China outspending US drillers on shale gas: Report

China is spending four times more than the US in developing shale gas fields, Bloomberg reported, citing a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Sinopec (SNP.NYSE, 0386.HKG, 600028.HKG) estimates that it will spend an average of US$10 million per well at its Fuling site, compared with US$2.6 million a well in parts of the US. Developing the country’s shale gas reserves, the largest in the world, will reduce dependence on foreign sources as well as heavy-polluting coal. China plans to increase gas consumption to 9% of energy demand by 2017, and produce 60-100 cubic meters by 2020.