China Announces Winners of Second Shale Auction

China’s Ministry of Land and Resources on Thursday announced the winners of the country's second shale gas auction. The ministry announced the tender winners for 19 exploration blocks, with three firms allotted to each block.

The ministry has earlier said that it received 152 bids for 19 shale gas blocks it offered in the second round of shale gas auctions at the end of October. Eighty-three state-owned and private companies from eight provinces and municipalities submitted bids for the blocks.

China offered 20 shale gas blocks in a second tender, with a total area of 20,002 square kilometres in 8 provinces: Chongqing, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Henan.

As per the ministry statement posted on its website, some of the winners are PetroChina Coalbed Methane Co., Huadian Hubei Power Company Limited, Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group Co., Chongqing Energy Investment Group Company, China Corporation of Coal Geology Engineering Corp., Henan Yukuang Resources Exploitation Co.

China’s shale gas output is expected to increase from practically nil at present to 6.5 billion cubic meters by 2015, National Energy Administration said earlier this week in 12th five-year plan for the development of the natural gas sector.