Xinjiang oilfield closed to protect endangered animals

An oil production operation in a nature reserve in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has been closed despite the loss of annual output worth hundreds of millions of yuan in order to better protect desert wildlife.

Zhundong Oil Production Plant, a branch of Xinjiang Oilfield of Petro-China that is located in the Junggar Basin, closed 284 oil wells with annual production of 70,000 metric tons of oil in the Kalamayli Nature Reserve, home to endangered animals including the Przewalski's horse, which has first-class national protection. The annual oil output was valued at more than 300 million yuan ($43.5 million).

The Przewalski's horse is the last surviving subspecies of wild horse. There are currently 2,000 remaining worldwide.