China to work with Shell to extract shale gas

BBC : On Tuesday Shell announced that it had signed the first-ever production-sharing contract for shale gas exploration in China with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation. “Shell will apply its advanced technology, operational expertise and global experience in the project to jointly develop the shale gas resources with CNPC,” the Anglo-Dutch firm said in a release . Several other foreign firms have signed agreements to look for shale gas in China, including BP and Chevron. China has some of the world’s largest reserves of shale gas but has been slow to develop the industry. The country has set a target of 2015 by which to start production and hopes that by 2020 it can derive 8–12% of its natural gas from shale gas reserves.