$4.7 bln project sealed as China sets shale gas priorities

China’s State Development and Investment Corp. (SDIC), China's largest state-owned investment holding company, said today that it will invest 30 billion yuan (USD4.75 billion) into shale gas exploration and development in the southwest China city of Chongqing.

The announcement comes only one day after a senior Chinese official called for the country to speed up mass production of shale gas with its own technologies to ensure adequate energy supply.

Efforts must be made to achieve early breakthroughs in the appraisal, exploration and development of shale gas resources, as well as to come up with measures to ensure environmental safety, Liu Tienan, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a meeting.

Liu, also head of the National Energy Administration, underlined the necessity to manufacture key mining equipment with indigenous Chinese technology.

China aims to produce 6.5 billion cubic meters of shale gas by 2015. Liu said.

China's rich reserves of shale gas are estimated to amount to 31 trillion cubic meters, equivalent to the total amount of conventional natural gas. The Sichuan Basin, the Ordos Basin, the Tarim Basin, the western Hubei-Eastern Chongqing area, and the provinces of Guizhou and Hunan boast huge stores of the substance, a survey by the Ministry of Land and Resources has showed.