Sinopec Successful with Shale Gas Well

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, said a test at its gas well in Sichuan has struck a daily flow of 11,500 cubic metres of shale gas in a "wildcat" exploration well, according to a website run by Sinopec's parent reported on Thursday.

Gas was struck at the Yuanba-9 well in the northeastern part of China's gas-rich Sichuan basin at a depth of 4,035-4,110 metres in mid-December after large-scale fracturing, www.sinopecnews.com.cn said.

The well was originally for conventional gas exploration, but active gas activity was detected at that depth.

Sinopec's southern exploration subsidiary, based in Chengdu, is charged with scouting a 48,000 square-kilometre area for shale gas, part of the country's nascent push into unconventional resources.

Eighteen wells have shown good indications of gas in the Yuanba area in northeast Sichuan as well as Fuling of southeastern Sichuan, the report said.

Last week, the website reported that Sinopec had struck industrial gas flows at a shale gas exploration well in central China's Jianghan basin.

Source: Reuters