China's Third Shale Gas Auction Round This Year

China’s Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) has said that the country is expected to commence the third round of shale gas auction this year, a report in China Scope Financial said.

The number of blocks for the new auction will equal to that in the second auction, but shale gas resources would be richer, the report said.

The ministry is likely to ease entry threshold for the third round and may encourage more state-owned companies, private companies, and other qualified firms to participate in the auction, China Scope said citing industry insiders.

An official with the MLR said that China’s recoverable shale gas reserves are expected to reach 1 trillion cubic meters by 2020 and shale gas output will account for 8 to 12 percent of total conventional natural gas output, the report said.