Sinopec, the country's second largest oil company, is set to launch a research program on marine-facies oil and gas exploration, sources familiar with the situation have told China Daily.

About 10 laboratories will be built at an investment exceeding 1.5 billion yuan ($200 million), an insider close to the program said.

Marine facies, or geologic fossilized mineral content, are basins from ancient oceans. The resources in China can reach about 37 billion tons oil equivalent - or a third of the country's total reserves - said Kang Yuzhu, a senior researcher with Sinopec Exploration & Production Research Institute.