China Commercializes Shale Gas & Coalbed Methane

In spite of deceleration in China’s economic growth and the collapse of international crude prices, China kept progressing in oil-gas exploration and production in recent years, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Land and Resources of China (MLR) on August 15.
In detail, China chalked up 5.7 billion tons of newly proven geological oil reserves during 2012-2016 (1.14 billion tons annually, down 7.9% YoY). Oil output went up steadily in the period, reaching 208 million tons annually, up 7.2% YoY. Meanwhile, newly proven reserves of natural gas amounted to 3.92 trillion m3 (or 784.9 billion m3 annually, up 21.5% YoY), while the average annual output was up 39.8% YoY to 119.2 billion  m3.
“Production of shale gas and coalbed methane have both been industrialized and commercialized,” said MLR Geological Exploration Department director Yu Haifeng. “China produced 7.88 billion m3 of shale gas in 2016, ranking third in the world, after the U.S. and Canada.”
China has been trying to open up participation in oil-gas exploration and exploitation to a greater extent since 2011, director Yu added.