Shell to Continue to Explore for Shale Gas in China

Royal Dutch Shell will continue exploring for shale gas with China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) in China’s Sichuan Basin.

Company’s executive chairman in China, Huibert Vigeveno told China Daily on Tuesday that Shell is committing to a substantial investment in exploring for conventional and unconventional gas in China.

"We are now in the exploration phase by drilling various wells and testing underground pressure in these areas. Some parts of the projects have moved into the appraisal stage, and it will take time before we determine our next step," Vigeveno told China Daily in Shanghai.

Sometime back Shell has announced that it would spend $1 billion annually in developing the country's vast shale gas reserves.

Chinese shale may hold 36.1 trillion cubic meters of technically recoverable gas, or 12 times the country's conventional gas deposits, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.

The country plans to produce 6.5 bcm of shale gas by 2015, according to the industry's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15).

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