Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA.NYSE, RDSA.LON) has discovered shale gas with its state-owned partner PetroChina (PTR.NYSE, 601857.SHA, 0857.HKG) at two wells in Sichuan province, Reuters reported. Production has been good at the two vertical wells and drilling should be completed by the end of the year, said Professor Yuzhang Liu, vice president of PetroChina’s Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development. China currently has no shale gas production, but the technology is seen by some as an answer to the country’s energy shortages and heavy reliance on coal. In the US, shale gas production has transformed the energy sector in less than a decade, with the country becoming a net exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG). The US Energy Information Administration said in April that China had the largest recoverable shale gas resources in the world with 1,275 trillion cubic feet, followed by the US with 862 trillion cubic feet.