Sinopec Establishes Shale Oil Research Centre

Chinese state owned energy major Sinopec has established the national shale oil research and development centre which has been approved by country’s National Energy Administration (NEA), the company announced last week.

The Centre’s inauguration and first academic committee conference was held in the Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute of Sinopec (PEPRIS) on January 30.

“With the rapid development of unconventional energy including shale oil/gas in recent years, a new wave of energy revolution has been triggered around the world. Shale oil, following shale gas, becomes another focus of global unconventional resources exploration and development. The establishment of the Centre is of historical and practical significance to China’s shale oil development,” the company said.

Sinopec has been at the forefront of China's unconventional oil and gas industry. 

Last July, Sinopec’s Fuling field in Chongqing was verified by Chinese government as country’s largest shale gas play. China’s Ministry of Land and Resources verified proven reserves of nearly 107 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the Fuling shale gas field.

In October, Sinopec said that cumulative output from its Fuling shale gas project crossed 1 bcm.

The government expects country’s shale gas output to hit 6.5 bcm this year. Shale gas production in China in 2014 stood at 1.3 billion cubic meters (bcm), up almost five time on year, Ministry of Land and Resources announced recently.