Wilbur Ross Plans JV For China Shale Tender

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is looking to venture into the Chinese shale gas sector by teaming up Exco Resources, a U.S. natural gas firm he holds a stake in, with a Chinese partner. The joint venture intends to take part in the tender process scheduled to take place next month.

China has offered 20 shale gas blocks in a second tender, with a total area of 20,002 square kilometres in 8 provinces: Chongqing, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan, the government said on Monday. The tender process would be open to both Chinese firms and Chinese-foreign joint ventures. 

"I think we will have a joint venture partner. Bids are due in (late) October and we hope to be organized by then," the WL Ross CEO told Reuters at a conference in Singapore, though he declined to name the companies he was talking to.