China's Shenhua to Develop Combustible Ice

China Shenhua Group, China’s largest coal producer, has undertaken a project to research and develop combustible ice, a kind of natural gas hydrate, in the northwestern Qinghai province.

Shenhua Group signed an agreement with the Qinghai provincial government to start the exploration of combustible ice in the province.

Combustible ice is regarded as a potential alternative to coal and oil.

The country first discovered the resource under the bed of the South China Sea in May 2007 and then in Muli prefecture in Qinghai province in 2009. Combustible ice was found in the land-based region as well.

With further exploration, the country's prospective volume of natural gas hydrate in frozen earth regions is estimated to reach an equivalent to 35 billion tonnes of oil.