Honghua, Baker Hughes Plan to Expand in China's Shale Gas Sector

Honghua Group is looking to expand exploration services with U.S. partner Baker Hughes and acquire a shale gas asset in China, Bloomberg quoted Chairman Zhang Mi as saying.

In an interview to Bloomberg, Zhang said, “We’ll become a minority shareholder of a high-quality shale gas parcel.” He added that parcel won’t be among those auctioned by the Chinese government in the past two years because “those blocks are not high-quality shale gas blocks.”

“We won’t rule out the possibility of forming a joint venture with Baker Hughes or having the company as a strategic investor,” Zhang told Bloomberg. The same also applies to Shenhua, China’s biggest coal producer, he said.

Honghua and Baker Hughes teamed up last December to to study shale gas prospects, provide oilfield services and conduct research in China. Also, last month, Honghua agreed to jointly explore shale gas opportunities with Shenhua Group.