PetroChina, Shell JV Finds Shale Gas in Sichuan

BEIJING (Dow Jones Newswires), Dec. 8, 2011

PetroChina and Shell have discovered shale gas in Sichuan province, a PetroChina official said Thursday.

The amount of shale gas reserves have yet to be determined, the official said.

A Shell spokeswoman said Tuesday that gas exploration work in the Fushun-Yongchuan block is still ongoing and that Shell will complete drilling activities by year-end.

The joint venture between PetroChina and Shell drilled its first evaluation well last December--about 13 months after signing an agreement to develop shale gas resources in the area.

China is estimated to have reserves of as much as 1,275 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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