A Chinese shale gas boom is starting, despite global gas glut, according to The Wall Street Journal. China’s state-owned energy companies, their profits decimated by the commodities bust, are pushing ahead with billions of dollars in new investment in shale gas. Leading the charge is China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, which aims to double domestic gas production within five years. Sinopec’s push now, amid a global oversupply of gas, presents an unpleasant surprise for an industry already in turmoil. If it succeeds, China’s need for imported liquefied natural gas might dwindle—potentially jeopardizing tens of billions of dollars in planned investment from Canada to Papua New Guinea. China has huge shale reserves, but challenges from complicated geology to an inadequate pipeline network long made tapping them elusive.
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