China Offers 20 Shale Blocks in Second Tender

China has 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, Henan, the government said on Monday.

The tender process would be open to both Chinese firms and Chinese-foreign joint ventures. These entities should have a registered capital of more than 300 million yuan. The last date for submission is Oct. 25, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on its website.

The second round of shale gas auctions have attracted strong interest and more than 200 firms have applied, China Times reported Sunday.  At the end of last year, Beijing approved shale gas for independent mining operations, which means its exploitation will not be limited to the three state-run enterprises, the newspaper said.