CNPC JV Starts Drilling First Shale Gas Well in Sichuan Province

Sichuan Changning Gas Development Company has commenced drilling of first shale gas well Changning H3-6 in China’s Sichuan province, CNPC said Wednesday.

Drilling is expected to finish in 70 days.

Founded in Decmebr 2013, Sichuan Changning Natural Gas Development Co is joint venture comprising CNPC, Sichuan Energy Investment Co, Yibin State Assets Operation Co and a Beijing National Union Energy Industry Investment Fund.

The shale gas block is located in Changning Changning - Weiyuan national shale gas demonstration area, and is spread over 4,200 square kilometers. The block will see 50 wells being drilled with target production of 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas next year.

China is focusing on developing its huge shale gas resources and has set shale gas production target for 2015 at 6.5 billion cubic meters. In 2013, the country produced 200 million cubic meters of shale gas.

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