China, estimated to hold more gas trapped in shale than the U.S., may hold its second auction of exploration areas as early as this month, according to an official at the Ministry of Land and Resources.
The ministry plans to hold the tender by the end of February or in early March, Zhang Dawei, deputy director of oil and gas research at the ministry, said by telephone today. The sale was originally scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2011.
China, yet to produce shale gas commercially, may hold about 31 trillion cubic meters of the resource, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Wang Min, vice minister of land, at a national geological survey conference in Beijing yesterday. Chinese reserves may reach 1,275 trillion cubic feet (36 trillion cubic meters), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in April. That’s almost triple the 482 trillion cubic feet in U.S., according to a Jan. 23 estimate by the EIA.
Bloomberg
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