons, and one large field could hold up to 100 million tons.

   The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has several typical marine basins,  the geological land type from which most of the world's gas and  oil resources are derived, according to experts.